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IBM ProtectTIER vs Rubrik comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 11, 2024

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
67th
Average Rating
7.2
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
Deduplication Software (13th)
Rubrik
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
3rd
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
96
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Backup (3rd), Disaster Recovery (DR) Software (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of IBM ProtectTIER is 0.6%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Rubrik is 3.6%, down from 7.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Rubrik3.6%
IBM ProtectTIER0.6%
Other95.8%
Backup and Recovery
 

Featured Reviews

AG
Technical Lead at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Provides a short-term backup, archive, and cataloging for 20,000 people in our organization
The backup for a large amount of data is slow. When there's a large amount of data, sometimes the backup isn't completed in time. I have a 24 hour cycle, so it doesn't get completed in 24 hours with the large amount of data. With Veritas NetBackup, I can take 20 terabytes of backup in a day.
KB
Information Technology Specialist at LIGHTHOUSE DOCUMENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC
Technical support has improved my data management process but I encounter GUI and cost challenges
The solution is available in the Azure Marketplace, but approaching directly is more cost-effective. The Marketplace approach incurs additional platform and reporting costs. We initially built Rubrik at host level and DB level. We encountered latency issues when reverting back, with numerous snapshots available. This resulted in increased costs and occupied spaces. I performed manual deletion of snapshots and verified with the Rubrik team for confirmation. The GUI reporting functionality lacks flexibility. For instance, obtaining specific server reports considering drive space and backup quantities is not possible, as it only provides overall reporting.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Overall IBM ProtectTIER is a great solution. It is easy to use."
"The command-line interface is good."
"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 solution is highly stable."
"The most valuable features are the Self-Service, and the ability to search the data."
"The cataloging is the best feature, as it takes millions of frames for the backup and, because it's incremental, it takes less time to complete."
"Overall IBM ProtectTIER is a great solution."
"The most valuable feature is the incremental backup."
"Its reporting is most valuable. I like how it reports that everything is successfully backed up. It provides a summarized report that I can give to auditors and management."
"The product's protection against ransomware is a significant benefit."
"A reduced infrastructure complexity and fast to rack and go."
"Rubrik is cheap, and you get good performance."
"The security and the ransomware protection are most valuable."
"The most valuable features of Rubrik are the restoration and ease of use."
"What I like about Rubrik is that you can back up to the cloud. It is a different kind of backup where you're not archiving the tape. Rubrik is a physical appliance. It is a dedicated appliance to which you can back up, and you can also back up to another device. So, you can back up to Rubrik and then to another device. If you have more than one site, you can set up Rubrik on site A and also on site B. You can back up to the Rubrik on site A and then replicate that data to the Rubrik on site B."
"It has reduced our maintenance efforts. The amount of time and effort that would have gone in troubleshooting various issues related a data crash has been addressed by Rubrik. So, it has helped to improve our productivity. The data is being captured about our customers periodically that is secure and safe."
 

Cons

"The backup for a large amount of data is slow. When there's a large amount of data, sometimes the backup isn't completed in time."
"The backup for a large amount of data is slow."
"IBM ProtectTIER could improve by being more user-friendly."
"The configuration wizards are still complex and hard to navigate. These should be easier to manage."
"IBM ProtectTIER could improve by being more user-friendly."
"These days, we are thinking about pushing another solution because of the poor support from IBM."
"Setting up the system to work with legacy equipment is a bit complex at times."
"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."
"With Windows, it is difficult to configure Oracle Database."
"There are some features to improve on in Rubrik. For instance, they should have a tool where we can integrate with our SAP HANA."
"The licensing cost is quite high. That is something that needs to be worked out, because so many times it happens that the team does not have the budget or there are other issues at that time. Cost has become an important factor in deciding whether to continue with the Rubrik solution."
"We would like to see more support for Hyper-V."
"We would like to be able to do granular restores directly from Exchange. Also, more granular management of VM backups would help."
"The Polaris piece could use improvement. When you get a report and you have events that are suspicious, you cannot drill down and find out why it's suspicious. You only know it's suspicious, but you don't know the root cause. Other than that, everything works well."
"There are some corner cases where the Rubrik Connector (Agent) still doesn't work for our clients."
"The integrated reporting is not really that nicely built."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We have a capacity-based license, which is managed centrally for all the sites of my company."
"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."
"Its price tends to go up with time. Its pricing definitely has room for improvement. If you negotiate right with them, you might get a good price. Support is a part of the package, and every three years, when we renew our contract, we get new hardware."
"It’s simple, straightforward, and we were able to see 50% hard savings."
"I don't remember the cost, but I know that for Veeam, we were spending almost $250,000 a year for 205 licenses. It was an enterprise version. When we purchased Rubrik, it was just a little bit more. It was not a terribly huge amount, and if I recall, that was for three years of support as well. So, Veeam priced itself out of the market at a certain point in time."
"I rate the pricing an eight on a scale of one to ten, where one is low, and ten is high."
"There are additional costs like maintenance, and there are some features on their central management piece that don't come with our licensing."
"We pay yearly and it's based on the number of bricks."
"The setup cost is a bit high, but the solution is an all-in-one solution."
"Rubrik is a little bit expensive, but it's worth the price."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
16%
Construction Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise3
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business23
Midsize Enterprise21
Large Enterprise55
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
Which would you choose - Rubrik or Veeam Backup & Replication?
Veeam Backup & Replication provides an easy-to-set-up solution to the issue of data storage and recovery. Setting it up is a relatively simple affair. For the most part it prompts you from scre...
What do you like most about Rubrik?
It's easy to manage and has an innovated solution.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Rubrik?
Regarding pricing, Rubrik is a costly solution, and I would rate it an eight.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Durham Police Department, Re-Store LLC, CenterGrid, pixx.io GmbH, Australian Government Department of Defence, QD, Refresco Gerber
Driscoll's, Red Hawk Casino, Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, Wabash National, Chateau Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, Galliker Transport & Logistics
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM ProtectTIER vs. Rubrik and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
886,906 professionals have used our research since 2012.