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Comparisons/Cohesity

Commvault vs Cohesity

Since buying Veritas' data protection business in December 2024, Cohesity sells two platforms: its own DataProtect and NetBackup. Both are actively developed, but its newest cyber features are DataProtect-only. Commvault is one platform across SaaS, software and appliances, with a FedRAMP High government cloud.

Which to pick

Pick Cohesity if…

  • You run NetBackup today, it works, and Cohesity's roadmap and support terms suit you.
  • You want backup and file or object storage on the same hyperconverged platform.
  • One capacity license that you can spend on either DataProtect or NetBackup gives you room to decide later.

Pick Commvault if…

  • You're on NetBackup and would rather make one move now than a move inside Cohesity later.
  • You need FedRAMP High: Cohesity's government cloud is Moderate, and we found no FedRAMP authorization for NetBackup.
  • You want one platform and one console across on-premises, cloud and SaaS workloads.
  • You want an MSP that runs the platform day to day.

Side by side

Company

Commvault

Public (NASDAQ: CVLT), with audited SEC filings.

Cohesity

Private. Combined with Veritas' enterprise data protection business in December 2024 and claims over 12,000 customers. Backup Exec went to Arctera, now owned by Cloud Software Group.

How it's delivered

Commvault

SaaS (Commvault Cloud), software you run on your own servers or cloud account, or Commvault Grid appliances, managed from one console.

Cohesity

DataProtect software, NetBackup software and appliances, SaaS (Cohesity Cloud Services), the FortKnox vault, and Alta Recovery Vault for NetBackup.

US government

Commvault

Commvault Cloud for Government is FedRAMP High (agency authorization, May 2024). Its crypto library holds FIPS 140-3 certificate #4989.

Cohesity

Cohesity Cloud Services for Government is FedRAMP Moderate (May 2024) on AWS GovCloud. FIPS 140-3 certificates #5120 and #4922. We found no FedRAMP authorization for NetBackup.

Workloads

Commvault

Virtual machines, physical servers, databases, Kubernetes, SaaS apps (Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Entra ID), AWS, Azure and Google Cloud, plus older platforms such as IBM i, AIX and Solaris.

Cohesity

DataProtect covers Oracle, SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL, SAP HANA, Db2, MongoDB and Cassandra, Kubernetes (OpenShift, EKS, AKS, GKE, Rancher), cloud databases and Microsoft 365.

Isolated copies

Commvault

Commvault AirGap: isolated cloud storage that Commvault runs for you, plus immutable locks on storage you own.

Cohesity

DataLock WORM, which even admins can't override, Quorum approvals, the FortKnox vault, and Alta Recovery Vault for NetBackup.

Clean recovery

Commvault

Commvault Cleanroom recovers into an isolated cloud environment, for tests or after an attack. Cloud Rewind rebuilds cloud applications.

Cohesity

FortKnox clean-room recovery, generally available since September 2026, plus managed clean rooms through partners.

Threat detection

Commvault

Threat Scan checks backups for malware and encrypted files, anomaly detection flags unusual backup activity, and Threatwise places decoys.

Cohesity

Threat hunting, data classification and a recovery agent in the Enterprise bundle, for DataProtect only, not NetBackup.

Licensing

Commvault

Licensed per capability, by capacity or per user depending on the product. There's no single published price list.

Cohesity

DataProtect by back-end TB; NetBackup by front-end TB. Cohesity Data Cloud bundles let each TB be used with either.

Analysts

Commvault

A Leader in the 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for the 15th time; first in five of six use cases in the 2026 Critical Capabilities.

Cohesity

A Leader in the 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant.

Our take

As a Commvault MSP

We run Commvault for a living, so weigh this accordingly. Cohesity is the biggest vendor in the market now, and DataProtect is a capable platform. NetBackup isn't going away soon: it has new releases and a clear 'keep, extend or transform' message.

What we'd want a NetBackup customer to see clearly is the direction. Cohesity's newest cyber features are DataProtect-only, it bought Stone Ram to help NetBackup customers move to DataProtect, and the NetBackup Java console ends after 11.1. Staying is fine; just get support, renewal and appliance lifecycle terms in writing.

If you're going to move platforms anyway, compare every option, including Commvault, rather than assuming the next step is inside Cohesity.

Moving from NetBackup

Run both side by side: new backups go to the new platform while NetBackup keeps its restore points until retention runs out. Long-retention archives can stay on NetBackup, or be restored and re-protected if you're retiring it entirely.

Backup Exec is a separate case: it's no longer a Cohesity or Veritas product. It belongs to Arctera, now part of Cloud Software Group, and is sold through Cognizant in most regions.

Questions

Not as of November 2026. Cohesity is still releasing NetBackup (11.1, with an 11.2 doc set) and says migration is optional. Its newest features are DataProtect-only, and the Java admin console isn't delivered after 11.1.

Arctera, which was spun out of Veritas and bought by Cloud Software Group in December 2025. Cognizant runs sales and renewals in most regions.

Cohesity Cloud Services for Government is FedRAMP Moderate, on AWS GovCloud. Commvault Cloud for Government is FedRAMP High.

Usually, yes. DFARS 252.204-7012 expects cloud services that hold CUI to meet FedRAMP Moderate or equivalent.

Sources

Checked in November 2026. Vendors update products often, so their own documentation has the final word. Work at Cohesity and see something out of date? Tell us and we'll fix it.

More comparisons

Weighing Commvault against Cohesity?

Talk to a KELYN engineer about your estate. If the other product fits you better, we'll say so.

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