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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 (6th), Disaster Recovery (DR) Software (8th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 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 3.2%, down from 7.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Rubrik3.2%
IBM ProtectTIER0.7%
Other96.1%
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 most valuable feature is the incremental backup."
"Overall IBM ProtectTIER is a great solution."
"I will highly recommend this product for excellent and quick backup solution in small and large IBM I Series environment."
"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 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 most valuable features are the self-service features and the ability to search the data."
"The product is easy to install, easy to balance, and easy to work with."
"Automation functions, image based backup, and the ability to instantly recover anything from files to databases."
"Rubrik is highly scalable and is easy to do."
"The live mounting and compatibility of different operating systems is great."
"We are protecting more than 3 petabytes of data daily, and we have more than 3,000 plus servers."
"Live Mount is where we do the majority of our big recoveries, unless it is a file recovery. A file recovery takes a few minutes to restore to where the file in the event a file was accidentally deleted by a user, etc. There has been at least a 90 percent reduction in recovery time based on our previous solution, from the need to recover something to when it's actually recovered went from hours to minutes."
"The Live Mount feature is excellent; it's useful for the backup administrator and end user."
"Rubrik has absolutely reduced the time we spend on recovery testing by about 75 percent, reduced the time we spend on managing backups by the same amount, and the reduction in recovery time is even greater."
 

Cons

"The configuration wizards are still complex and hard to navigate."
"My advice to anybody who is considering this solution is to conduct a proof of concept first because everybody's needs are different, and this product is not suitable for every kind of backup."
"IBM ProtectTIER could improve by being more user-friendly."
"The backup for a large amount of data is slow."
"IBM ProtectTIER could improve by being more user-friendly."
"It is unmanageable. Support would be good."
"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."
"These days, we are thinking about pushing another solution because of the poor support from IBM."
"It is already very well furnished, but live mounts for Nutanix AHV would be amazing."
"There is always room for improvement with some shortcuts for the web interface. They could make it even more beautiful."
"Rubrik is expensive."
"The main pain points we experienced was the stability of the system. We received a lot of instability when we have upgraded from a certain version to a new version."
"The only thing that can be improved is catering for open source databases because at the moment it doesn't cater for Mongo, MySQL, and Postgres."
"The price of Rubrik is too high, especially when you are considering a change in the total backup solution."
"Price-wise, Rubrik needs improvement as it is considered expensive compared to similar competitors."
"I would love to be able to just get from the dashboard to a file that I need, or a system that I need."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"This solution is very expensive."
"We have a capacity-based license, which is managed centrally for all the sites of my company."
"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."
"Rubrik is priced high, but it was the solution that was providing us encryption and was secure. The solution price is high, but you get what you pay for."
"The cost was less than our previous provider, and this is a much better product."
"Rubrik is a little bit expensive, but it's worth the price."
"When we compared the overall costs, Rubrik was cheaper because the engineering and operational side required FAR LESS dedication. So, all in all, they actually were cheaper than the competition."
"It is a great value, but its cost is still a bit high."
"As a technical person, I don't have the details, but from what I have heard, it can be expensive."
"The setup cost is a bit high, but the solution is an all-in-one solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
20%
Manufacturing Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Financial Services Firm
12%
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 Enterprise56
 

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.
896,692 professionals have used our research since 2012.