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Dell NetWorker vs OpenText Data Protector comparison

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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 NetWorker
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
15th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
86
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
OpenText Data Protector
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
52nd
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.8
Number of Reviews
102
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of Dell NetWorker is 1.2%, down from 2.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OpenText Data Protector is 1.0%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Dell NetWorker1.2%
OpenText Data Protector1.0%
Other97.8%
Backup and Recovery
 

Featured Reviews

RaedHassan - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Specialist Backup/Storage at National Bank of Kuwait
Has supported flexible multi-platform backups and improved over time
Regarding the effectiveness of Dell NetWorker in terms of role-based access controls, I have experience with it, but I find it somewhat lacking in flexibility as it offers limited features, and I would rate it around seven out of ten. It is not that there is something wrong with the role-based access controls in Dell NetWorker, but it lacks many permissions or roles to assign, providing options only for administrator or user. To improve Dell NetWorker for the next release, I recommend enhancing flexibility in the policy, allowing selection of multiple options within the same policy, and addressing issues like the DNS lookup dependency to make it more controllable from Dell NetWorker itself rather than relying on other applications. Looking forward, I would like to see improved policy features and a more enhanced GUI, as it is still slow.
Ahmad-Hassan - PeerSpot reviewer
Project Manager And Technical Consultant at EEMC
Provides effective backup for physical servers and needs improvements for cloud compatibility
We use OpenText Data Protector for Oracle database backup and some applications that run for database security OpenText Data Protector is good for physical backup, specifically for physical servers. It is effective for direct backups to EMC library or storage without using a repository. However,…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"In summary, this is a good product and I recommend it."
"The backup capabilities and the automatization of the backup - along with the potential to make the back up on a virtual machine - are the solution's most valuable aspects."
"Simple, stable and straightforward."
"When you reach out to your maximum license availability, or you exceed your license limit, NetWorker never stops doing your backups."
"I like that it's stable and scalable."
"Although Dell EMC NetWorker is a little bit more complex to combine with other products, it is really a very strong product."
"The main advantages of the product are price and support."
"The interface is user-friendly and can be used by the end-users."
"Backup of SAP/Oracle -- they are more robust than the competition."
"We can quickly restore files that have been deleted or are missing from the system."
"The integration of the tool benefits our organization, and the support is unified from one company for all data, storage, and backup processes."
"It is very easy to use and the interaction with various systems is very handy."
"It is more user-friendly."
"The granularity of brick-level restore functionality is very valuable."
"I think that the most valuable feature for us of HP Data Protector is its ability to connect and integrate with all the other systems of our company."
"What we find most valuable in Micro Focus Data Protector is that it provides Japanese data protection, for example, it protects information such as the full Japanese name, address, etc."
 

Cons

"It is a good product with some problems backing up virtual machines (slow restore)."
"The end-user experience is not good."
"Sometimes just re-installing a client can be a nightmare."
"I believe that the reporting could be improved and the report templates should be easier to understand and more comprehensive."
"It is not easy to understand and deploy. It is complex in nature. Simplicity is not there. When we deploy it, the customer always needs some training from us. To make it user friendly, there should be one agent that can be used to back up every product. Dell EMC NetWorker uses so many user agents. In PowerProtect Data Manager, you can just install its VM, import that VM into vCenter, and you can start to do backups directly from vCenter. However, in Dell EMC NetWorker, you always need one server, and from that server, you need to initiate all backups. You must know the interface and the CLI. It is not user friendly. It would be a great feature if we can deploy Dell EMC NetWorker on a virtual machine, like Avamar. The additional features that are required in Dell EMC NetWorker are already available in PowerProtect Data Manager and Avamar. Therefore, there is no need to enhance Dell EMC NetWorker. It would be better if they can just rename it to PowerProtect Data Manager or Avamar."
"While upgrading to a new version, we encounter challenges related to specific algorithms or code regulations."
"The user interface is hard to use, it should be simplified. There are a lot of web-based management interfaces which they should consider."
"It is not easy to understand. It's not easy to deploy."
"The level of support is lacking. They need to step up the level of service they offer."
"It is scalable. It's not as scalable as HPE would like to think it is."
"I am not happy with the support structure within HPE when things go wrong."
"It's very expensive compared to Veeam and other similar solutions."
"It works with virtual machines, but it's way too complex right now."
"If you compare the solution with the same specific features and enhancements on another solution, Data Protector is expensive. This is especially true when compared to, for example, Veeam."
"It has a reputation for bugginess."
"The challenge is that we can't restore a single file from the VM in the data process when we do VM backups. But with Commvault, you can restore a single file even if you have a VM snapshot package. That's one drawback of this tool. When we do VM backups, it should help us browse the VMs to restore a single file instead of doing the complete VM restore."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We use a license without a time term. We just need to buy additional support when needed."
"It's approximate, but I believe we pay around $20-30,000 a month in licensing."
"Low cost is key."
"You have to buy the deduplication software separately from the license."
"Dell NetWorker has two types of licensing models."
"There is a licensing fee."
"Earlier, users had to make yearly payments towards the licensing costs of the product. The licenses were expensive but users used to get the best device to use."
"The price of the solution could be lower, it is expensive."
"Our licensing is on a capacity basis."
"The pricing is neither too expensive nor very cheap."
"It is fast, reliable, and its licensing policy is great."
"The product is cheaper than Commvault."
"We have many competitors who are pricing better, and we believe that our pricing is higher."
"The licensing cost is too high."
"Pricing for Micro Focus Data Protector is reasonable."
"The license for the solution is very expensive compared to the other products in the market."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Construction Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
18%
Outsourcing Company
14%
Construction Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business24
Midsize Enterprise33
Large Enterprise38
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business28
Midsize Enterprise22
Large Enterprise61
 

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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell NetWorker?
Regarding the pricing of Dell NetWorker, it depends on the deal or negotiation we have with the vendor, making it reasonable, although I cannot make a definitive decision without knowing the specif...
What needs improvement with Dell NetWorker?
Regarding the effectiveness of Dell NetWorker in terms of role-based access controls, I have experience with it, but I find it somewhat lacking in flexibility as it offers limited features, and I w...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Micro Focus Data Protector?
The solution is expensive as it requires purchasing all features without the option to negotiate based on client numbers, unlike Veeam which offers flexibility in pricing.
What needs improvement with Micro Focus Data Protector?
OpenText Data Protector is not user-friendly, especially for cloud backup. It lacks functions and facilities compared to Veeam, which offers more user-friendliness for virtual machine backups. Ther...
What is your primary use case for Micro Focus Data Protector?
We use OpenText Data Protector ( /products/opentext-data-protector-reviews ) for Oracle database backup and some applications that run for database security.
 

Also Known As

NetWorker
Micro Focus Data Protector, Data Protector, OmniBack, HPE Data Protector
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Republic Bank, Westgate Resorts, Macquire Cloud Services, Shriners, Panatonni, Qatar Islamic Bank, Eurosport
GSK Vaccines, Repsol, Vodafone Group, Siemens AG, Medium Enterprise Transportation Services Company
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell NetWorker vs. OpenText Data Protector and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
913,924 professionals have used our research since 2012.