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Apache Spark vs IBM Spectrum Computing 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Apache Spark
Ranking in Hadoop
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
68
Ranking in other categories
Compute Service (5th), Java Frameworks (2nd)
IBM Spectrum Computing
Ranking in Hadoop
6th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Management (29th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Hadoop category, the mindshare of Apache Spark is 13.4%, down from 18.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Spectrum Computing is 4.5%, up from 1.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Hadoop Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Apache Spark13.4%
IBM Spectrum Computing4.5%
Other82.1%
Hadoop
 

Featured Reviews

Devindra Weerasooriya - PeerSpot reviewer
Data Architect at Devtech
Provides a consistent framework for building data integration and access solutions with reliable performance
The in-memory computation feature is certainly helpful for my processing tasks. It is helpful because while using structures that could be held in memory rather than stored during the period of computation, I go for the in-memory option, though there are limitations related to holding it in memory that need to be addressed, but I have a preference for in-memory computation. The solution is beneficial in that it provides a base-level long-held understanding of the framework that is not variant day by day, which is very helpful in my prototyping activity as an architect trying to assess Apache Spark, Great Expectations, and Vault-based solutions versus those proposed by clients like TIBCO or Informatica.
OmarIsmail1 - PeerSpot reviewer
Infrastructure Technical Specialist II at Clicks Group
Senior Technical Specialist appreciates intelligent workload management, strong support, and scalability
The best features of IBM Spectrum Computing are common across many of their storage products. The software is solid, meaning that the code is stable. They take business seriously, which is what IBM stands for - International Business Machines. They always maintain a business-oriented approach in their software development. It's not simply clicking through interfaces; in IBM software, they consider their actions, process flows, and workflows around business processes. It requires understanding IBM and their methodology, as the software operates accordingly. I have utilized IBM Spectrum Computing's intelligent workload management feature. We use Insights, which is connected to the cloud. This provides AI capabilities for analyzing the configuration, offering smart recommendations on new code, warning about bugs in current code, and suggesting configuration improvements through its advisor tool. The predictive analytics feature in IBM Spectrum Computing enables optimal software performance through Insights. However, being a storage administrator requires foundational knowledge and understanding beyond these tools. For troubleshooting, it's efficient in spotting bottlenecks, but understanding the terms and metrics is essential as it provides answers that need interpretation.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It provides a scalable machine learning library."
"Apache Spark's ability to handle both batch and streaming data is the most valuable feature for me as it offers solid real-time processing capability, making it more efficient in managing data analytics."
"I appreciate everything about the solution, not just one or two specific features. The solution is highly stable. I rate it a perfect ten. The solution is highly scalable. I rate it a perfect ten. The initial setup was straightforward. I recommend using the solution. Overall, I rate the solution a perfect ten."
"ETL and streaming capabilities."
"Apache Spark, specifically PySpark and the tools available there, have been quite helpful in my event analysis work."
"The most significant advantage of Spark 3.0 is its support for DataFrame UDF Pandas UDF features."
"The product’s most valuable features are lazy evaluation and workload distribution."
"The most valuable feature of Apache Spark is its flexibility."
"IBM's ability to cluster compute resources is impressive, with built-in support for scenarios like VR and active-active configurations,"
"This solution is working for both VTL and tape."
"The most valuable aspect of the product is the policy driving resource management, to optimize the computing across data centers."
"The best features of IBM Spectrum Computing are common across many of their storage products."
"We are satisfied with the technical support, we have no issues."
"I have utilized IBM Spectrum Computing's intelligent workload management feature through Insights, which is connected to the cloud."
"Spectrum Computing's best features are its speed, robustness, and data processing and analysis."
"The most valuable feature is the backup capability."
 

Cons

"It needs a new interface and a better way to get some data. In terms of writing our scripts, some processes could be faster."
"They could improve the issues related to programming language for the platform."
"It requires overcoming a significant learning curve due to its robust and feature-rich nature."
"The basic improvement would be to have integration with these solutions."
"The logging for the observability platform could be better."
"Its UI can be better. Maintaining the history server is a little cumbersome, and it should be improved. I had issues while looking at the historical tags, which sometimes created problems. You have to separately create a history server and run it. Such things can be made easier. Instead of separately installing the history server, it can be made a part of the whole setup so that whenever you set it up, it becomes available."
"I know there is always discussion about which language to write applications in and some people do love Scala. However, I don't like it."
"Stream processing needs to be developed more in Spark. I have used Flink previously. Flink is better than Spark at stream processing."
"We have not been able to use deduplication."
"The deduplication software isn't quite up to speed with the market."
"In Pakistan, IBM's disadvantage is the lack of OEM support and presence."
"IBM's sales and support structure can be challenging."
"Spectrum Computing is lagging behind other products, most likely because it hasn't been shifted to the cloud."
"This solution is no longer managing tapes correctly."
"The deduplication software isn't quite up to speed with the market. While IBM has excellent compression technology, specifically on their FlashCore modules, they lag behind competitors such as NetApp in deduplication capabilities."
"SMB storage and HPC is not compatible and it should be supported by IBM Spectrum Computing."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is an open-source platform. We do not pay for its subscription."
"Considering the product version used in my company, I feel that the tool is not costly since the product is available for free."
"I did not pay anything when using the tool on cloud services, but I had to pay on the compute side. The tool is not expensive compared with the benefits it offers. I rate the price as an eight out of ten."
"It is an open-source solution, it is free of charge."
"Apache Spark is not too cheap. You have to pay for hardware and Cloudera licenses. Of course, there is a solution with open source without Cloudera."
"The solution is affordable and there are no additional licensing costs."
"The product is expensive, considering the setup."
"They provide an open-source license for the on-premise version."
"Spectrum Computing is one of the most expensive products on the market."
"This solution is expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
25%
Computer Software Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
University
6%
Financial Services Firm
17%
Manufacturing Company
15%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Transportation Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business28
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise32
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise6
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Apache Spark?
We use Spark to process data from different data sources.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Apache Spark?
Apache Spark is open-source, so it doesn't incur any charges.
What needs improvement with Apache Spark?
Areas for improvement are obviously ease of use considerations, though there are limitations in doing that, so while various tools like Informatica, TIBCO, or Talend offer specific aspects, licensi...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Spectrum Computing?
IBM Spectrum Computing consistently offers competitive pricing. When solutioning new implementations, IBM always presents the best solution and price. In a recent comparison with Pure Storage and N...
What needs improvement with IBM Spectrum Computing?
IBM Spectrum Computing had limitations with remote copy services between head office and disaster recovery sites. In the last year, IBM has improved the code by re-engineering it to policy-based re...
What is your primary use case for IBM Spectrum Computing?
The typical use case for IBM Spectrum Computing is that it's an all-rounder. It can be used in various scenarios, such as the retailer I work for that has batch processing. It's on-demand when perf...
 

Also Known As

No data available
IBM Platform Computing
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

NASA JPL, UC Berkeley AMPLab, Amazon, eBay, Yahoo!, UC Santa Cruz, TripAdvisor, Taboola, Agile Lab, Art.com, Baidu, Alibaba Taobao, EURECOM, Hitachi Solutions
London South Bank University, Transvalor, Infiniti Red Bull Racing, Genomic
Find out what your peers are saying about Apache Spark vs. IBM Spectrum Computing and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.
881,757 professionals have used our research since 2012.