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Dell Avamar 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Dell Avamar
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
7th
Ranking in Deduplication Software
5th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
89
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Dell PowerProtect Data Manager
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
11th
Ranking in Deduplication Software
6th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of Dell Avamar is 3.1%, down from 3.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell PowerProtect Data Manager is 4.3%, up from 4.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery
 

Featured Reviews

Ayodeji  Oyewole - PeerSpot reviewer
Reliable with good backups but has occasional failures
I use Dell Avamar primarily for backup and recovery The most valuable feature for me is the backup functionality. It gives large enterprises the comfort of knowing their workloads are being backed up. There are instances where backups fail on certain applications, which is an area that could be…
MinaMagdy1 - PeerSpot reviewer
Comprehensive integration and user-friendly dashboard enhance data protection workflows
PowerProtect Data Manager lacks the tape-out functionality, which is important for organizations relying on it for offsite backup. While PowerProtect Data Manager offers a workaround, it's not always accepted, notably by sectors like banking. Additionally, I would like PowerProtect Data Manager to provide microservices and container backup for modern applications.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of Avamar would have to be the way it works over needing very little bandwidth to move data across a WAN or LAN."
"We are talking about a complete end-to-end solution which comes with its own hardware storage to back up the data on tape-less."
"The solution scales well."
"Client deduplication."
"Its deduplication technologies are the best in the market, currently."
"It's a good solution."
"Duplication and the speed of backup are great."
"It's stable and offers good performance."
"The deduplication is the most valuable feature because it helps to control the overhead."
"Dell PowerProtect Data Manager is a comprehensive backup software that integrates with Dell backup storage to enhance data protection."
"It's the perfect solution for virtual and container directives. The data reduction feature works well, and we haven't had any issues."
"The product's initial setup phase was easy."
"The solution adequately handles data storage."
"The most valuable features of the solution are flexibility and data protection."
"Dell EMC PowerProtect Data Manager is user-friendly and easy to use. it does what it needs to do."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is its integrated approach."
 

Cons

"The performance takes up a lot of resources, unfortunately."
"The user interface still needs to have some level of improvement. It could be more user-friendly and intuitive."
"More integration would be helpful, as well as the addition of more applications."
"We don't trust the product 100 percent. Kaspersky has many features Dell Avamar doesn't support, such as granular backup and history."
"There are limitations when trying to use this solution with Hyper-V."
"The UI is not easy to use. There are other products such as Veeam that are easy to use for the end-user which is why they are moving away from Avamar or Networker."
"The recovery is a bit slow."
"The solution could be a bit easier to use in the sense that they need to make it simpler to backup products and restore items."
"The marketing strategy is lagging behind competitors such as CommVault. Dell needs to improve its market presence and communication with customers and solution providers."
"The Dell EMC PowerProtect Data Manager reports could improve. There should be different kinds of reports on failures, such as dashboards that we can submit to top management or auditors."
"PowerProtect Data Manager is missing a feature for takeout, which means I cannot store backup data off-site within the software. This is a limitation for organizations that require off-site solutions."
"A lot of improvement is required in Dell's first level of support."
"They should include a feature similar to S3 bucket."
"Management is difficult and it is hard to determine when things aren't working properly."
"The solution should enhance its user interface and make it more flexible."
"There is always room for improvement. The compression ratio should be improved as well as the efficiency."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It was approximately $70-80,000 when it was under support, but right now EMC has not been supporting this product for two years."
"Avamar's pricing is quite competitive compared to other vendors."
"It was very expensive before, but after integrating it with Dell EMC Avamar Data Protection suite licensing, we are getting better discounts."
"Dell Avamar is free when we deploy the data protection. When we order data protection, this software is included in the hardware."
"Licensing was generally on a per VM or terabyte basis. They changed their licensing model a couple of times and turned it into socket-based licensing, which is an improvement in their licensing model."
"The current pricing is generally satisfactory."
"There is a license required for this solution."
"When it comes to competition the price is not what is important, it's not the problem."
"We offer monthly or yearly subscriptions. The price could be cheaper."
"The price of Dell EMC PowerProtect Data Manager is reasonable."
"The solution is more affordable than other vendors."
"The solution is not less expensive than competitors but pricing deals are available."
"The product is offered at a very competitive price in the market."
"Dell PowerProtect Data Manager is not an expensive solution."
"The licensing costs and pricing model are based on capacity and the license is easy to upgrade."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Government
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What's the difference between Dell EMC Avamar and Dell EMC NetWorker?
From the very beginning, Dell EMC NetWorker considers users and those who might potentially become users. In terms of both pricing and setup, this product offers an experience that is significantly...
What do you like most about Dell Avamar?
Easy to configure and highly reliable for backup.
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?
Overall, pricing does not significantly impact our decision. The main concern is the solution itself, presales activities, and positioning it in the right place. Commercial aspects are secondary to...
What needs improvement with Dell PowerProtect Data Manager?
The marketing strategy is lagging behind competitors such as CommVault. Dell needs to improve its market presence and communication with customers and solution providers.
 

Also Known As

Avamar
PowerProtect, Dell EMC PowerProtect
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Dodge County, St Laurence's College, FieldCore (a GE Company), Comanche County Memorial Hospital, Getronics, Lewisville Independent School District, EnvisionRxOptions, Cincinnati Bell Technology Solutions
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 Dell Avamar vs. Dell PowerProtect Data Manager and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.