Dell PowerProtect Data Domain vs ExaGrid EX comparison

Dell Technologies and ExaGrid are both solutions in the Disk Based Backup Systems category. Dell Technologies is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.8, while ExaGrid is ranked #4 with an average rating of 7.0. Dell Technologies holds a 38.8% mindshare in DBBS, compared to ExaGrid’s 11.1% mindshare. Additionally, 90% of Dell Technologies users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of ExaGrid users who would recommend it.

Dell PowerProtect Data Domain

Read 87 Dell PowerProtect Data Domain reviews

10,864 Views
3,368 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

ExaGrid EX

Read 4 ExaGrid EX reviews

1,014 Views
852 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Dell PowerProtect Data Domain

ExaGrid EX

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 8, 2026

Dell PowerProtect Data Domain and ExaGrid EX are competing products in the domain of data backup and storage solutions. ExaGrid EX may have the upper hand due to its advanced features like adaptive deduplication and a landing zone data cache, offering scalability and improved performance.

Features: Dell PowerProtect Data Domain provides advanced deduplication, integration within Dell environments, and data protection capabilities, making it a robust option for comprehensive backup. ExaGrid EX features a unique disk-cache landing zone, scale-out architecture, and Veeam integration, enhancing backup speed and reliability.

Room for Improvement: Dell PowerProtect Data Domain could improve on its initial setup complexity and reduce hardware dependence. Enhancing scalability and offering more customizable configurations would be beneficial. ExaGrid EX might benefit from an expanded feature set, improved user interface, and smoother integration with non-Veeam environments.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Dell PowerProtect Data Domain offers a straightforward deployment process and extensive support resources that help with smooth implementation. ExaGrid EX's setup involves more complexity due to its landing zone technology but delivers superior performance benefits. Dell provides more dedicated support options, while ExaGrid emphasizes fast backup advantages.

Pricing and ROI: Dell PowerProtect Data Domain is competitively priced with a balanced performance-to-cost ratio, ensuring solid ROI. ExaGrid EX, potentially higher in initial setup costs, offers long-term benefits due to its adaptive deduplication and storage efficiency. While Dell's pricing is favorable, ExaGrid's technological advantages may justify the extra investment.

To learn more, read our detailed Dell PowerProtect Data Domain vs. ExaGrid EX Report (Updated: February 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Dell PowerProtect Data Domain vs. ExaGrid EX

February 2026

Download the complete report

Helped 881,733 peers since 2012

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 PowerProtect Data Domain

Ranking in Disk Based Backup Systems

1st

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Deduplication Software (1st)

ExaGrid EX

Ranking in Disk Based Backup Systems

4th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

5.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Disk Based Backup Systems category, the mindshare of Dell PowerProtect Data Domain is 38.8%, down from 41.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ExaGrid EX is 11.1%, up from 10.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Disk Based Backup Systems Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Dell PowerProtect Data Domain	38.8%
ExaGrid EX	11.1%
Other	50.1%

Disk Based Backup Systems

Featured Reviews

Branko Cirovic

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.

Read full review

AhmedEl-Tayeb

Product Manager at MCS

Has offered a cost-effective option with solid results but requires automation features for better efficiency

For ExaGrid EX, I would appreciate additional features such as backup and restore, automation processes, and automation software for backup and restore processes. I mention that some additional features may be provided by VMware or Dell as support for the hardware they are selling, but ExaGrid EX is more of a budget-friendly solution for customers who are in charge on a daily basis of the solution itself, dealing with manual tasks rather than automated tasks. I am not in a situation to provide an exact answer for what I would specifically improve in this regard.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"My advice about Dell PowerProtect Data Domain is straightforward: I recommend this product to all clients, because it provides the best deduplication, compression, and security."

"The hardware can operate in high temperatures, in case of any disaster."

"PowerProtect is a flexible solution that you can cover various cloud and on-premise environments."

"It is a stable solution."

"It securely protects data against threats like Trojans."

"The technology has been very useful. There are lots of features on offer."

"The solution can scale up to one petabyte right now. It's very good for enterprise-level organizations."

"Most cases are related to databases, such as Oracle and MySQL."

More Dell PowerProtect Data Domain pros

"I find ExaGrid EX to be a useful solution for customers looking for a budget-friendly product."

"The most valuable features of ExaGrid EX are the Veeam features and Landing Zone."

"Both the pricing and the performance are excellent."

"I find ExaGrid EX to be a useful solution for customers looking for a budget-friendly product."

Cons

"The solution's cost, scalability, and licensing model could be improved."

"We have some problems with backing up on the Power Platform. PowerServer is an IBM product, and it forces us to back up over LAN, which is not suitable for us."

"We encountered data loss during the configuration process."

"We have had deduplication and replication issues. When we used another backup software we noticed that it didn't have the same issues."

"Dell PowerProtect DD does not have integration with the cloud and virtualization software."

"The Dell PowerProtect DD architecture offers several significant features. One is DD Boost, which is utilized at both the source and destination sites for application processing."

"Its management can be improved."

"Data Domain lacks compatibility with fiber channels and tapes. We can't use it with a tape library. That's an issue in Latin America sometimes because a lot of clients still use tapes for budget reasons. Maybe they have a lot of archives. In North America and Europe, they do a lot of archiving, but they use the cloud more than we do. Sometimes we have to put together a Frankenstein where we connect another server to the tape library and send all the data there."

More Dell PowerProtect Data Domain cons

"I would like to see free disk space."

"ExaGrid EX is more of a budget-friendly solution for customers who are in charge on a daily basis of the solution itself, dealing with manual tasks rather than automated tasks."

"The solution’s web access should be improved."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Pricing is related to size. A lower range solution might be about $33,000. My customers use higher range versions with a price of around $100,000. That's the price for both the hardware and software."

"Becoming more expensive."

"The price of the backup appliance is slightly expensive. Compared to other vendors, the pricing will be slightly higher."

"We usually buy products at the end year, and the license is included."

"Its price is reasonable."

"On a scale where one represents high price, and ten represents low price, I rate the solution a five, which means that the solution is of medium pricing."

"The price may be a bit higher than other products in the market, but you will receive ten out of ten support with next-business-day delivery on parts' availability."

"Users have to pay a capacity-based licensing fee for the solution."

More Dell PowerProtect Data Domain pricing and cost advice

"I rate ExaGrid EX ten out of ten for pricing."

"The renewal fee is approximately $3,500 to $3.750 for a 60 terabyte device."

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Disk Based Backup Systems solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

881,733 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	35
Midsize Enterprise	23
Large Enterprise	38

No data available

Questions from the Community

What is your primary use case for Dell EMC PowerProtect DD (Data Domain)?

I work as an implementer of Dell PowerProtect Data Domain systems, storage, and backup systems, serving as an administrator and support specialist. I have 15 years of experience implementing Data D...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain)?

Regarding the pricing for Dell PowerProtect Data Domain, it is expensive. For small clients, it is very expensive. Large clients find it not expensive, but it depends on the solution in the environ...

See all answers

What needs improvement with ExaGrid EX?

See all answers

What is your primary use case for ExaGrid EX?

My role in relation to ExaGrid EX is partner and reseller.

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering ExaGrid EX?

I would prefer another way to provide support; sending all the questions in an Excel sheet or a Word file would allow me to answer them in a couple of hours and send them back. I have no problem re...

See all answers

Comparisons

HPE StoreOnce vs Dell PowerProtect Data Domain

Compared 29% of the time

Rubrik vs Dell PowerProtect Data Domain

Compared 8% of the time

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager vs Dell PowerProtect Data Domain

Compared 5% of the time

Veeam Data Platform vs Dell PowerProtect Data Domain

Compared 5% of the time

IBM Storage Protect vs Dell PowerProtect Data Domain

Compared 4% of the time

More Dell PowerProtect Data Domain Competitors

HPE StoreOnce vs ExaGrid EX

Compared 45% of the time

Dell PowerVault vs ExaGrid EX

Compared 9% of the time

Quantum DXi Series vs ExaGrid EX

Compared 8% of the time

Oracle Zero Data Loss Recovery Appliance vs ExaGrid EX

Compared 7% of the time

More ExaGrid EX Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Dell PowerProtect Data Domain

February 2026

Download Dell PowerProtect Data Domain product report

Buyer's Guide

Disk Based Backup Systems

January 2026

Download ExaGrid EX product report

Also Known As

DataDomain, Dell EMC Data Domain, PowerProtect Data Domain

No data available

Overview

Dell PowerProtect Data Domain is the leading backup appliance built for powerful cyber resilience and seamless integration into on-premises environments. It supports both traditional and modern workloads, simplifying operations while reducing risks and costs.

Dell PowerProtect Data Domain offers scalable storage capabilities that integrate smoothly with backup systems. Its deduplication and compression technologies enhance storage efficiency by significantly reducing data volumes. Users appreciate its secure data protection, excellent deduplication and compression, efficient data replication, and the DD Boost protocol for faster data transfer. However, feedback suggests improvements are needed in areas like complex VTL tape addition, high pricing, and challenging cloud integration. The implementation may benefit from boosted processing power and enhanced ransomware protection.

What are the key features of Dell PowerProtect Data Domain?

Deduplication and Compression: Significantly reduces data volumes, optimizing storage usage.
Efficient Data Replication: Enhances data protection by securely transferring data across locations.
DD Boost Protocol: Promotes faster data transfer, streamlining backup processes.
Scalable Storage: Adapts to varying data capacities, ensuring growth accommodation.
Secure Data Protection: Safeguards data with robust encryption and protection features.

What benefits should be expected from Dell PowerProtect Data Domain?

Space and Cost Savings: Achieves reductions in data footprint, lowering storage expenses.
Reliable Backup and Recovery: Provides consistent and fast data backup and restoration capabilities.
Seamless Integration: Operates smoothly with existing backup software and environments.
Data Security: Offers comprehensive data protection to ensure business continuity.

Dell PowerProtect Data Domain is widely employed across various sectors like banking, finance, and government for its backup, deduplication, and archiving functions. Organizations utilize it with software like Veeam and NetWorker to optimize bandwidth, manage large data capacities, and deliver secure, reliable backup features, supporting both on-premises and hybrid deployments.

Dell Technologies

ExaGrid's disk backup with deduplication system is purpose-built for backup that leverages an architecture optimized for scalability, performance, and price. The system scales as needed by adding ExaGrid appliances, which virtualize into a GRID architecture automatically, adding capacity and processing power while acting and being managed as one unified system.

ExaGrid disk-based backup appliances include GRID computing software, which virtualizes them into a single pool of long-term capacity. Capacity load balancing of all data across servers is automatic, and multiple GRID systems can be combined for a total logical backup capacity of 16PB.

ExaGrid

Sample Customers

The US Army, City of Houston, Lloyds TSB, TiVo, Teck, Ingram Entertainment, The New York Mets

7-Eleven, ABC, ACNB Bank, Admiration Foods, Aeroflex, AGH, Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, Alberta Motor Association, Allegro MicroSystems, American Standard, Ameris Bank, Arch Reinsurance Ltd., Arthritis Foundation

Buyer's Guide

Dell PowerProtect Data Domain vs. ExaGrid EX

February 2026

Free Report: Dell PowerProtect Data Domain vs. ExaGrid EX

Find out what your peers are saying about Dell PowerProtect Data Domain vs. ExaGrid EX and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.

DOWNLOAD NOW

881,733 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our Dell PowerProtect Data Domain vs. ExaGrid EX report.

See our list of best Disk Based Backup Systems vendors.

We monitor all Disk Based Backup Systems reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.