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Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) vs IBM ProtectTIER comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 5, 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 PowerProtect DD (Data ...
Ranking in Deduplication Software
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
76
Ranking in other categories
Disk Based Backup Systems (1st)
IBM ProtectTIER
Ranking in Deduplication Software
13th
Average Rating
7.2
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
Backup and Recovery (83rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Deduplication Software category, the mindshare of Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is 27.2%, down from 29.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM ProtectTIER is 1.2%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Deduplication Software Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain)27.2%
IBM ProtectTIER1.2%
Other71.6%
Deduplication Software
 

Featured Reviews

Faisal_Zia - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers efficient data management with robust features and reliable performance
Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) can be improved in terms of price. While Dell is providing a proper device, other solutions, such as Symantec, can replicate their data through any NAS storage. Although their deduplication and compression might not be as effective, they can still accomplish the task. Medium-level and SME-level businesses can easily utilize this feature, but Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is a relatively expensive solution to propose to customers.
ValereFEUGWANG - PeerSpot reviewer
Protects data in hybrid infrastructures, but it is an expensive product with poor support
The main challenge for our customers is to replicate the virtual environment upon restart, without using any additional solutions such as VMware SLM. 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. It would be much better for us. This solution can be made easier to use. Technical support is very frustrating and we are considering other solutions because of it. Stability is something that should be improved. The product is expensive and the licensing should be changed.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We have found the product to be scalable."
"Its pricing is not overly expensive."
"Data Domain is an excellent repository that's compatible with a lot of different solutions. Even Veeam Backup recommends sending backup to Data Domain. Space optimization is great. Currently, it guarantees 50-to-1 compression of the application in the same device. In all these years, I never had a client who was unsatisfied with Data Domain. It is a solid appliance with VMware integration, instant access to restore and search, and analytics."
"The technology has been very useful. There are lots of features on offer."
"It's very competitive in terms of the price and technology. Also, the development team continuously makes updates. The data reduction feature is very useful."
"The most valuable features of PowerProtect DD are the immutable storage and the AI scanning."
"Deduplication and compression are the best features of the solution, which are popular and very effective."
"The licensing model is the most valuable aspect of Dell PowerProtect DD"
"The command-line interface is good."
"In terms of stability, I've found it to be very stable. I've walked into the server room when it was at 60 degrees Celcius, and it was still running fine."
"The most valuable features are the Self-Service, and the ability to search the data."
"Overall IBM ProtectTIER is a great solution. It is easy to use."
"The cataloging is the best feature. It takes millions of frames for the backup. It's incremental, so it takes less time to complete."
"The solution is highly stable."
 

Cons

"The usage of this solution is a bit difficult to develop processes, and it takes a long time to market permits."
"We would like to see the price of this solution brought down to be comparable with similar products currently on the market."
"DD doesn't have Intel's air gap technology."
"The tool's DD Boost is expensive."
"I would like to see better integration and support for backing up to cloud providers such as Alibaba Cloud."
"The downside of PowerProtect's flexibility is that you have so many options. It can be a little confusing. It's like having a car with too many buttons on the dash. You can do so much with it, but it takes some time to learn what everything does."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"The backup for a large amount of data is slow."
"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."
"IBM ProtectTIER could improve by being more user-friendly."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This is one of the more expensive backup solutions on the market."
"There are many options in the pricing structure which can cause some confusion and necessitate the purchase of additional licensing."
"If we do not move to the cloud solution and stay with our on-premise version we will miss some new features."
"Its price is reasonable."
"The cheaper device costs around $70,000."
"The yearly subscription is very affordable for our customers, but the price could be a little cheaper overall."
"Pricing for this product could still be improved, though several years ago, its price was very high. When buying an IDPA product such as Dell EMC PowerProtect DD (Data Domain), you don't have to buy anything else, because you'll have an integrated solution: a data domain appliance plus software."
"The product is expensive."
"The customer can decide how they want to purchase a license. However, the price of the solution is expensive."
"We have a capacity-based license, which is managed centrally for all the sites of my company."
"This solution is very expensive."
"IBM ProtectTIER is an expensive solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business32
Midsize Enterprise21
Large Enterprise32
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise3
 

Questions from the Community

What is your primary use case for Dell EMC PowerProtect DD (Data Domain)?
The typical use case for Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is for backup purposes; it is disk-based backup, which provides fast backup capabilities. Additionally, data can be replicated from site ...
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...
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Also Known As

DataDomain, Dell EMC Data Domain, PowerProtect Data Domain
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

The US Army, City of Houston, Lloyds TSB, TiVo, Teck, Ingram Entertainment, The New York Mets
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 PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) vs. IBM ProtectTIER and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
868,706 professionals have used our research since 2012.