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Hitachi ShadowImage vs NetApp SnapMirror comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 1, 2025

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

Hitachi ShadowImage
Ranking in Data Replication
7th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
NetApp SnapMirror
Ranking in Data Replication
1st
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
5.5
Number of Reviews
27
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Data Replication category, the mindshare of Hitachi ShadowImage is 3.7%, down from 6.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetApp SnapMirror is 7.3%, down from 15.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Replication Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
NetApp SnapMirror7.3%
Hitachi ShadowImage3.7%
Other89.0%
Data Replication
 

Featured Reviews

Bratislav Petkovic - PeerSpot reviewer
Team Lead for Core Infrastructure at Raiffeisen bank Serbia
Efficient replication and helpful for improving data processing and management
The technology behind Hitachi ShadowImage has been around for a long time, and while it works correctly, it does have some issues. We have experienced problems with it, even though Hitachi provides good hardware. Technical support could also be improved, as it sometimes takes a few days to resolve issues.
LeeLee2 - PeerSpot reviewer
Storage Infrastructure Engineer at Gigabit Technologies Pvt Ltd
Reliable replication has transformed disaster recovery and supports realistic dev-test environments
The best feature NetApp SnapMirror offers is block-level incremental replication, which is the foundation of everything. After the initial baseline transfer, only the changed blocks move across the wire, not entire files or volumes. In a busy storage environment, that is the difference between replication that fits in your backup window and replication that hammers your network all day. NetApp SnapMirror has positively impacted our organization by taking us from a theoretical DR capability, meaning we had a secondary site but had never fully tested a failover, to a validated, tested, documented DR process that we run quarterly, which is a fundamental change in our risk posture. Management can now say with confidence that if the primary site goes down, we recover within two hours with zero data loss on critical systems.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable features are its ability to handle large databases efficiently and the asynchronous replication capability."
"The most valuable feature of Hitachi ShadowImage is high-speed data transfer from one server to another. Other solutions would have problems with transferring 50 TB of data. I also like that Hitachi ShadowImage is easy to use."
"With SnapMirror, the solution is the feature itself that is most valuable. It just replicates the data. It's very difficult to speak about, in the sense that it's similar to the features of a wheel. It is round and it's a part of an automobile."
"Having real-time replication gives us the capability to recover from any data loss as quickly as possible."
"NetApp is one of the best products in this field of storage solutions."
"The tool seamlessly moves data over the network without putting pressure on the network."
"The technical support is quite good."
"Previously, we were using a Windows-based file server and didn't have the high availability, replication to a secondary site, or snapshot capability, which is what we were looking for."
"The most valuable feature is the data replication tool, and there is also a lot of ability for data migration."
"My understanding is that the technical support is good, but we don't need much support because it's working fine."
 

Cons

"API and script configuration in Hitachi ShadowImage is sometimes complicated, so this is an area for improvement. Another area for improvement is that the Hitachi ShadowImage interface isn't as user-friendly."
"We have experienced problems with it, even though Hitachi provides good hardware."
"The price could be cheaper."
"On very large data sets with a lot of changes, the interval between mirrors can be rather long."
"The user interface could be simplified."
"It's necessary to install NetApp simulator to avoid complications."
"We have different families of storage, such as the E-Series and Flash systems, but NetApp cannot be set up between them."
"They could make continued enhancements in integration with diverse platforms for the product."
"Stability needs improvement."
"If they can make the application free like other vendors or include it in all the packages, it would be great."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I don't have pricing information for Hitachi ShadowImage because my manager handled it."
"The solution has monthly and yearly licensing options."
"The cost is low compared to different vendors."
"SnapMirror is extremely expensive. We had a hard time adjusting to our budget. If rated on a scale of one to ten, with ten being the most expensive, I would definitely rate it ten out of ten."
"The product price is reasonable."
"The pricing can be improved."
"It's part of the NetApp Firewall, so it's free."
"The pricing could be improved."
"It's a highly cost-effective solution"
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Manufacturing Company
13%
Construction Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Performing Arts
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise10
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Hitachi ShadowImage?
The pricing of Hitachi ShadowImage is reasonable, especially when you purchase Hitachi storage, as ShadowImage and Thin Image are part of the protector. The protector includes several components li...
What needs improvement with Hitachi ShadowImage?
The technology behind Hitachi ShadowImage has been around for a long time, and while it works correctly, it does have some issues. We have experienced problems with it, even though Hitachi provides...
What is your primary use case for Hitachi ShadowImage?
We use Hitachi ShadowImage for data replication processes. It is a practical tool for copying data from one LUN disk to another within the same storage. In our bank, we utilize it for making tests ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetApp SnapMirror?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing shows that NetApp SnapMirror is licensed as part of the ONTAP Data Protection bundle, which covers both NetApp SnapMirror and SnapVault. For or...
What needs improvement with NetApp SnapMirror?
NetApp SnapMirror can be improved as the initial configuration is not simple; if you are new to NetApp and ONTAP, NetApp SnapMirror concepts take time to get right. Peering clusters, peering SVMs, ...
What is your primary use case for NetApp SnapMirror?
My main use case for NetApp SnapMirror is disaster recovery replication, primarily, as we have two data centers and NetApp SnapMirror keeps our critical data synchronized between them continuously....
 

Also Known As

No data available
SnapMirror
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

K&H, NCF, Aokang Group
University at Albany, City of Houston, Yahoo Japan, Washington Employment Security Department, DG Khan Cement Co. Ltd., AmTrust Financial Services, Sheridan College
Find out what your peers are saying about Hitachi ShadowImage vs. NetApp SnapMirror and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
908,800 professionals have used our research since 2012.