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Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) vs Microsoft DPM comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 25, 2026

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
2.9
Dell PowerProtect DP offers high reliability, significant ROI, and 90% malware protection, enhancing cost efficiency and data reduction.
Sentiment score
3.3
Microsoft DPM improved backup efficiency, reduced costs, minimized data loss, and enhanced productivity with streamlined integration and minimal maintenance.
The data reduction allows customers to maintain their capacity without needing to purchase new hardware, which is beneficial.
Senior Solution Consultant at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
In terms of cost, because of deduplication and compression, we can almost say there is a savings of 20% to 30%.
A VP Enterprise Sales at Ashtech Infotech (India) Pvt.Ltd.
I see it as both time-saving and money-saving.
Senior System Engineer at Tenece Professional services
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.7
Dell PowerProtect DP's mixed reviews highlight positive technical support but note challenges with delays and communication issues.
Sentiment score
5.7
Microsoft DPM support is mixed, with praise for responsiveness but concerns over limited features and paid technical assistance.
If I were to rate customer service from zero to ten points, I would give it ten out of ten.
Senior System Engineer at Tenece Professional services
Challenges exist in certain Linux-based cases.
Consultant at Key Information Technology L.L.C.
On the one or two occasions where we needed to engage with Dell support, they've been most helpful.
Senior Systems Engineer at NTT DATA
They provide professional services that are quite good and can meet your needs.
manager/consultant at a consultancy with 1-10 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.0
Dell PowerProtect DP offers scalability and flexibility, handling diverse storage needs but may require newer models at higher capacities.
Sentiment score
5.8
Microsoft DPM scales well with Microsoft products but may need adjustments for non-Microsoft databases and user-friendliness.
Scalability is great here, and it achieves this without downtime.
Senior System Engineer at Tenece Professional services
Because it is all based on the controller, which has a limited number of expansions.
Senior System Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
I think it is just a case of putting another node in and slotting it in, adding it to the storage, which is exactly what you would expect from enterprise equipment.
Infrastructure Engineer at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.1
Dell PowerProtect DP is highly rated for stability, scalability, and reliability, with excellent support despite minor network configuration issues.
Sentiment score
6.3
Microsoft DPM's stability is generally praised, though some users experience synchronization issues and challenges with integration and patching.
Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) is a stable solution because it's a mature product.
Senior Systems Engineer at NTT DATA
None of the customers has experienced any downtime.
Senior System Engineer at Tenece Professional services
Regarding stability, I have not really seen any lagging, crashing, or downtime on Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) itself.
Infrastructure Engineer at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
The product is very stable, rating between eight and nine out of ten.
IT Administrator at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Dell PowerProtect DP needs improvements in cost-effectiveness, usability, setup, integration, management, scalability, software compatibility, and storage options.
Microsoft DPM lacks user-friendliness, struggles with backups, and needs better integration, documentation, and support for efficient performance.
I believe if they could offer options for higher capacity with QLC drives, it would greatly benefit customer pricing and performance needs.
Senior Solution Consultant at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) requires more updates and innovations in AI-powered cyber resilience.
Consultant at Key Information Technology L.L.C.
You cannot integrate with any other third-party solution or your Data Domain since it is very tightly coupled and has limited licenses with respect to capacity that are integrated directly with Avamar.
DGM at Airtel Digital
The backup should have compression, deduplication, and DR replication.
Senior Manager - System Infrastructure Software Support Team at DMS Electronics (Pvt) Ltd
Microsoft DPM could improve by adding S3 backup to S3 storage capabilities.
IT Administrator at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
 

Setup Cost

Dell PowerProtect DP offers flexible licensing and competitive pricing, appealing to enterprises with partner discounts and value-added features.
Microsoft DPM pricing is appealing for enterprise buyers due to integration, reasonable value, and affordability compared to competitors.
In fact, as I know, even give details inside Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) and how much it costs every single component in it, I am going to say it is somehow a bit expensive, why? Let me tell you.
Senior System Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
In terms of quantifiable CapEx reduction, I can estimate a decrease of about 20% to 30% thanks to the efficient deployment and DRE options available in Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA).
Senior Solution Consultant at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Pricing is competitive with other software vendors.
Consultant at Key Information Technology L.L.C.
Microsoft licensing is complex, especially for enterprise or data center solutions.
manager/consultant at a consultancy with 1-10 employees
The pricing of Microsoft solutions rates in the middle range at five out of ten.
IT Administrator at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
 

Valuable Features

Dell PowerProtect DP offers integrated management, scalability, rapid deployment, and reliable data protection with VMware and multi-cloud functionality.
Microsoft DPM efficiently manages VM migration, backup, and recovery, integrates with Microsoft tools, and supports SMB environments.
AI integration enhances backup operations by analyzing data and ensuring malware protection.
Consultant at Key Information Technology L.L.C.
Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) has a scalable architecture, offering flexibility, so you can always scale the capacity to meet any increased demands.
Senior Systems Engineer at NTT DATA
The concept of pre-integrated solutions was very nice, allowing a customer to have a single dashboard to manage everything, which includes backups for desktops, laptops, enterprise applications, virtual and physical servers, along with comprehensive cloud-based backup capabilities.
Pre Sales Manager at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Microsoft DPM impacted my organization positively, and that was definitely possible.
Senior Manager - System Infrastructure Software Support Team at DMS Electronics (Pvt) Ltd
The two-layer backup system is a particularly valuable feature in Microsoft DPM.
IT Administrator at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
One of the most effective features of Microsoft DPM is its integration with the entire Microsoft ecosystem.
manager/consultant at a consultancy with 1-10 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA)
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
34th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft DPM
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
41st
Average Rating
7.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
21
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) is 0.7%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft DPM is 0.9%, down from 1.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA)0.7%
Microsoft DPM0.9%
Other98.4%
Backup and Recovery
 

Featured Reviews

NimitPuvar - PeerSpot reviewer
A VP Enterprise Sales at Ashtech Infotech (India) Pvt.Ltd.
Centralized backup has improved data protection and simplifies secure, compliant restores
The biggest advantage of the product is that it is basically a single appliance which comes with a bundle of backup software and the appliance, as we have a single console to manage it. It also provides other features such as data encryption at rest, along with data deduplication and compression in backup which is very useful. From the centralized dashboard, we can manage the backup job and determine if the backup job is happening appropriately or not. If any backup job fails, we can find out the root cause for the failures. Because it is a hardware-based appliance, we can restore the data immediately, and it provides genuine restore capabilities. In terms of data availability compliance, we are looking for data availability and data security in terms of encryption, data deduplication and compression. It provides data availability as each appliance comes with RAID. If one or two disks fail, then our data appliance is still available for backup. It also provides encryption, so our data is also ransomware protected.
Nirukshitha Gamage - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Manager - System Infrastructure Software Support Team at DMS Electronics (Pvt) Ltd
User finds setup straightforward but seeks wider platform support and advanced features
Microsoft DPM could implement backup capabilities for third-party systems such as Linux. They also need to consider other features such as replication to DR sites, similar to what Veeam and other products offer. Microsoft DPM didn't have that capability at that time. If they want to remain competitive in the market, they need to observe the competition and implement improvements. The backup should have compression, deduplication, and DR replication. They should also improve monitoring of the environment. Microsoft DPM didn't have these basics at that time. If they had continued development on the products, they could have reached a higher level, especially given Microsoft's significant presence and majority of servers. Microsoft DPM didn't have any support structure in the backend. If they had a support structure, we could have escalated issues. I never received any support from Microsoft DPM.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
8%
Construction Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise8
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise7
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA)?
The pricing for Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) is quite expensive, but I would say, compared to the work that has been put into the appliance itself, we all know Dell is the most expensive product on ...
What needs improvement with Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA)?
I find it difficult to identify faults with Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA). The only initial issues we had were with bare-metal restores, but their support was absolutely excellent, and we worked thro...
What is your primary use case for Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA)?
Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) is used to back up Dell VX Rails, as we have six Dell VX Rail nodes or clusters in our current company, and to have an off-site backup. We have two Dell PowerProtect DP ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft DPM?
The pricing of Microsoft solutions rates in the middle range at five out of ten.
What needs improvement with Microsoft DPM?
Microsoft DPM could improve by adding S3 backup to S3 storage capabilities. AI integration is not necessary for backups as this is not a security solution.
What is your primary use case for Microsoft DPM?
We use Microsoft DPM for backup servers. ManageEngine is used to manage workstations and servers, and Operation Manager is used for monitoring.
 

Also Known As

Dell EMC IDPA, Dell IDPA, EMC IDPA
DPM, Data Protection Manager, MS DPM
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Under Armour, Christian Brothers University, Presidio
Medical Park, Centropol Energy, a.s., NCFE, D & H Distributing, Metalor, Colosseum, a.s., Sanitas S.A., Icebreaker
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) vs. Microsoft DPM and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
900,747 professionals have used our research since 2012.