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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
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Management (28th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Hadoop category, the mindshare of Apache Spark is 13.9%, down from 18.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Spectrum Computing is 4.3%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Hadoop Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Apache Spark13.9%
IBM Spectrum Computing4.3%
Other81.8%
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

"The product’s most valuable feature is the SQL tool. It enables us to create a database and publish it."
"Provides a lot of good documentation compared to other solutions."
"I found the solution stable. We haven't had any problems with it."
"Spark helps us reduce startup time for our customers and gives a very high ROI in the medium term."
"The most valuable feature is the Fault Tolerance and easy binding with other processes like Machine Learning, graph analytics."
"AI libraries are the most valuable. They provide extensibility and usability. Spark has a lot of connectors, which is a very important and useful feature for AI. You need to connect a lot of points for AI, and you have to get data from those systems. Connectors are very wide in Spark. With a Spark cluster, you can get fast results, especially for AI."
"There's a lot of functionality."
"The most valuable feature of Apache Spark is its ease of use."
"The best features of IBM Spectrum Computing are common across many of their storage products."
"The most valuable feature is the backup capability."
"Spectrum Computing's best features are its speed, robustness, and data processing and analysis."
"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."
"I have utilized IBM Spectrum Computing's intelligent workload management feature through Insights, which is connected to the cloud."
"Easy to operate and use."
"We are satisfied with the technical support, we have no issues."
 

Cons

"The Spark solution could improve in scheduling tasks and managing dependencies."
"Stream processing needs to be developed more in Spark. I have used Flink previously. Flink is better than Spark at stream processing."
"There could be enhancements in optimization techniques, as there are some limitations in this area that could be addressed to further refine Spark's performance."
"The main concern is the overhead of Java when distributed processing is not necessary."
"The graphical user interface (UI) could be a bit more clear. It's very hard to figure out the execution logs and understand how long it takes to send everything. If an execution is lost, it's not so easy to understand why or where it went. I have to manually drill down on the data processes which takes a lot of time. Maybe there could be like a metrics monitor, or maybe the whole log analysis could be improved to make it easier to understand and navigate."
"Technical expertise from an engineer is required to deploy and run high-tech tools, like Informatica, on Apache Spark, making it an area where improvements are required to make the process easier for users."
"Apache Spark can improve the use case scenarios from the website. There is not any information on how you can use the solution across the relational databases toward multiple databases."
"Include more machine learning algorithms and the ability to handle streaming of data versus micro batch processing."
"Lack of sufficient documentation, particularly in Spanish."
"SMB storage and HPC is not compatible and it should be supported by IBM Spectrum Computing."
"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."
"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."
"We have not been able to use deduplication."
"This solution is no longer managing tapes correctly."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Considering the product version used in my company, I feel that the tool is not costly since the product is available for free."
"The product is expensive, considering the setup."
"Apache Spark is open-source. You have to pay only when you use any bundled product, such as Cloudera."
"Apache Spark is an open-source solution, and there is no cost involved in deploying the solution on-premises."
"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 quite expensive. In fact, it accounts for almost 50% of the cost of our entire project."
"On the cloud model can be expensive as it requires substantial resources for implementation, covering on-premises hardware, memory, and licensing."
"Licensing costs can vary. For instance, when purchasing a virtual machine, you're asked if you want to take advantage of the hybrid benefit or if you prefer the license costs to be included upfront by the cloud service provider, such as Azure. If you choose the hybrid benefit, it indicates you already possess a license for the operating system and wish to avoid additional charges for that specific VM in Azure. This approach allows for a reduction in licensing costs, charging only for the service and associated resources."
"This solution is expensive."
"Spectrum Computing is one of the most expensive products on the market."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
25%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Financial Services Firm
18%
Manufacturing Company
16%
Transportation Company
8%
Performing Arts
8%
 

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: December 2025.
879,899 professionals have used our research since 2012.