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IBM Spectrum Protect vs IBM Spectrum Protect Plus 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 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
IBM Spectrum Protect Plus
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
22nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
30
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 Spectrum Protect is 2.2%, down from 2.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is 0.9%, down from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery
 

Featured Reviews

Syed Habib - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Atif Najam - PeerSpot reviewer
Has very good integration features and can quickly backup data and optimize storage
I would like to see continuous data protection (CDP). If there is machine failure, you don't have to go to the backup copy that you took 12 hours ago. You can actually go back to the backup copy made half an hour ago. That is, it would be good to have certain-point-in-time recovery. I would like them to add global deduplication. With deduplicate backups, deduplication will work only with the data of a certain machine or a certain backup set. Usually, the data is repeated across the data of the backup sets. However, if IBM Spectrum Protect Plus provides a global deduplication option it will ultimately result in better storage savings.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I love the TDP for VMware because of the web interface and the possibilities provided by this tool. It's amazing."
"The product is very stable."
"Data archiving is easier and less time-consuming."
"IBM Spectrum Protect is stable."
"We have a very good team of administrators who know the product perfectly and are able to manage it on a day-to-day basis."
"Spectrum Protect's best feature is that I can use it practically anywhere, on any platform, and for any servers or clients."
"It is very stable after deployment and will perform in a steady state."
"It is a very stable product. The cost is similar to that of other enterprise solutions."
"The most valuable features of the solution stem from the fact that the product works and helps with restoration areas whenever there is a need to restore something."
"The initial setup of IBM Protect Plus is simple and not complex."
"We used to use the solution with tapes a few years ago. We've switched to discs, and it has gotten much faster."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the integration with Oracle."
"The solution integrates well with other tools."
"The solution's stability is high because it is derived from Spectrum Protect."
"The solution offers a very straightforward deployment. You click, click, click and it's done. There's not much configuration to do."
"Large-scale recoveries are very straightforward."
 

Cons

"In the next version of the solution, I would like to see cloud support."
"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."
"I want to see better compression than what it currently does."
"Their support is lacking. I've talked to their developers and stuff in the last couple of weeks and they reassure me that some people have retired, and they're working on getting that bumped back up. But the support lacks a lot to be desired at this point."
"There were scalability issues only in the brand new features which were recently released."
"There needs to be a bit more automation."
"It does not do too well in our virtual environment."
"Our customers would like to see metadata replication, tearing to tape, and more cloud capabilities."
"The one issue we are facing is related to file restores."
"You end up needing to do a lot of troubleshooting to get things to work effectively."
"An area that needs improvement is data validation. We currently use another product that gives us immediate validation, information about when the last backup was, and no risk of corruption happening. TSM in IBM Spectrum is not mature so that you can validate on the spot."
"The backup support for IBM Power Virtualization needs to be added."
"There could be better integration with Spectrum Protect and Spectrum Protect Plus, it should be one solution."
"The tool needs to increase the number of threats."
"There's significant room for improvement. They are not yet where I want them to be."
"I would like integration into where the VMware guys can do their own restores."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"IBM Spectrum Protect, cost-wise, has way higher pricing than Veeam. By switching over to Veeam, my company saved over $600,000 in USD. The IBM Spectrum Protect pricing is a two on a scale of one to ten. My company paid additional fees for maintenance, apart from the standard licensing fees."
"Licensing can be either complicated or simple depending on what type of licensing you wish to use and what works best for your environment."
"It's very complicated. Licensing is a pain."
"The pricing of the solution is high in comparison to other products on the market. For example, IBM and Symantec have less costly options."
"We worked our licensing into a capacity model, which is nice. Now, everything is much simpler to manage from a licensing perspective."
"The platform is neither highly priced nor inexpensive. I rate the pricing a seven out of ten."
"Its licensing is complicated. It goes by CPUs, and it is pretty expensive as well."
"We are paying for support and maintenance on a monthly basis."
"If you need to extend it, it can be extended acting like a normal Spectrum Protect with a long archive."
"The price offering from IBM is coming down because it is based on number of VM machines. So, IBM is coming to the market to show the added value of the product."
"The initial cost of the product is perpetual but the support fees are billed annually."
"In addition to the standard licensing fees, we paid for implementation and training."
"Depends on the licensing options that you choose."
"Unlike some other solutions, such as Veritas NetBackup where you have to pay for different licenses to use different features, there is a single license that allows you to use all of the features."
"The licensing model of Spectrum Protect Plus is more efficient and cheaper compared to the original."
"Clients prefer to buy a perpetual license, but the majority opt for a yearly subscription."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
9%
University
7%
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with IBM Spectrum Protect?
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 dash...
What do you like most about IBM Spectrum Protect Plus?
The most valuable features of the solution stem from the fact that the product works and helps with restoration areas whenever there is a need to restore something.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Spectrum Protect Plus?
It is probably based on the number of CPUs. They are fairly expensive.
What needs improvement with IBM Spectrum Protect Plus?
With ransomware protection and cyber protection, more improvement is possible. IBM provides these through a third party, so enhancement is needed. There's significant room for improvement. They are...
 

Also Known As

IBM TSM, IBM Tivoli Storage Manager
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

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
PT Wings Surya, Tectrade, State of Ohio
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Spectrum Protect vs. IBM Spectrum Protect Plus and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
848,716 professionals have used our research since 2012.