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Dell Avamar vs IBM ProtectTIER comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

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
13th
Ranking in Deduplication Software
6th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
90
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
IBM ProtectTIER
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
65th
Ranking in Deduplication Software
13th
Average Rating
7.2
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Deduplication Software category, the mindshare of Dell Avamar is 10.7%, up from 9.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM ProtectTIER is 2.5%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Deduplication Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Dell Avamar10.7%
IBM ProtectTIER2.5%
Other86.8%
Deduplication Software
 

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.
AG
Technical Lead at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Provides a short-term backup, archive, and cataloging for 20,000 people in our organization
The backup for a large amount of data is slow. When there's a large amount of data, sometimes the backup isn't completed in time. I have a 24 hour cycle, so it doesn't get completed in 24 hours with the large amount of data. With Veritas NetBackup, I can take 20 terabytes of backup in a day.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"This product is very easy to use; the interface is easier to use than other backup solutions, and the product is mature and can handle all of our data protection."
"I think the biggest advantage it offers is backup, for end-users as well as computers, not only servers and storage paths."
"We sell Avamar with Data Domain. Data Domain and Avamar work really well together and their compression ratios are very high compared to Veeam, Commvault, and all the other backup software on the market."
"I have found the product to be scalable."
"Effective in protecting the virtualization system and end points."
"If you're enterprise, you are definitely going to use Avamar because it can save a lot of space because of its duplication feature, which is great."
"The installation of the solution is easy."
"With Dell, everything has been done for you; out of the box, it's ready to go, and it's very, very fast."
"If you are looking for a reliable and scalable enterprise-class solution, you should consider this solution."
"The cataloging is the best feature, as it takes millions of frames for the backup and, because it's incremental, it takes less time to complete."
"Overall IBM ProtectTIER is a great solution. It is easy to use."
"The most valuable feature is the incremental backup."
"In terms of stability, I've found it to be very stable."
"In terms of stability, I've found it to be very stable. I've walked into the server room when it was at 60 degrees Celcius, and it was still running fine."
"The command-line interface is good."
"I will highly recommend this product for excellent and quick backup solution in small and large IBM I Series environment."
 

Cons

"The product does not scale. If a company needs something that can scale, they need something else."
"Like any other company, many of the support calls go to places on the other side of the world. It is sometimes difficult to understand them."
"I want to see a more user-friendly and administrator-friendly Dell Avamar. The solution also needs a better UI and dashboard."
"In my opinion, they should destroy all of their products and create them from scratch."
"The product could be improved by simplifying the components available."
"The technical support from Dell is very poor, especially in terms of response time."
"The configuration and expansion aspects of the solution need improvement. They're complicated and don't really integrate well."
"If there is a need to move the data from one backup solution to another, it might be difficult since there is no option for a straightforward migration."
"It is unmanageable. Support would be good."
"The configuration wizards are still complex and hard to navigate. These should be easier to manage."
"IBM ProtectTIER could improve by being more user-friendly."
"My advice to anybody who is considering this solution is to conduct a proof of concept first because everybody's needs are different, and this product is not suitable for every kind of backup."
"The backup for a large amount of data is slow. When there's a large amount of data, sometimes the backup isn't completed in time."
"These days, we are thinking about pushing another solution because of the poor support from IBM."
"Setting up the system to work with legacy equipment is a bit complex at times."
"I would like the possibility to back up the infrastructure and then replicate it upon on restart, without having to orchestrate the starting of the VM."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Dell Avamar is free when we deploy the data protection. When we order data protection, this software is included in the hardware."
"It was very expensive before, but after integrating it with Dell EMC Avamar Data Protection suite licensing, we are getting better discounts."
"On a scale of one to five, I would rate the pricing policy of Dell Avamar as five. The solution has a very good price, and a lot of improvements were done to it."
"I'm not sure, but perhaps the pricing could be done better at the moment."
"The solution is costly."
"It might not be beneficial to smaller businesses due to its high cost."
"The solution is expensive."
"Its licensing is weird. It is not just the licenses; we also purchase hardware. With most software products, such as Veeam, Commvault, and Data Protector, there is no hardware purchase at the same time. Because Avamar and Data Domain are tied together, they have an integrated pipe. You can separate them, but basically, they're designed to work as a couple. Because the Data Domain backend is designed to do dedupe and compression, we get 60:1. When you count it, you count it as a straight compression, but of course, that's with dedupe and some other stuff. You have to buy the hardware, the licensing, and the software at the same time. So, it's not just software."
"IBM ProtectTIER is an expensive solution."
"The customer can decide how they want to purchase a license. However, the price of the solution is expensive."
"This solution is very expensive."
"We have a capacity-based license, which is managed centrally for all the sites of my company."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Construction Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Construction Company
20%
Manufacturing Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Comms Service Provider
10%
 

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 Business3
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise3
 

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...
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

Also Known As

Avamar
No data available
 

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
Durham Police Department, Re-Store LLC, CenterGrid, pixx.io GmbH, Australian Government Department of Defence, QD, Refresco Gerber
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell Avamar vs. IBM ProtectTIER and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
900,747 professionals have used our research since 2012.