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Actifio vs Oracle Data Guard 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Actifio
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
51st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
Test Data Management (8th)
Oracle Data Guard
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
24th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
31
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of Actifio is 0.6%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle Data Guard is 0.9%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Oracle Data Guard0.9%
Actifio0.6%
Other98.5%
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.
AbdulHameed - PeerSpot reviewer
Assistant Vice President at ZTBL
Ensures high availability, disaster recovery, and data protection for Oracle databases through features like real-time data synchronization, automatic failover and zero data loss
Oracle Data Guard stands out by providing heavy-duty features that enable connecting multiple standby databases to a single production database. Oracle supports up to eight standby databases, offering a level of redundancy and scalability that other platforms cannot match. Implementing Oracle Data Guard ensures the protection and integrity of your data, even in the event of a disaster. With Data Guard, Oracle guarantees zero data loss, providing peace of mind for organizations relying on their data for critical operations. Data Guard offers multiple protection modes, each serving different needs. One such mode is active-active, where both the production and standby databases are actively accessible. In the event of a failure, seamless switchover occurs without disrupting client sessions, as they remain unaware of the transition between databases.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Very user-friendly and the QSA is very good."
"The solution helps reduce costs."
"What really stands out in Actifio is that it can provide us full copies of the database without having full copies of the database."
"This product has unique capabilities that lead the product category in test data management, cloning and recovery."
"Very user-friendly and the QSA is very good."
"Actifio was very stable. Whenever they identified bugs, they would promptly provide us with patches."
"They will assist me in achieving whatever budget issue the client may be having."
"The solution is quite stable. We haven't experienced any bugs, glitches, or crashes. We find it to be quite reliable."
"The most valuable feature is the application or promotional code used in the production protocol to transfer data to the secondary database, situated on the DR site."
"The most valuable feature is the flashback standby, which allows us to test without scrapping the database."
"We chose this solution for the availability of the databases. We can't afford Oracle Grid, this is the best solution if you want something similar that's less expensive."
"The most valuable features are the backup and restore. With this in place along with the clustering, the database is safe from hacking, hardware failure, power failures, and system crashes."
"Another valuable feature is the possibility of backing up the database from the standby database instead of the primary database, to avoid backup process overhead in the primary system."
"Oracle Data Guard has a nice feature called the DataGuard snapshot to open the solution in the read-write mode and make some changes to the database."
"You can see how the logs are applied, check the apply time, and how far behind the standby is at any given time."
 

Cons

"Google has stopped supporting the on-premise version of the tool."
"The solution doesn't support AIX software or in-cloud, and we have a lot of servers running on AIX and Oracle."
"Lacks the option to price backup costs within the solution itself."
"While the product does support various databases, the company needs to make more of an effort to support N-minus-one compatibility."
"The initial setup is complex."
"When we've had to upgrade Actifio, we've had to work with their support people, and some of them are just people reading a sheet of instructions."
"Areas that need improvement would be the support for recovery in the physical environment."
"A significant improvement for Oracle Data Guard would be enabling the disaster recovery site to handle read and write operations, not just data storage."
"For every standby server you have, you must pay a licensing fee, which is the main disadvantage."
"The IP implementation and maintenance are a little bit hard to manage across Oracle solutions, including Oracle Data Guard."
"The initial setup is complex."
"The usage of block storage devices in the cloud or migration of a type of storage from one site to another site can be improved. Currently, we have to use multi-node to single node because of the lack of storage support on the Azure side. It did not really work. Our DBA had to spend a lot of time tweaking the Data Guard tools, or the underlying Oracle VMs, to make sure that Data Guard would run on top of different types of storage. So, if it can support transporting or getting from one type of storage to another type of storage in a different site or a different technology, it would be very helpful."
"They may need to include the monitoring and the alerting part in Data Guard."
"It is a very useful administrative IT tool. It saves on costs."
"When the data replicates into the standby database there is a possibility of having a microsecond amount of data loss. The data loss occurs when there is a network disconnection between the primary and secondary standby database located in the data centers or if there is a crash in the primary database."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Actifio is cheaper than other tools."
"Pricing is on a case by case basis."
"Support is very good. They send out a VM link and help you fix any issues."
"It is not a cheap product, but if you look at the price, features, availability, scalability, and maturity, it is a very good product."
"​Oracle Data Guard is a feature available only in Oracle Database Enterprise Edition, and is available for extra cost."
"It's a cost-effective solution."
"This is the best solution if you want something similar that's less expensive than Oracle Grid."
"The cost is expensive."
"The cost of the Oracle license will depend on the negotiations with Oracle."
"If you want to have everything automated and done smoothly, you have to add additional licenses."
"The licensing cost is significantly high."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
25%
Retailer
14%
Computer Software Company
9%
Insurance Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
19%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Government
8%
Educational Organization
6%
 

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 Business7
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise22
 

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 advice do you have for others considering Oracle Data Guard?
Ik fluister:VM Host Oracle en DataGuard hebben we per toeval vervangen door Zerto :-) tijdens de Zerto implementatie en VPG werden de Host Data in write-ack Block-Level gerepliceerd. Qua licentie 1...
What advice do you have for others considering Oracle Data Guard?
It is a very useful administrative IT tool. It saves on costs. I strongly recommend Data Guard. I've been using it for eight years and I would strongly recommend it. I'd rate Oracle Data Guard a se...
What advice do you have for others considering Oracle Data Guard?
We're Oracle partners. We've worked with databases 11G and 12C. If a company is planning to implement Oracle solutions, I would suggest they also implement Data Guard. I'd rate the solution nine ou...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Active Data Guard
 

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
Athenahealth, Discover Financial Services
Find out what your peers are saying about Actifio vs. Oracle Data Guard and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.