IBM ProtectTIER vs IBM Spectrum Protect comparison

IBM ProtectTIER and IBM Spectrum Protect are both solutions in the Backup and Recovery category. IBM ProtectTIER is ranked #82, while IBM Spectrum Protect is ranked #17 with an average rating of 7.2. IBM ProtectTIER holds a 0.1% mindshare in BRS, compared to IBM Spectrum Protect’s 2.2% mindshare. Additionally, 60% of IBM ProtectTIER users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 86% of IBM Spectrum Protect users who would recommend it.

IBM ProtectTIER

Read 7 IBM ProtectTIER reviews

210 Views
167 Comparison Views

60% willing to recommend

IBM Spectrum Protect

Read 149 IBM Spectrum Protect reviews

4,073 Views
3,133 Comparison Views

86% willing to recommend

IBM ProtectTIER

IBM Spectrum Protect

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 11, 2024

IBM ProtectTIER and IBM Spectrum Protect are two enterprise solutions for data protection and management. IBM Spectrum Protect seems to have the upper hand with its extensive features and scalability.

Features: IBM ProtectTIER is known for its simple configuration, reliable performance, and seamless integration into existing systems. IBM Spectrum Protect offers advanced data lifecycle management, comprehensive protection across hybrid environments, and a richer feature set.

Room for Improvement: IBM ProtectTIER could improve its reporting tools, provide more scalable options for larger environments, and enhance integration with systems. IBM Spectrum Protect needs more streamlined administration tasks, better integration with third-party tools, and enhanced user-centric features.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM ProtectTIER is noted for its straightforward deployment and reliable customer service. IBM Spectrum Protect, despite being more complex to deploy, benefits from strong support services and detailed documentation that alleviates initial setup challenges.

Pricing and ROI: IBM ProtectTIER is seen as cost-effective with a quick return on investment due to affordable setup costs. IBM Spectrum Protect, though higher in initial cost, is worth the investment for its extensive features and potential long-term savings.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM ProtectTIER vs. IBM Spectrum Protect Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM ProtectTIER vs. IBM Spectrum Protect

March 2025

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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

IBM ProtectTIER

Ranking in Backup and Recovery

82nd

Average Rating

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Deduplication Software (13th)

IBM Spectrum Protect

Ranking in Backup and Recovery

17th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

149

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of IBM ProtectTIER is 0.1%, down from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Spectrum Protect is 2.2%, down from 2.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Backup and Recovery

Featured Reviews

ValereFEUGWANG

Information System Consultant at CFAO Technologies

Protects data in hybrid infrastructures, but it is an expensive product with poor support

The main challenge for our customers is to replicate the virtual environment upon restart, without using any additional solutions such as VMware SLM. I would like the possibility to back up the infrastructure and then replicate it upon on restart, without having to orchestrate the starting of the VM. It would be much better for us. This solution can be made easier to use. Technical support is very frustrating and we are considering other solutions because of it. Stability is something that should be improved. The product is expensive and the licensing should be changed.

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Syed Habib

Head of Infrastructure Security (S.A.V.P) at EXIM Bank Ltd

Manageable and comprehensive and integrates robust backup features for core banking

It's adequate for my core banking, however, I am looking for another solution for all systems. It is not compatible with other operating systems like Windows or Linux, and lacks a consolidated dashboard from Browser Spectrum. This is why I am searching for another solution. The product also lacks any centralized graphical user interface (GUI), such as Jarek Pod, and I am limited to using a console-based text user interface, which my local partner handles completely.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"In terms of stability, I've found it to be very stable. I've walked into the server room when it was at 60 degrees Celcius, and it was still running fine."

"The most valuable features are the Self-Service, and the ability to search the data."

"Overall IBM ProtectTIER is a great solution. It is easy to use."

"The cataloging is the best feature. It takes millions of frames for the backup. It's incremental, so it takes less time to complete."

"The command-line interface is good."

"The solution is highly stable."

"With Spectrum Protect, you can use any type of disk to back-end the repositories. It gave us flexibility to use whatever storage we wanted at our secondary site."

"Every time we go and try to get a file, we can get it. Restores are quick and the data is always there."

"Incremental backup is highly valuable as it allows for significant time and cost savings."

"Technical support is okay. We have not had many issues with them."

"The most valuable features are compression and de-duplication."

"The fact that we can take the backup straight onto tape is the most valuable feature."

"IBM support is friendly, knowledgeable, and they always respond quickly. They've always been able to find the cause of my problem."

"The solution offers very good flexibility."

More IBM Spectrum Protect pros

Cons

"IBM ProtectTIER could improve by being more user-friendly."

"The backup for a large amount of data is slow."

"Setting up the system to work with legacy equipment is a bit complex at times."

"The configuration wizards are still complex and hard to navigate. These should be easier to manage."

"I would like the possibility to back up the infrastructure and then replicate it upon on restart, without having to orchestrate the starting of the VM."

"It doesn't integrate with storage pools, with a normal pool. I'd like to see that."

"It should have the ability to break down the data that's being backed up. It should have better reporting."

"It's adequate for my core banking, however, I am looking for another solution for all systems. It is not compatible with other operating systems like Windows or Linux, and lacks a consolidated dashboard from Browser Spectrum."

"Although I am not a technical user, I would say the cloud integration features could be improved."

"Its management part can be better and simplified. It is kind of a beast as compared to Commvault or Veeam, but they are more user-friendly. They are also easier to learn, whereas Spectrum Protect definitely takes time. They should simplify it. Our teams are pretty comfortable with it because we have been using it for a long time, but from the perspective of a new user who is evaluating or using this solution, it is definitely more complex in terms of manageability. Its monitoring could be improved so that it can even monitor the jobs that are scheduled by external schedulers. There are situations where a database team might decide to use their own schedulers, but currently, Spectrum Protect is not able to catch those jobs in the Operation Manager console."

"We are still using TSM Manager for many of our projects to administer our platform because the gap was not resolved with the new Operations Center."

"Stability is very good now. It used to be rocky years ago."

"I need two separate solutions for virtual and physical systems. I need IBM Spectrum Protect Plus for virtual systems and Spectrum Protect for physical systems and that's a pain. It would be an improvement if they were combined."

More IBM Spectrum Protect cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"IBM ProtectTIER is an expensive solution."

"This solution is very expensive."

"The customer can decide how they want to purchase a license. However, the price of the solution is expensive."

"We have a capacity-based license, which is managed centrally for all the sites of my company."

"The pricing is a little expensive for our current employer, so they want to move to a cheaper solution."

"Spectrum Protect is not a cheap option."

"Its licensing is complex, and its price is not really reasonable. It is on the expensive side. IBM, in general, is slightly expensive, but with IBM Spectrum for the virtual environment, they are looking into the aspect of helping customers with the cost and providing a cost-effective solution."

"We worked our licensing into a capacity model, which is nice. Now, everything is much simpler to manage from a licensing perspective."

"For my company, the tool is affordable and reasonable...I don't think most people know that when a company has large systems in place, the TCO is a lot lower."

"The solution is expensive."

"At scale, the consumption license (per TB) is very expensive."

"It's very complicated. Licensing is a pain."

More IBM Spectrum Protect pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

28%

Computer Software Company

24%

Real Estate/Law Firm

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

16%

Computer Software Company

13%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

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What do you like most about IBM Spectrum Protect?

IBM Spectrum Protect is stable.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Spectrum Protect?

It's expensive. I acknowledge the cost associated with it.

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What needs improvement with IBM Spectrum Protect?

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Comparisons

Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) vs IBM ProtectTIER

Compared 100% of the time

More IBM ProtectTIER Competitors

Veeam Data Platform vs IBM Spectrum Protect

Compared 19% of the time

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus vs IBM Spectrum Protect

Compared 18% of the time

Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) vs IBM Spectrum Protect

Compared 11% of the time

Commvault Cloud vs IBM Spectrum Protect

Compared 11% of the time

Rubrik vs IBM Spectrum Protect

Compared 6% of the time

More IBM Spectrum Protect Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Deduplication Software

March 2025

Download IBM ProtectTIER product report

Buyer's Guide

IBM Spectrum Protect

March 2025

Download IBM Spectrum Protect product report

Also Known As

No data available

IBM TSM, IBM Tivoli Storage Manager

Overview

IBM TS7650G ProtecTIER Deduplication Gateway is designed to meet the disk-based data protection needs of the enterprise data center while enabling significant infrastructure cost reductions. The solution offers industry-leading inline deduplication performance and scalability up to 1 petabyte (PB) of physical storage capacity per system, and can provide up to 25 PB or more backup storage capacity. Combined with IBM or third-party storage, TS7650G ProtecTIER Deduplication Gateway provides a powerful disk-based repository to improve the performance, retention and availability of backup and archive data in a small footprint for energy and cost efficiency.

IBM

IBM Spectrum Protect (Tivoli Storage Manager) is a data protection platform that gives enterprises a single point of control and administration for backup and recovery. It is the flagship product in the IBM Spectrum Protect (Tivoli Storage Manager) family. It enables reliable, cost effective backups and fast recovery for virtual, physical and cloud environments of all sizes.

IBM

Sample Customers

Durham Police Department, Re-Store LLC, CenterGrid, pixx.io GmbH, Australian Government Department of Defence, QD, Refresco Gerber

CERN, Einstein Healthcare, Nyherji, Allianz Australia, TZM, ABT Online, NCT, Kindred Healthcare Inc., Cobalt Iron, TransGrid, Baptist Health of Northeast Florida, Cash America, Piedmont Healthcare, RWGV, Arkansas Tech University, British Columbia Institute of Technology

Buyer's Guide

IBM ProtectTIER vs. IBM Spectrum Protect

March 2025

Free Report: IBM ProtectTIER vs. IBM Spectrum Protect

Find out what your peers are saying about IBM ProtectTIER vs. IBM Spectrum Protect and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.

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