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Dell PowerVault vs NetApp AltaVault comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
5.1
Organizations cut costs and improved profitability with Dell PowerVault 3260i, benefiting from reduced price per gigabyte and enhanced TCO.
Sentiment score
4.4
NetApp AltaVault boosts efficiency and cost savings by optimizing data storage, reducing hardware needs, and enhancing data protection.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.4
Dell PowerVault customer service is praised for responsiveness and effectiveness despite occasional contact issues and parts availability challenges.
Sentiment score
6.5
NetApp AltaVault's support is praised for design help and issue resolution, despite initial file handling challenges.
Customer support from Dell has been used and it is efficient support that responds instantly.
Moe Infrastructure Data Center at a transportation company with 10,001+ employees
The technical support for Dell PowerVault is pretty good and they usually get back to us in a couple of hours with a technical engineer.
Architect at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
The follow-up is good, and supporting Dell PowerVault is very easy.
Senior Presales Solutions Engineer ( DELL EMC & VMware) at NTT DATA
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.4
Dell PowerVault offers scalable storage for SMBs, although some configurations may limit ease of expansion for larger enterprises.
Sentiment score
7.3
NetApp AltaVault is scalable, flexible for cloud integration, and adaptable for various user needs and configurations.
It is a system that was chosen specifically for this capability, allowing extension as needed and providing scalability on demand.
Moe Infrastructure Data Center at a transportation company with 10,001+ employees
Dell PowerVault has features that specifically address the needs of small and medium-sized businesses because it is always very well received with the price-performance ratios that we have repeatedly seen out in the field.
Sr. Sales Consultant at Teccle Group
I don't face any issues with security with Dell PowerVault.
Senior Presales Solutions Engineer ( DELL EMC & VMware) at NTT DATA
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.0
Dell PowerVault is stable and reliable for data storage, suitable for enterprises despite minor issues and rare outages.
Sentiment score
7.7
NetApp AltaVault is stable and reliable after setup, with most early issues resolved and minimal critical problems reported.
This was especially important given the choice to store video that is extremely critical both from a general point of view and from a legal point of view, where data must be kept and secured.
Moe Infrastructure Data Center at a transportation company with 10,001+ employees
Dell PowerVault has been stable.
Architect at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
The stability and reliability of Dell PowerVault have faced several failures, but these are not related to system outages at customers, rather related to hard drives or a security feature that then did not work.
Sr. Sales Consultant at Teccle Group
 

Room For Improvement

Users seek improved interface, expandability, affordability, and integration for Dell PowerVault, highlighting scalability and feature deficiencies like deduplication.
NetApp AltaVault needs enhancements in capacity, integration, monitoring, user authentication, and bug fixes for improved efficiency and support.
It would be beneficial for Dell to enhance outreach to new customers directly to prevent resellers from scaring them away with higher pricing.
Associate Vice President - Technical Services Group (TSG) at HGS
There are two aspects to consider: replication, meaning replicating data from one site to another concerning Dell PowerVault, and another very important area where significant improvement is needed—everything related to expansion rules.
Moe Infrastructure Data Center at a transportation company with 10,001+ employees
I would welcome it if Dell PowerVault were a bit easier to manage in centralized management via the GUI, as it was in the past, because at the moment mid-sized companies find it not so straightforward to clearly calculate things such as how and where to use something, especially in the snapshot area.
Sr. Sales Consultant at Teccle Group
 

Setup Cost

Enterprise buyers appreciate Dell PowerVault's competitive pricing but note potential high initial setup costs and regional price variations.
Enterprise buyers find NetApp AltaVault competitively priced, offering flexible payment options despite varied annual costs from $3,000 to $375,000.
I don't think it's terribly priced, but Pure Storage is cheaper.
Architect at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
 

Valuable Features

Dell PowerVault provides reliable, affordable, and user-friendly storage with scalability, excellent support, and seamless integration for high-performance demands.
NetApp AltaVault enhances data management with cloud integration, encryption, deduplication, easy setup, and cost-effective storage solutions.
We've even used PowerVault series that we intended to use for five years for almost eight years, and it was still working fine, providing good ROI compared to any other brand.
Associate Vice President - Technical Services Group (TSG) at HGS
What differentiates Dell PowerVault from other storage solutions is the performance combined with the ability to meet significant bandwidth consumption needs.
Moe Infrastructure Data Center at a transportation company with 10,001+ employees
In terms of price-performance ratio, Dell PowerVault is usually easy to handle for getting started.
Sr. Sales Consultant at Teccle Group
There are different integrations available with NetApp AltaVault, such as AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, and I want to understand how they impact data security policies in my case.
Consultant at Tata Consultancy
 

Categories and Ranking

Dell PowerVault
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
29
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise SAN (2nd), Fibre Channel (1st)
NetApp AltaVault
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
19
Ranking in other categories
Backup and Recovery (46th), Deduplication Software (10th), Disk Based Backup Systems (6th), Cloud Backup (39th), Cloud Storage Gateways (6th)
 

Mindshare comparison

Dell PowerVault and NetApp AltaVault aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Dell PowerVault is designed for Enterprise SAN and holds a mindshare of 24.6%, up 21.8% compared to last year.
NetApp AltaVault, on the other hand, focuses on Cloud Backup, holds 0.6% mindshare, up 0.3% since last year.
Enterprise SAN Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Dell PowerVault24.6%
Dell PowerStore26.3%
Cisco MDS Series5.9%
Other43.199999999999996%
Enterprise SAN
Cloud Backup Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
NetApp AltaVault0.6%
Veeam Data Platform8.9%
Commvault Cloud6.7%
Other83.8%
Cloud Backup
 

Featured Reviews

Erhan Parlaz - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Sales Consultant at Teccle Group
Reliable midmarket backups have supported disaster recovery while centralized management needs work
Areas where I feel Dell PowerVault could be improved include especially the enterprise area and multiple interfaces in other areas, for example, backup software solutions and their integration. Handling extensive storage management functions such as snapshots, replication, and provisioning with Dell PowerVault is very well suited for the midmarket or even smaller midmarket environments. Only when environments become more complex, especially in the enterprise area, does Dell PowerVault struggle in the software area, including centralized management. I would welcome it if Dell PowerVault were a bit easier to manage in centralized management via the GUI, as it was in the past, because at the moment mid-sized companies find it not so straightforward to clearly calculate things such as how and where to use something, especially in the snapshot area. There is still room for improvement due to the missing interfaces and also the flexibility.
ST
Consultant at Tata Consultancy
Positive impacts seen with improved data security and reliable support
I have six months of experience with the product, and as a consultant, the use cases for NetApp AltaVault mainly stand out for me. Regarding the deduplication feature in the product, I am interested in whether clients are using it. There are different integrations available with NetApp AltaVault, such as AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, and I want to understand how they impact data security policies in my case.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
15%
Computer Software Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Government
7%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Performing Arts
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
Retailer
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise12
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise10
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Dell PowerVault?
Dell PowerVault offers valuable full flash storage.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell PowerVault?
I don't get involved in the negotiations for price for Dell PowerVault. We get a pretty good discount. I don't think it's terribly priced, but Pure Storage is cheaper.
What needs improvement with Dell PowerVault?
Areas where I feel Dell PowerVault could be improved include especially the enterprise area and multiple interfaces in other areas, for example, backup software solutions and their integration. Han...
Is NetApp AltaVault compatible with AWS?
Hello. Yes, it is compatible with AWS but the great thing about it is that it's actually working with so many cloud providers, it may be just for everyone. Besides the Amazon cloud services, NetApp...
Can AltaVault be used for data reduction?
Hello, you can definitely use NetApp AltaVault for reducing your data and giving yourself some more storage. This product offers you deduplication and compression, helping you achieve that. I'm su...
What kind of security does NetApp AltaVault give you?
My organization is very happy with the security that NetApp AltaVault gives us for our data on the cloud. First, it gives us the option for data recovery, which is very good, especially if someone...
 

Also Known As

PowerVault
AltaVault
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Dayco, FAW Foundry, University of Cambridge, Finder, Stadtwerke Pforzheim GmbH & Co.
Blach Construction, NASA, Riggs, Counselman, Michaels & Downes, Seminole County Public Schools and Spot Trading
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell Technologies, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Cisco and others in Enterprise SAN. Updated: January 2026.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.