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Actifio vs Dell PowerProtect Data Manager comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 11, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
1.0
Actifio boosts productivity by reducing storage costs, improving data management, and enhancing disaster recovery, offering substantial ROI.
Sentiment score
3.5
Dell PowerProtect Data Manager improves ROI with automation, efficient recovery, and deduplication but lags behind Cohesity and Veeam.
Previously they had somewhere around 100 TB of capacity for the backup for a few VMs on one side. Now, the overall setup is hardly 80 TB, where they use almost 240 TB of production data into that 80 TB.
Lead Architect at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
I would recommend Dell PowerProtect Data Manager to other organizations because it is cost-effective and delivers good performance compared to alternative solutions.
Backup Administrator at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
I do find that with Dell PowerProtect Data Manager, the ROI is good when compared to other Dell products, but when compared to others in the current market, such as Cohesity or Veeam, it is not as good.
Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.5
Actifio's customer support is mostly praised, though some users report expertise gaps, especially when involving IBM or Google.
Sentiment score
6.2
Dell PowerProtect Data Manager's customer service is adequate, with appreciated 24/7 support but inconsistent response times and regional presence.
Their knowledge isn't great.
Tech Lead / Informix DBA at a wholesaler/distributor with 5,001-10,000 employees
Dell provides reliable support for PowerProtect Data Manager, with 24/7 availability and a qualified support team.
Senior System Engineer at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
My experience with the technical support team of Dell is that they are actually great.
Ops Specialist: System Engineer Backup at BCX
When we had the compliances and any of the backups were getting failed or we identified that some of the backups were frequently failing, the system would alert us.
Lead Architect at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
5.3
Actifio excels in scalable data management across sectors with optimal performance reliant on network and hardware resources.
Sentiment score
6.1
Dell PowerProtect Data Manager is scalable, easily customizable, well-supported, and aligns licensing with capacity needs, though cloud improvements are suggested.
Its capability to back up existing environments can be improved, particularly when it comes to disaster recovery in the cloud.
Senior System Engineer at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
As per the documentation, that is an easy process, whether you need to scale up or scale out.
Ops Specialist: System Engineer Backup at BCX
If you are okay to purchase the license, they have the feasibility to increase the capacity as well.
Lead Architect at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
Actifio is stable and reliable, with robust support and positive user feedback on performance and quick bug resolution.
Sentiment score
8.1
Dell PowerProtect Data Manager is stable, reliable, user-friendly, with minor upgrade issues; overall a dependable data management solution.
Once we sorted out all our problems with Actifio and our configuration of our database and other components, I would probably rate stability about a seven.
Tech Lead / Informix DBA at a wholesaler/distributor with 5,001-10,000 employees
It is extremely reliable and I have never experienced a crash.
Senior System Engineer at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
Making sure the system is properly understood before deployment and handling upgrades efficiently would improve stability.
System Engineer at Konvergenz
I would assess the stability and reliability of Dell PowerProtect Data Manager as quite stable; there are no issues with the workloads I am using.
Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Room For Improvement

Actifio needs workflow flexibility, platform support enhancements, better integration, improved support, pricing features, AI, and seamless upgrades.
Dell PowerProtect Data Manager needs improved installation, support, cost-effectiveness, user interface, and additional features like desktop backup and SaaS protection.
The most concerning issue is IBM support.
Tech Lead / Informix DBA at a wholesaler/distributor with 5,001-10,000 employees
I would like to see improvements that include bare metal restore capabilities and enhanced data restore features in Dell PowerProtect Data Manager.
Backup Administrator at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
This is an enterprise solution and a bit costlier, but it is a solution where people should be looking into if they want to go into one single umbrella and have the centralized backup solution, which integrates with the cloud and can manage their cloud workload as well as the on-premises workload, and can be managed with one dashboard.
Lead Architect at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
Enhancements for microservices and container backups would be beneficial, enabling a more consolidated management platform for modern architectures.
Senior System Engineer at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
 

Setup Cost

Actifio is praised for its supportive pricing and professional services, offering affordability and rapid implementation despite learning curves.
Dell PowerProtect Data Manager offers flexible pricing options, often viewed as affordable, with discounts available and additional feature costs.
Dell PowerProtect Data Manager is cost-effective, as it is licensed per socket rather than by workload.
Senior System Engineer at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
Overall, pricing does not significantly impact our decision.
Business Development Manager at a media company with 1,001-5,000 employees
compared to some other products, it is a bit more costly.
Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Valuable Features

Actifio is praised for its Golden Copy, cloud integration, user-friendly interface, cost efficiency, and excellent support team.
Dell PowerProtect Data Manager provides efficient management, high deduplication, and seamless integration, enhancing data protection and operational cost savings.
What really stands out in Actifio is that it can provide us full copies of the database without having full copies of the database.
Tech Lead / Informix DBA at a wholesaler/distributor with 5,001-10,000 employees
It provides a seamless backup solution integrated with a dashboard full of capabilities, enhancing recovery point objectives and recovery time objectives.
Senior System Engineer at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
It satisfies my customers' scalability needs and provides interactive features, allowing efficient integration.
System Engineer at Konvergenz
Compared to other products such as Veritas, Dell offers more competitive pricing while other vendors charge significantly more.
Backup Administrator at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Actifio
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
50th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
Test Data Management (8th)
Dell PowerProtect Data Manager
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
5th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
21
Ranking in other categories
Deduplication Software (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of Actifio is 0.7%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell PowerProtect Data Manager is 2.4%, down from 4.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Dell PowerProtect Data Manager2.4%
Actifio0.7%
Other96.9%
Backup and Recovery
 

Featured Reviews

Jeff Poulton - PeerSpot reviewer
Tech Lead / Informix DBA at a wholesaler/distributor with 5,001-10,000 employees
Has reduced storage requirements for development environments but presents challenges during upgrades and support interactions
The most concerning issue is IBM support. The issue I have with IBM support is that sometimes they don't seem to know their product very well at times. I don't know where the support is coming from, whether it's from IBM or from Google through IBM. I'm not sure who physically does the support. Their knowledge isn't great. Plus, the way we use it is not the focus of Google nowadays. Google, as I understand it, bought the product as an add-on to Google Cloud or whatever as a backup and that's not how we use it. I do see some problems with Actifio, specifically keeping current with operating systems. It can be tricky to upgrade Actifio. It can be a challenge. When we've had to do it, we've had to work with their support people, and some of them are just people reading a sheet of instructions. When those instructions are obviously wrong at times because you can tell if you have half a knowledge of what you're doing, it takes ages for them to go off and find someone to explain what's going wrong. So it can be very laborious.
reviewer2767527 - PeerSpot reviewer
Lead Architect at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
Centralized backups have simplified hybrid protection and improved ransomware recovery and compliance
The majorly needed improvement is that the product should easily simplify the upgrade and installation process. Sometimes Dell support should be more active. They take time for P1 issues. Sometimes it is not a P1 for Dell, but it is P1 for the customer, and the support needs to be very mature. That is a major drawback I see. Otherwise, the product is quite well. This is an enterprise solution and a bit costlier, but it is a solution where people should be looking into if they want to go into one single umbrella and have the centralized backup solution, which integrates with the cloud and can manage their cloud workload as well as the on-premises workload, and can be managed with one dashboard. In that way, it makes their backup management easier and they can get detected anomalies as soon as possible. This is one of the solutions I would recommend. However, if it is a very small company, they really need to think about the cost, as it is very costlier for them. But as an enterprise solution and a mid-enterprise solution, this is the solution where companies think their data is very critical, in sectors such as financial, banking, and health. This kind of sector should go with that solution because it always gives the compliances of HIPAA, GDPR, and all those things that are really required for them. From management perspectives and consolidation solution perspective, the integration is quite easy. With respect to the backup administrator and everything, it is quite straightforward. There are some layers that need to be improved and should have the internal feature instead of creating the additional VMs for the NAS backup. It should be internal and directly have the agent base or something that can communicate easily with Dell storage. If it is third-party, I would understand, but it should be able to communicate. The benefit of it is that it is easily understood and you can do knowledge transfer with a lot of documents available. The drawback of it is that when it comes to the installation, Dell always takes a lot of time for all these things with third-party involvement in between Dell and the customer. Support is the major part of it. People need to understand that when a customer raises their ticket for P1, they should treat it as a P1. Instead of by their book being P3 or P2, sometimes they only treat it as such when the complete backup server is down. However, for the customer, if it is not happening with the critical system of backup, then it is a P1 for them. From Dell support, they do not treat it as a P1, or they treat it as a P3 or P2. That kind of understanding and some agreements need to be done between the customer and Dell. It is a costlier solution. Comparatively, other backup solutions make this one of the costlier solutions. However, someone who has their enterprise data or needs protection in a good way can go for it. I could say it is a mid-enterprise or enterprise level solution. Otherwise, people do have the same solution but with differentiated features. However, it is costlier compared to the other.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
25%
Retailer
13%
Insurance Company
8%
Marketing Services Firm
6%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business1
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise5
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise10
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Actifio?
Actifio is cheaper than other tools. I rate the pricing an eight out of ten.
What needs improvement with Actifio?
The most concerning issue is IBM support. The issue I have with IBM support is that sometimes they don't seem to know their product very well at times. I don't know where the support is coming from...
What do you like most about Dell PowerProtect Data Manager?
One notable feature is its robust backup support for Kubernetes and container environments. Additionally, PPDM stands out for its ease of deployment and management compared to other backup solution...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell PowerProtect Data Manager?
Regarding the pricing aspect of Dell PowerProtect Data Manager, I am not very happy with that; compared to some other products, it is a bit more costly, and there are definitely areas for improvement.
What needs improvement with Dell PowerProtect Data Manager?
I apologize, but I'm not in a position to answer what areas of Dell PowerProtect Data Manager I would like to see improved or enhanced. There is still a lot of features that we haven't tried yet. I...
 

Also Known As

No data available
PowerProtect, Dell EMC PowerProtect
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

IBM, Waste Industries, Nasdaq, Verizon, Sharp, Rosetta Stone, Dakine, JBS Australia, Texas Wesleyan University, Cintra, People's Choice Credit Union, Lotto NZ, Electric Insurance, Tyler Technologies, Intility, Corporate One Federal Credit Union, Bryant University, pc/nametag, Isagenix, Sungard Availability Services, Databank, Electrocraft, Lifescript, Westfleisch, Interstate National Corporation, RestorePoint, Net3, Access Community Health Network, Newmarket International, Rezolve Group Inc., Piri Reis University, MC Assembly, Grass-Merkur, dbMotion, Christian Broadcasting Network, Bezeq, Abilene Christian University, CNW Group, Softcat, Migliori, City of South Portland, NaviSite, News-Press & Gazette, Comtec, Equity Insurance, Admirals Bank, Assistra, Dassault, Henry Davis York Lawyers, SAI Global, Audax Group, DSM, Triad Retail Media, Euronet Worldwide, Palm Beach County School District, iGate, Emerald Queen Casino
National Bank of Greece, USC Australia, PCS Publishing, Dell Digital IT, Rushmore Electric, Melanson Health, Arrow Electronics
Find out what your peers are saying about Actifio vs. Dell PowerProtect Data Manager and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
884,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.