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Dell Avamar vs IBM ProtectTIER comparison

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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
22nd
Ranking in Deduplication Software
7th
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
62nd
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 September 2026, in the Deduplication Software category, the mindshare of Dell Avamar is 10.9%, up from 9.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM ProtectTIER is 2.6%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Deduplication Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Dell Avamar10.9%
IBM ProtectTIER2.6%
Other86.5%
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

"The most valuable feature for me in Dell Avamar is the automation, which is good for completion."
"The stability of Dell EMC Avamar is very good."
"I recommend EMC products due to their stability."
"Avamar has long been the best in its class, but that's changing as new solutions emerge. However, Dell has traditionally been a leader in deduplication and compression. Avamar enabled us to shift data from on-premise local appliances to data centers and multi-tenant infrastructure. That's a powerful feature. because customers can back up to the cloud without upgrading o high-capacity links or congesting their backups."
"The fast backup and recovery and the Full Backup features are valuable."
"Both backup and recovery work well for all three types of data."
"The stability, in general, has been great, with no bugs or glitches, no crashes or freezes, and it is reliable with good performance."
"The backup functionality with Data Domain is good, overall it works quite well, it's very easy to install the solution, the product is scalable, it's stable and offers good performance."
"I will highly recommend this product for excellent and quick backup solution in small and large IBM I Series environment."
"The most valuable features are the self-service features and the ability to search the data."
"The most valuable feature is the incremental backup."
"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."
"If you are looking for a reliable and scalable enterprise-class solution, you should consider this solution."
"In terms of stability, I've found it to be very stable."
"Overall IBM ProtectTIER is a great solution. It is easy to use."
"The solution is highly stable."
 

Cons

"The interface has room for improvement. It's not ideal right now."
"The solution, in the future, should offer support for mobile."
"If you want to set up integration with a cloud environment, for example, it's very difficult to do that. Avamar doesn't work very well in the cloud environment."
"The user interface needs to be improved. It's not as good as it could be."
"The solution is not very strong on the Cloud. They should work out how they can use this as a backup as a service."
"I want to see a more user-friendly and administrator-friendly Dell Avamar. The solution also needs a better UI and dashboard."
"Avamar is a good product with a lot of potential, but if Dell isn't willing to put more effort into developing it, my advice would be to look elsewhere."
"The stability could improve, a lot of scheduled backups failed at one time."
"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."
"It is unmanageable. Support would be good."
"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 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."
"These days, we are thinking about pushing another solution because of the poor support from IBM."
"The configuration wizards are still complex and hard to navigate. These should be easier to manage."
"Setting up the system to work with legacy equipment is a bit complex at times."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is costly."
"Dell Avamar is expensive."
"Avamar's pricing is quite competitive compared to other vendors."
"The price is the main thing I'd like to see them change. If they can come down in price, that would be a good thing. It's very cost competitive in the entry level range, because Veeam pricing is much cheaper than Avamar."
"It was very expensive before, but after integrating it with Dell EMC Avamar Data Protection suite licensing, we are getting better discounts."
"The cost is high."
"It's an expensive tool"
"Licensing fees are paid annually."
"The customer can decide how they want to purchase a license. However, the price of the solution is expensive."
"IBM ProtectTIER is an expensive solution."
"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
11%
Construction Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Construction Company
20%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
11%
 

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...
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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: September 2026.
913,806 professionals have used our research since 2012.