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Hitachi Thin Image Advanced 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 Thin Image Advanced
Ranking in Data Replication
6th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.7
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
28
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Data Replication category, the mindshare of Hitachi Thin Image Advanced is 4.0%, down from 8.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetApp SnapMirror is 7.2%, down from 17.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Replication Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
NetApp SnapMirror7.2%
Hitachi Thin Image Advanced4.0%
Other88.8%
Data Replication
 

Featured Reviews

Bratislav Petkovic - PeerSpot reviewer
Team Lead for Core Infrastructure at Raiffeisen bank Serbia
Fast data transfer and quick setup for new servers
We use Thin Image to image new test servers, create new development servers, and test new servers. It is also used for fast data transfer to new servers Hitachi Thin Image allows us to quickly create new data snapshots. It speeds up synchronization and setup tasks significantly, which is…
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

"Hitachi Thin Image is stable."
"Script submission allows us to make an application for Hitachi Thin Image and this assists us with synchronization."
"The most beneficial feature is its fast data transfer capabilities."
"Data protection is a valuable feature."
"A NetApp storage solution allows a company to architect a disaster recovery plan that protects all company data."
"The technical support is quite good."
"The product has good performance."
"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."
"NetApp SnapMirror's compatibility with NetApp products has helped my storage management efforts immensely, as it is part of ONTAP and all architectures based on ONTAP, including ONTAP 8 and 9."
"The solution is very stable."
"NetApp SnapMirror stands out for its ease of management, efficiency, and scalability, which align well with our operational needs."
 

Cons

"Hitachi needs to improve their management software, especially the Ops Center."
"We are having problems with the speed of synchronization and transferring of data."
"We have different families of storage, such as the E-Series and Flash systems, but NetApp cannot be set up between them."
"I think that NetApp needs to improve the performance of SnapMirror with controller volume access."
"Stability needs improvement."
"About a year now we have faced random issues related to power supply or auto failover failback issues which were related to bugs in the firmware."
"The NetApp storage is entry-level storage. I'd like to see compression and deduplication and encryption improved, and I'd like to have real-time replication so I have a zero RPO."
"Technical support is only available if there is a problem."
"They could make continued enhancements in integration with diverse platforms for the product."
"This process can get out of control sometimes and cause excessive disk utilization."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"It's a highly cost-effective solution"
"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 cost is low compared to different vendors."
"It's part of the NetApp Firewall, so it's free."
"The pricing can be improved."
"The pricing could be improved."
"The solution has monthly and yearly licensing options."
"The product price is reasonable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
13%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Construction Company
9%
Performing Arts
9%
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 needs improvement with Hitachi Thin Image?
Hitachi needs to improve their management software, especially the Ops Center. Better management could enhance the overall experience.
What is your primary use case for Hitachi Thin Image?
We use Thin Image to image new test servers, create new development servers, and test new servers. It is also used for fast data transfer to new servers.
What advice do you have for others considering Hitachi Thin Image?
Thin Image is suitable for both small and big companies. It is highly recommended for its fast performance. I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.
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

Hitachi Thin Image
SnapMirror
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Net Credit Financial 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 Thin Image Advanced vs. NetApp SnapMirror and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
900,644 professionals have used our research since 2012.