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Dell PowerProtect Data Domain vs Dell PowerProtect Data Manager comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 5, 2025

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
5.9
Dell PowerProtect Data Domain enhances storage efficiency and cost savings with compression, deduplication, but may be costly for small businesses.
Sentiment score
4.7
Dell PowerProtect Data Manager offers cost-effective performance but doesn't outperform Cohesity or Veeam in financial returns for all users.
One is less floor space in the data center and the ability to pack more data into the backup storage on Dell PowerProtect Data Domain as compared to the traditional backup storage.
Vice President - Information Technology Systems Engineering at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
The best part is the compression and deduplication feature.
Lead Architect at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
We have not fully expanded the air gap yet, and we are still in the testing stages concerning recovery in case of a cybersecurity threat.
Sr Systems Engineer at a outsourcing company with 10,001+ employees
I would recommend Dell PowerProtect Data Manager to other organizations because it is cost-effective and delivers good performance compared to alternative solutions.
Backup Administrator at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
I do find that with Dell PowerProtect Data Manager, the ROI is good when compared to other Dell products, but when compared to others in the current market, such as Cohesity or Veeam, it is not as good.
Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.1
Dell PowerProtect Data Domain service is highly rated, with efficient support despite regional inconsistencies and occasional escalation challenges.
Sentiment score
5.9
Dell PowerProtect Data Manager support is generally good but uneven, with room for improvement in responsiveness and local accessibility.
We feel that we are working with people who understand the technology and the historical patterns of this environment, and when we raise a support request, we have no doubt because it seems that we are working with a product engineer.
System Administrator at a financial services firm with 201-500 employees
They respond within 24 hours of case submission, which is crucial for maintaining the solution.
Sr System Expert at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees
I have dedicated support from Dell for Vietnam, and they are responsive.
Information Technology Technician at Lac Viet Computing
Dell provides reliable support for PowerProtect Data Manager, with 24/7 availability and a qualified support team.
Senior System Engineer at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
Delays in feedback and scheduling can affect interactions, but generally, support provides good solutions once engaged.
System Engineer at Konvergenz
Organizations considering Dell PowerProtect Data Manager should be aware that customer support responsiveness could be improved.
Backup Administrator at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.6
Dell PowerProtect Data Domain offers scalable, seamless expansion with future-proof planning and compatibility across diverse enterprise environments.
Sentiment score
6.5
Dell PowerProtect Data Manager is scalable with licensing flexibility but faces cloud scalability and disaster recovery limitations.
The scalability depends on the IT department's strategy.
Sr System Expert at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees
Dell PowerProtect Data Domain is very scalable; it expands easily with new enclosures.
Storage Engineer at Comtrade Group
Dell PowerProtect Data Domain can scale up horizontally to meet the growing needs of our organization.
lead at Boston Scientific
Its capability to back up existing environments can be improved, particularly when it comes to disaster recovery in the cloud.
Senior System Engineer at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
Dell PowerProtect Data Manager performs well from a scalability perspective and is functioning properly with our current implementation.
Backup Administrator at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.2
Dell PowerProtect Data Domain is highly stable and reliable, with minimal issues and consistently positive user satisfaction and performance.
Sentiment score
8.3
Dell PowerProtect Data Manager is stable and efficient, though some experience connection issues and minor bugs during upgrades.
We have never encountered issues such as data corruption with these systems.
Storage Engineer at Comtrade Group
I have not experienced any downtime, crashes, or performance issues with it.
IT Infrastructure and Telecom TL at a construction company with 51-200 employees
I have been using it for up to three years with no upgrading or downtime.
Data Protection Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
It is extremely reliable and I have never experienced a crash.
Senior System Engineer at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
Making sure the system is properly understood before deployment and handling upgrades efficiently would improve stability.
System Engineer at Konvergenz
I would assess the stability and reliability of Dell PowerProtect Data Manager as quite stable; there are no issues with the workloads I am using.
Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Room For Improvement

Users seek improved features, better integration, and cost transparency for Dell PowerProtect Data Domain, highlighting security and support issues.
Dell PowerProtect Data Manager needs integration, compatibility enhancements, improved UI, better support, and advanced features for modern infrastructures.
Local support must be available in the country.
Head Of Systems Group at NCCPL
We can leverage writing NAS level backup into Dell PowerProtect Data Domain rather than utilizing any other software tools such as Networker.
Vice President - Information Technology Systems Engineering at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Dell PowerProtect Data Domain represents the fastest and most reliable solution, ensuring great integration with backup software.
Storage Engineer at Comtrade Group
I would like to see improvements that include bare metal restore capabilities and enhanced data restore features in Dell PowerProtect Data Manager.
Backup Administrator at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
Enhancements for microservices and container backups would be beneficial, enabling a more consolidated management platform for modern architectures.
Senior System Engineer at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
The main issue that needs improvement is the support system.
System Engineer at Konvergenz
 

Setup Cost

Dell PowerProtect Data Domain offers high performance for enterprises but may be costly for smaller businesses, with regional pricing variations.
Dell PowerProtect Data Manager offers competitive, flexible pricing options, seen as cost-effective despite some viewing it as slightly expensive.
It is almost four times the earlier price.
Head of Sales and Operations at New Horizon Computers
For small clients, it is very expensive.
Specialist Senior N2 at Entelgy
The pricing has become higher since July, and the license costs are more expensive compared to the past.
Technical manager at Advanced Computer Technology (ACT)
Dell PowerProtect Data Manager is cost-effective, as it is licensed per socket rather than by workload.
Senior System Engineer at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
Overall, pricing does not significantly impact our decision.
Business Development Manager at a media company with 1,001-5,000 employees
compared to some other products, it is a bit more costly.
Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Valuable Features

Dell PowerProtect Data Domain excels in deduplication, scalability, and compression, ensuring cost-effective, fast, and secure data management.
Dell PowerProtect Data Manager offers flexible, user-friendly, and secure data protection for container and virtual environments with strong integration capabilities.
The most valuable feature of Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is its deduplication capability.
Technical manager at Advanced Computer Technology (ACT)
Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is highly consistent, durable, easy to install, scalable, and compatible with any software today.
Head of Sales and Operations at New Horizon Computers
The most beneficial features in the product are compatibility, which is the most valuable function.
Head Of Systems Group at NCCPL
It provides a seamless backup solution integrated with a dashboard full of capabilities, enhancing recovery point objectives and recovery time objectives.
Senior System Engineer at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
It satisfies my customers' scalability needs and provides interactive features, allowing efficient integration.
System Engineer at Konvergenz
Compared to other products such as Veritas, Dell offers more competitive pricing while other vendors charge significantly more.
Backup Administrator at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Dell PowerProtect Data Domain
Ranking in Deduplication Software
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
87
Ranking in other categories
Disk Based Backup Systems (1st)
Dell PowerProtect Data Manager
Ranking in Deduplication Software
6th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
Backup and Recovery (11th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Deduplication Software category, the mindshare of Dell PowerProtect Data Domain is 25.4%, down from 29.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell PowerProtect Data Manager is 12.7%, down from 14.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Deduplication Software Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Dell PowerProtect Data Domain25.4%
Dell PowerProtect Data Manager12.7%
Other61.900000000000006%
Deduplication Software
 

Featured Reviews

Branko Cirovic - PeerSpot reviewer
Storage Engineer at Comtrade Group
Provides seamless backup integration and long-term reliability for enterprise data protection
The price is quite high; this product is not considered cheap. Additionally, if you use higher availability boxes, they also come at a premium price. However, they provide business continuity, which is the main reason why companies invest in this solution. Tape is slow; when restoring several virtual machines or databases amounting to several terabytes, Dell PowerProtect Data Domain represents the fastest and most reliable solution, ensuring great integration with backup software. If a customer has limited budget constraints, they may opt for cheaper external storage comprised of just a bunch of disks and utilize it for backup, as backup is not a business-critical service. However, I see great value in Dell PowerProtect Data Domain because it is fully automated, features great integration with backup software, and provides good value for money. I would rate software support as a ten, while I would give hardware support a seven. I never give any product a perfect score; I think Dell PowerProtect Data Domain deserves a nine. The only minor problems are the certificate issue and the price. These certificate issues are quite rare and mainly arise when we forget to restart and upgrade the box for several years.
AM
Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Streamlined VM protection has improved recovery speed and strengthened data security
The specific features and functionalities I find most beneficial in Dell PowerProtect Data Manager include good integration with other Dell products, such as Dell Data Domain, which makes it a very good use case for environments that already have Dell Data Domain or any other Dell products. My impression of Dell PowerProtect Data Manager's dashboard interface is that it is good, easy to use, and quite interactive, so there are no major issues there. The deduplication feature of Dell PowerProtect Data Manager has allowed me to reduce or save some 15% of storage compared to what I was using earlier.
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Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Deduplication Software solutions are best for your needs.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business35
Midsize Enterprise23
Large Enterprise38
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise8
 

Questions from the Community

What is your primary use case for Dell EMC PowerProtect DD (Data Domain)?
My use cases for it involve primarily backing up the on-premises servers, and besides that, we also provision CIFS shares and NFS exports on Dell PowerProtect Data Domain.
What do you like most about Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain)?
The product, a disk backup solution, improves our data application tasks. We used tape libraries with Dev drives in legacy architectures, resulting in slow backups compared to modern drives like NV...
What do you like most about Dell PowerProtect Data Manager?
One notable feature is its robust backup support for Kubernetes and container environments. Additionally, PPDM stands out for its ease of deployment and management compared to other backup solution...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell PowerProtect Data Manager?
I think the license for Dell PowerProtect Data Manager is the same as other backup software.
What needs improvement with Dell PowerProtect Data Manager?
Regarding data recovery improvements in Dell PowerProtect Data Manager, there are challenges with data sets larger than one terabyte that are not related to VM. While VM recovery functions adequate...
 

Also Known As

DataDomain, Dell EMC Data Domain, PowerProtect Data Domain
PowerProtect, Dell EMC PowerProtect
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

The US Army, City of Houston, Lloyds TSB, TiVo, Teck, Ingram Entertainment, The New York Mets
National Bank of Greece, USC Australia, PCS Publishing, Dell Digital IT, Rushmore Electric, Melanson Health, Arrow Electronics
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell PowerProtect Data Domain vs. Dell PowerProtect Data Manager and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.