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Arcserve UDP vs Synology DSM 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

Arcserve UDP
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
19th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
43
Ranking in other categories
Disaster Recovery (DR) Software (11th)
Synology DSM
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
17th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.0
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of Arcserve UDP is 1.2%, down from 1.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Synology DSM is 1.9%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery
 

Featured Reviews

TeresitaSabile - PeerSpot reviewer
Cost savings and efficient decompression but needs better cloud integration
Our primary use case for Arcserve UDP is its decompression feature, which helped us save money by reducing storage needs. Despite moving to cloud applications, we have been using Arcserve UDP for backup and disaster recovery Arcserve UDP has helped our organization save considerable amounts of…
Michael Adejoh - PeerSpot reviewer
Reliable and cost-effective
One area where Synology DSM could improve is in enhancing its ability to detect and respond to security threats during backups and replication. Currently, it lacks the capability to automatically stop backups if it detects a virus or suspicious network activity, as some third-party solutions can. Having AI-driven analytics to identify anomalies and halt backups during potential attacks, along with notifications to administrators, would be valuable. Additionally, providing a dashboard for monitoring the backup environment's security would be a beneficial feature. These improvements would help address security concerns and make Synology more competitive in this aspect.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Our customers are happy with the product’s functionality."
"The most valuable feature is the duplication."
"It's simple to set up."
"Instant recovery is the most valuable feature of Arcserve UDP."
"The most valuable feature of Arcserve UDP is live replication."
"Arcserve has a feature called virtual standby (VSB), which has been very helpful because I already have a hot standby copy of my critical infrastructure. If something breaks, I can spin up that virtual standby copy in less than five minutes and ensure that my data is available to everyone and that business continuity is maintained."
"It allows us to back up all the servers and centrally manage them."
"It is very stable."
"The product performs well. It is easy to use and implement."
"The solution's most valuable feature stems from its ease of use, making it the tool's most interesting part."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it serves as a backup for our company's virtual machine."
"The most valuable features are the basic storage, file management, Btrfs file system, and built-in backups that come with the solution."
"The most valuable aspect is its ability to handle multiple disks."
"Synology DSM is very easy to work and operate."
"The most valuable features of Synology DSM are its security and connectivity."
"Because of its simplicity and the wide array of features it offers, I would recommend DSM for both tech-savvy individuals and those who prefer a straightforward file-serving solution."
 

Cons

"Licensing can be quite difficult."
"We cannot restore each user's mailbox. Each user's mailbox should be independently restorable. Also, this solution is very slow. If you select all of the servers, it runs for a long time... It needs to be faster. Finally, If anything happens to one server we should be able to switch to another server."
"The technical support of the product is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"Arcserve UDP is in the middle range of complexity. The interface can be developed a little bit more to be user-friendly."
"It takes much time to verify and consolidate images for backups."
"The solution can improve by allowing older versions to support the latest version of the OS."
"The problem is just reliability. If the promises in the marketing material were realized in real life, it would be the perfect solution, but it's just the reliability issues."
"We could not go into granular details of retrieving backup information."
"Synology DSM is a good enough solution for small and medium companies, but I have not seen a big configuration of the solution for a big organization."
"One area where Synology DSM could improve is in enhancing its ability to detect and respond to security threats during backups and replication."
"The platform could be much more cost-effective and flexible for integrating third-party products."
"Users may lose their data if they don't configure the solution properly."
"Even though Synology provides a backup solution, it does not recognize the VM movement across cluster hosts."
"The only bothersome aspect is that the device is aging."
"Synology DSM's user interface is not quite intuitive."
"There's a surveillance application that allows you to connect IP cameras and stream footage to Synology and it is a great feature, but it's not always clear that adding more cameras may require purchasing additional licenses."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Normally our customers purchase the premium plus license, rather than the standard one, which provides more options."
"The solution is very expensive."
"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a four or five out of ten."
"Pricing is most likely comparable."
"I feel that the product is fairly priced."
"Its price seems reasonable. Its price is average as compared to the other products I've looked at. We have a three-year license right now. There are no other costs beyond the standard licensing fee."
"It is a bit pricey, considering the reliability problems. If the tool worked flawlessly, the price would be fair, even cheap."
"The solution is not very expensive, but it is not cheap."
"The pricing varies widely, catering to a broad range of needs."
"The solution’s pricing is neither cheap nor expensive."
"Synology DSM is a cheap solution."
"Synology DSM is a free tool."
"The price of the solution is very good."
"The licensing part of the solution is free. The hardware is more expensive than the other solutions in the market, but it's okay in the long run."
"It is quite an affordable solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
18%
Non Profit
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Major Differences Between These 4 Backup and Disaster Recovery Solutions?
Comparing the features of the four is not the right approach. You need to develop a list of requirements for backup and DR that are specific to your organization and then compare each of the four ...
What do you like most about StorageCraft ShadowProtect?
The interface is very refined, works fine, and is very intuitive most of the time. Scalability is nice. The multi-tenancy feature is very welcome. The integration with Linux works fine too.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for StorageCraft ShadowProtect?
Pricing for SPX MRP/MSP is under $400 per server (Single VM) with a 1-year subscription. After discounts, it could decrease by 20%-30%, and opting for a 3/5/10 server pack may offer even better (lo...
What do you like most about Synology DSM?
The most valuable features of Synology DSM are its security and connectivity.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Synology DSM?
The solution’s pricing is neither cheap nor expensive.
What needs improvement with Synology DSM?
Users may lose their data if they don't configure the solution properly.
 

Also Known As

StorageCraft ShadowProtect, StorageCraft Backup Analyzer
Synology DiskStation Manager (DSM)
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

ITPS, North Hertfordshire Homes, SEMIKRON, Kajaani University of Applied Sciences, Test Valley Borough Council, EK Services
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Arcserve UDP vs. Synology DSM and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.