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Dell Avamar vs Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) 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
5.8
Dell Avamar offers efficient data reduction, cost savings, enhanced IT operations, and strong data security against ransomware threats.
Sentiment score
4.0
Dell PowerProtect DP offers significant ROI through cost and time savings, with advanced features in deduplication and malware protection.
The data reduction allows customers to maintain their capacity without needing to purchase new hardware, which is beneficial.
Senior Solution Consultant at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
In terms of cost, because of deduplication and compression, we can almost say there is a savings of 20% to 30%.
A VP Enterprise Sales at Ashtech Infotech (India) Pvt.Ltd.
I am already communicating with the Dell sales team and trying to get more discounts to match the customer budget.
Senior Presales Solutions Engineer at rawasedtech
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.9
Dell Avamar support is knowledgeable but slow, with communication challenges and limited first-level responsiveness hindering comprehensive assistance.
Sentiment score
7.3
Dell PowerProtect DP support is rated highly, with users praising responsiveness but noting challenges in technical support and communication.
When their technical person is online, the quality of service and technical knowledge are very good.
Project Engineer at Concept Information Technologies India Pvt. Ltd.
The current technical support by Dell is very good.
Consultant at Key Information Technology L.L.C.
If I were to rate customer service from zero to ten points, I would give it ten out of ten.
Senior System Engineer at Tenece Professional services
Challenges exist in certain Linux-based cases.
Consultant at Key Information Technology L.L.C.
On the one or two occasions where we needed to engage with Dell support, they've been most helpful.
Senior Systems Engineer at NTT DATA
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.6
Dell Avamar offers scalability for medium to large enterprises but requires costly node additions and has infrastructure limitations.
Sentiment score
6.3
Dell PowerProtect DP is highly rated for its scalability and flexibility, efficiently accommodating large data needs with minimal downtime.
Dell Avamar offers very good scalability.
Project Engineer at Concept Information Technologies India Pvt. Ltd.
Scalability is great here, and it achieves this without downtime.
Senior System Engineer at Tenece Professional services
Because it is all based on the controller, which has a limited number of expansions.
Senior System Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
I think it is just a case of putting another node in and slotting it in, adding it to the storage, which is exactly what you would expect from enterprise equipment.
Infrastructure Engineer at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.2
Dell Avamar is stable and reliable, praised for smooth operation and low failure rates in various infrastructures.
Sentiment score
8.3
Dell PowerProtect DP is a mature, stable system highly rated for reliability and performance, with smooth upgrades and minimal issues.
Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) is a stable solution because it's a mature product.
Senior Systems Engineer at NTT DATA
None of the customers has experienced any downtime.
Senior System Engineer at Tenece Professional services
Regarding stability, I have not really seen any lagging, crashing, or downtime on Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) itself.
Infrastructure Engineer at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
 

Room For Improvement

Dell Avamar needs UI, backup speed, cloud integration, and scalability improvements, with concerns over pricing and technical support.
Dell PowerProtect DP struggles with cost, complexity, integration, and features, impacting competitiveness, especially with NVMe storage concerns.
They could add more features for cyber resilience and multi-cloud options in the next release to make it even better.
Consultant at Key Information Technology L.L.C.
There are instances where backups fail on certain applications, which is an area that could be improved.
Managing Director at Atlantic factorial
While Dell Avamar is a good product, the pricing is very high.
Project Engineer at Concept Information Technologies India Pvt. Ltd.
I believe if they could offer options for higher capacity with QLC drives, it would greatly benefit customer pricing and performance needs.
Senior Solution Consultant at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) requires more updates and innovations in AI-powered cyber resilience.
Consultant at Key Information Technology L.L.C.
You cannot integrate with any other third-party solution or your Data Domain since it is very tightly coupled and has limited licenses with respect to capacity that are integrated directly with Avamar.
DGM at Airtel Digital
 

Setup Cost

Dell Avamar offers varying pricing experiences, with praised setup ease, but cost-effectiveness compared to competitors like Veeam is debated.
Dell PowerProtect DP offers costly but valuable features, discounts, flexible licensing, and CapEx savings via data reduction and deployment.
I don't currently have detailed knowledge about the pricing, however, it is geared towards enterprise businesses and might be on the higher side.
Managing Director at Atlantic factorial
In fact, as I know, even give details inside Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) and how much it costs every single component in it, I am going to say it is somehow a bit expensive, why? Let me tell you.
Senior System Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
In terms of quantifiable CapEx reduction, I can estimate a decrease of about 20% to 30% thanks to the efficient deployment and DRE options available in Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA).
Senior Solution Consultant at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Pricing is competitive with other software vendors.
Consultant at Key Information Technology L.L.C.
 

Valuable Features

Dell Avamar provides efficient deduplication, scalable backup, and recovery with strong integration and platform support for robust data protection.
Dell PowerProtect DP offers ease of use, centralized management, scalable architecture, encryption, and AI-driven insights for comprehensive data protection.
The most valuable feature is the instant recovery capability.
Project Engineer at Concept Information Technologies India Pvt. Ltd.
The software delivers flexible and efficient backup and recovery options through its cyber resiliency features.
Consultant at Key Information Technology L.L.C.
The most valuable feature for me is the backup functionality.
Managing Director at Atlantic factorial
AI integration enhances backup operations by analyzing data and ensuring malware protection.
Consultant at Key Information Technology L.L.C.
Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) has a scalable architecture, offering flexibility, so you can always scale the capacity to meet any increased demands.
Senior Systems Engineer at NTT DATA
The concept of pre-integrated solutions was very nice, allowing a customer to have a single dashboard to manage everything, which includes backups for desktops, laptops, enterprise applications, virtual and physical servers, along with comprehensive cloud-based backup capabilities.
Pre Sales Manager at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Dell Avamar
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
22nd
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
90
Ranking in other categories
Deduplication Software (7th)
Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA)
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
19th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
23
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of Dell Avamar is 1.9%, down from 3.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) is 0.7%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA)0.7%
Dell Avamar1.9%
Other97.4%
Backup and Recovery
 

Featured Reviews

SamuelThomas - PeerSpot reviewer
Consultant at Key Information Technology L.L.C.
Have supported critical environments despite room for improvement in legacy backup options
It is very efficient in cyber resilience. Deduplication, automation, and everything is very efficient. It is multi-cloud enabled and has broad protections. The software delivers flexible and efficient backup and recovery options through its cyber resiliency features. Dell PowerProtect Manager provides insights in managing backup processes. Its encryption mechanisms are very efficient, helping to secure sensitive data. Its integration with Dell EMC Data Domain is very good. It is easy to integrate with Data Domain. Multi-cloud options are enabled, and backup in cloud options exist in Dell Avamar.
NimitPuvar - PeerSpot reviewer
A VP Enterprise Sales at Ashtech Infotech (India) Pvt.Ltd.
Centralized backup has improved data protection and simplifies secure, compliant restores
The biggest advantage of the product is that it is basically a single appliance which comes with a bundle of backup software and the appliance, as we have a single console to manage it. It also provides other features such as data encryption at rest, along with data deduplication and compression in backup which is very useful. From the centralized dashboard, we can manage the backup job and determine if the backup job is happening appropriately or not. If any backup job fails, we can find out the root cause for the failures. Because it is a hardware-based appliance, we can restore the data immediately, and it provides genuine restore capabilities. In terms of data availability compliance, we are looking for data availability and data security in terms of encryption, data deduplication and compression. It provides data availability as each appliance comes with RAID. If one or two disks fail, then our data appliance is still available for backup. It also provides encryption, so our data is also ransomware protected.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
12%
Construction Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Construction Company
11%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business27
Midsize Enterprise18
Large Enterprise47
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise9
 

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 needs improvement with Dell Avamar?
It is a very good product. My only concern is that there is no tape backup. For tape backup, we have to use Dell NetWorker. They could add more features for cyber resilience and multi-cloud options...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA)?
It is competitive; it is not expensive, but it is competitive with the other similarly available solutions.
What needs improvement with Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA)?
Each and every Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) appliance comes with a fixed size, which means if our data has grown, we have to upgrade to another appliance. Some appliances provide in-place data upgra...
What is your primary use case for Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA)?
Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) is used centrally for backup purposes, as we use it for backup purposes only with our critical applications.
 

Also Known As

Avamar
Dell EMC IDPA, Dell IDPA, EMC IDPA
 

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
Under Armour, Christian Brothers University, Presidio
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell Avamar vs. Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
908,858 professionals have used our research since 2012.