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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
65th
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 May 2026, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of IBM ProtectTIER is 0.7%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Rubrik is 3.4%, down from 7.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Rubrik3.4%
IBM ProtectTIER0.7%
Other95.9%
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

"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 most valuable features are the Self-Service, and the ability to search the data."
"The most valuable feature is the incremental backup."
"The command-line interface is good."
"Overall IBM ProtectTIER is a great solution."
"In terms of stability, I've found it to be very stable."
"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."
"I will highly recommend this product for excellent and quick backup solution in small and large IBM I Series environment."
"Since switching to Rubrik, our backup times have decreased significantly, going from two and a half days to one and a half hours for certain systems."
"The product's protection against ransomware is a significant benefit."
"It has the ability to test DR in a controlled, inexpensive way and to restore between environments."
"Product support team is excellent, with issues typically being resolved on the same day."
"Implementing Rubrik has saved us time and money in managing backups, and I estimate that we've saved approximately 80% in terms of time compared to previously."
"It has a ​single pane of glass interface."
"I would rate the solution's web interface at eight out of ten. It's just fantastic and intuitive. It's so easy to use. I've never done any formal training on Rubrik, but I was able to quickly come to grips with its capabilities."
"A Google-like file search, system scaling, and a frequent development cycle are some positives that this solution offers."
 

Cons

"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."
"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."
"These days, we are thinking about pushing another solution because of the poor support from IBM."
"The configuration wizards are still complex and hard to navigate."
"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."
"We need one system to manage all the Rubrik clusters."
"Looking at how the data is broken down, we can see the total story, but sometimes it's difficult to see how big a particular snapshot is."
"We have some challenges with the solution's reporting because historical reports have some limitations."
"The reporting, in particular the customization of reports, needs to be improved."
"There is room for improvement in pricing. After the licensing, the price tends to go up as time goes by."
"Price-wise, Rubrik needs improvement as it is considered expensive compared to similar competitors."
"The dashboard and user interface could be improved to make them more user-friendly."
"If there was something that we could get Rubrik to fix, it would be when our DBS takes snapshots of a server or the database, the replication doesn't kick off fast enough."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This solution is very expensive."
"We have a capacity-based license, which is managed centrally for all the sites of my company."
"IBM ProtectTIER is an expensive solution."
"The customer can decide how they want to purchase a license. However, the price of the solution is expensive."
"The pricing has been quite good from our perspective, in terms of being able to negotiate with the Rubrik team to get the product that we want and be able to sell that out to our end customers."
"It’s simple, straightforward, and we were able to see 50% hard savings."
"We pay annually for the license for Rubrik. There are no additional costs. Initially, we needed to set it up, negotiate and finalize the offer."
"The cost was less than our previous provider, and this is a much better product."
"The product is not cheap, but for good reason. It simply works and is very fast."
"There are additional costs like maintenance, and there are some features on their central management piece that don't come with our licensing."
"Rubrik's support is definitely on the expensive side, but I consider it to be top of the line. We incur no additional costs beyond the standard licensing fees."
"I rate the tool's pricing a six out of ten."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
16%
Construction Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Comms Service Provider
10%
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.
893,244 professionals have used our research since 2012.