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Dell NetWorker vs Zerto 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
8.5
Dell NetWorker provides significant ROI by enhancing data protection, reducing downtimes, and lowering operational costs with skilled deployment.
Sentiment score
7.3
Zerto provides efficient disaster recovery, saving time, resources, and costs while ensuring rapid recovery and reliable data protection.
The return on investment is evident, as Zerto saves more than 60 percent of time in various operations compared to the previous manual processes.
Most people like me hope we never have to use it. It is like insurance.
Having seen the product and how it works and its reliability, it seems it will pay for itself.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.0
Dell NetWorker support is mixed, with praise for service but concerns about slow responses and regional quality differences.
Sentiment score
7.8
Zerto's support team is praised for quick resolutions and professionalism, although initial responses can be slower at lower levels.
Technical support from Dell is excellent.
quick responses whenever we log a complaint
They are very responsive and helpful.
I have never had an issue that was not resolved, and I have never been in a situation where they did not respond.
I would give them a rating of ten because it represents the highest level of support based on the technical knowledge of the support team, response time, and effectiveness of the provided resolutions.
We receive support around the clock, which is excellent.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
Dell NetWorker is scalable for large environments but may face issues with VMware and has variable scalability ratings.
Sentiment score
7.6
Zerto efficiently scales across environments, supports many virtual machines, integrates well, and requires minimal effort for expansion.
While the solution is scalable, the cost involved in upgrading or enhancing the solution can be significant.
Dell NetWorker is very scalable and flexible, deserving a high rating for its scalability.
It is scalable enough for our environment.
I would rate it a ten out of ten for scalability.
Customers need to follow good engineering practices for optimal product use.
By adding more hosts and installing VRAs on each, tasks can be efficiently managed.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
Dell NetWorker's stability varies; praised for reliability, issues arise in older versions, version-specific problems affect some users.
Sentiment score
8.0
Zerto is highly praised for its rock-solid stability, ease of maintenance, and reliable performance during disaster recovery tests.
The stability of Dell NetWorker is excellent.
Dell NetWorker is stable.
I promptly delete the malfunctioning elements and set them up again to resume replication, ensuring stability.
I consulted with tech support, and we determined the solution was to move the main workload to a resource-available ESX box.
It is 100% stable.
 

Room For Improvement

Dell NetWorker requires improvements in speed, stability, usability, integration, reporting, scalability, virtualization support, and bug resolution for efficiency.
Zerto needs improved documentation, UI, backup, and pricing along with better support, integrations, security, and platform compatibility.
The interface on the Java application makes it difficult, whereas the web interface is simple to use.
It is complex, and compared to solutions like Tivoli, Veritas, Veeam, and others, its look and feel are not up to par.
To connect to a server, it's necessary to install a client on the server, which is challenging.
If I have 350 objects that I am protecting, I would like Zerto to be able to fire them up in one order, rather than having to manually bring them up in a sequence.
To increase accessibility for small and medium businesses, Zerto should consider a competitive pricing strategy, possibly including subscription-based licensing options.
The main issue with Zerto is its user interface, which lacks flexibility and presents a steep learning curve.
 

Setup Cost

Dell NetWorker provides flexible licensing and competitive pricing, though licensing complexity and cost variations may pose challenges for some users.
Zerto's per-VM pricing is costly but justified by strong disaster recovery capabilities and flexible licensing options for businesses.
The licensing cost is somewhat expensive.
If you want a good-quality tool that is robust and does a good job for you, you have to pay a higher price to get that, and Zerto is no different.
However, it can become quite expensive when you start looking at the number of workloads you have in the environment and what you would like to do.
One of Zerto's main disadvantages is its pricing structure, which involves significant upfront costs and limited options for startups with minimal initial funding.
 

Valuable Features

Dell NetWorker ensures efficient data management with extensive features, supporting diverse systems, virtual environments, and strong data security.
Zerto provides reliable disaster recovery with ease of use, real-time replication, automation, and strong cross-platform capabilities.
I find NetWorker valuable for its wide range of automation features, including replication and data processing systems.
Dell NetWorker is versatile, allowing server backups and IBM tape library backups.
The new deduplication feature helps significantly with data compression and saves disk space by using pointers for repeated data, improving backup speed.
Zerto offers excellent technical support with responsive and helpful experts.
If we were attacked, I could revert to a backup from five seconds before the attack, and no one would know we were attacked.
The replication time and the minor amount of time it takes to sync a new server outside of any of my huge 40-terabyte boxes is ridiculously quick.
 

Categories and Ranking

Dell NetWorker
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
12th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
84
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Zerto
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
2nd
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
299
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Migration (3rd), Cloud Backup (2nd), Disaster Recovery (DR) Software (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of Dell NetWorker is 3.1%, up from 3.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zerto is 3.0%, down from 3.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery
 

Featured Reviews

ErmiasGirma - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers seamless integration and cost-saving benefits with enhanced recovery capabilities
Currently, in my organization, I am using Dell NetWorker for open-source solutions like PostgreSQL and MySQL databases, and some large VM environments. It also supports the Dell library and is used for the library archiving system Dell NetWorker allows for extensive customization, supporting…
Sachin Vinay - PeerSpot reviewer
Leverage disaster recovery with reliable support and cost-effective future-proof features
Zerto is straightforward to implement because it only requires the installation of an agent on the VMs designated for migration. A service, typically a VM, must also be deployed at the disaster recovery location. This entire process is simple and can be completed within three days. Zerto's near-synchronous replication occurs every minute, allowing for highly granular recovery points. This means that even if interruptions or malware disruptions occur within that minute, Zerto can restore to the last known good state, effectively recovering the entire setup to the latest backup. This capability ensures high data security and minimizes potential data loss. One of the main benefits of implementing Zerto is its data compression, which significantly reduces the load on our IPsec VPN. Zerto compresses data by 80 percent before transmitting it across the VPN, minimizing the data transferred between geographically dispersed locations. This compression and subsequent decompression at the destination alleviate the strain on the VPN, preventing overload and ensuring efficient data synchronization. Zerto simplifies malware protection by integrating it into its disaster recovery and synchronization features. This comprehensive approach eliminates the need for separate antivirus setups in virtual machines and applications. It streamlines our security measures and removes the need for additional software or solutions, resulting in an excellent return on investment. Zerto's single-click recovery solution offers exceptional recovery speed. Through the user interface, a single click allows for a complete restoration from the most recent backup within two to three minutes, enabling rapid recovery and minimal downtime. Zerto's Recovery Time Objective is excellent. In the past, if a virtual machine crashed, we would recover it from a snapshot, which could take one to two hours. With Zerto, the recovery process takes only five minutes, and users are typically unaware of any disruption. This allows us to restore everything quickly and efficiently. Zerto has significantly reduced our downtime. When malware affects our data, Zerto immediately notifies us and helps us protect other applications, even those not yet implemented with Zerto. By monitoring these applications, we can quickly identify and address any potential malware spread, minimizing downtime across our systems. Zerto significantly reduces downtime and associated costs during disruptions. Our services are unified, so in the event of a disruption without Zerto, even a half-day disruption would necessitate offline procedures. This would lead to increased manpower, service delays, and substantial financial losses due to interrupted admissions and other critical processes. By unifying service processes, Zerto minimizes the impact of outages. Zerto streamlines our disaster recovery testing across multiple locations by enabling efficient failover testing without disrupting live services. Traditionally, DR testing required downtime of critical systems, but Zerto's replication and failover capabilities allow us to test in parallel with live operations. This non-disruptive approach ensures continuous service availability while validating our DR plan, even in scenarios like malware attacks, by creating a separate testing environment that mirrors the live setup. This comprehensive testing provides confidence in our ability to handle real-world incidents effectively. This saves us over 60 percent of the time. Zerto streamlines system administration tasks by automating many processes, thereby reducing the workload for multiple administrators. This allows them to focus on other university services that require attention and effectively reallocate support resources from automated tasks to those requiring more dedicated management. Zerto is used exclusively for our critical services, providing up to a 70 percent improvement in our IT resilience.
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Comparison Review

it_user159711 - PeerSpot reviewer
Nov 9, 2014
VMware SRM vs. Veeam vs. Zerto
Disaster recovery planning is something that seems challenging for all businesses. Virtualization in addition to its operational flexibility, and cost reduction benefits, has helped companies improve their DR posture. Virtualization has made it easier to move machines from production to…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
16%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
22%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Healthcare 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 NetWorker?
The feature that offers the greatest benefits in ensuring data integrity is its backup capability.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell NetWorker?
NetWorker has a high price compared to other solutions. Pricing is a major concern.
What advice do you have for others considering Oracle Data Guard?
Ik fluister:VM Host Oracle en DataGuard hebben we per toeval vervangen door Zerto :-) tijdens de Zerto implementatie en VPG werden de Host Data in write-ack Block-Level gerepliceerd. Qua licentie 1...
What do you like most about Zerto?
Its ability to roll back if the VM or the server that you are recovering does not come up right is also valuable. You have the ability to roll back a few seconds or a few minutes. The rollback feat...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zerto?
Zerto is definitely more costly compared to its competitors, such as VMware Site Recovery Manager. It may not be suitable for small and medium-sized industries.
 

Also Known As

NetWorker
Zerto Virtual Replication
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Republic Bank, Westgate Resorts, Macquire Cloud Services, Shriners, Panatonni, Qatar Islamic Bank, Eurosport
United Airlines, HCA, XPO Logistics, TaxSlayer, McKesson, Insight Global, American Airlines, Tencate, Aaron’s, Grey’s County, Kingston Technologies
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell NetWorker vs. Zerto and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
845,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.