IBM Storage Protect vs OpenText Data Protector comparison

IBM and OpenText are both solutions in the Backup and Recovery category. IBM is ranked #13 with an average rating of 7.0, while OpenText is ranked #26 with an average rating of 9.0. IBM holds a 1.8% mindshare in BRS, compared to OpenText’s 0.9% mindshare. Additionally, 87% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 80% of OpenText users who would recommend it.

IBM Storage Protect

Read 4 IBM Storage Protect reviews

5,105 Views
4,288 Comparison Views

87% willing to recommend

OpenText Data Protector

Read 102 OpenText Data Protector reviews

2,452 Views
2,207 Comparison Views

80% willing to recommend

IBM Storage Protect

OpenText Data Protector

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 16, 2025

OpenText Data Protector and IBM Storage Protect compete in the data protection and backup solutions category. While both offer comprehensive features, IBM appears to have the upper hand with advanced deduplication and scalability, which are critical for large-scale enterprise environments.

Features: OpenText Data Protector offers seamless integration with applications such as SAP and Oracle, along with virtual and physical backup capabilities, benefiting from a comprehensive feature set. IBM Storage Protect supports advanced deduplication, compression, and robust database integrations, focusing on scalability and reliability for large enterprises.

Room for Improvement: OpenText Data Protector users seek enhancements in GUI, reporting functions, and better management for virtual environments, alongside improved support documentation. IBM Storage Protect needs simplification of configuration, better cloud integration, enhanced VM backup capabilities, and a more user-friendly command-line interface.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Both solutions are favored for on-premises and hybrid deployments. OpenText Data Protector's customer service could improve in response times and localized expertise, while IBM offers professional service with room for quicker issue escalation.

Pricing and ROI: OpenText Data Protector provides flexible licensing options but can be costly if all features are used, yet remains cost-effective for comprehensive backup needs. IBM Storage Protect's pricing is seen as high; however, the enterprise-level capabilities, offering scalability, often justify this cost, ensuring a good ROI for large organizations.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Storage Protect vs. OpenText Data Protector Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Storage Protect vs. OpenText Data Protector

December 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 Storage Protect

Ranking in Backup and Recovery

13th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

OpenText Data Protector

Ranking in Backup and Recovery

26th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

5.8

Number of Reviews

102

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of IBM Storage Protect is 1.8%, down from 2.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OpenText Data Protector is 0.9%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Backup and Recovery Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
IBM Storage Protect	1.8%
OpenText Data Protector	0.9%
Other	97.3%

Backup and Recovery

Featured Reviews

reviewer2787573

Interim Head of Infrastructure at a real estate/law firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

Backup coverage has supported immutable protection and now needs a more modern, intuitive interface

IBM Storage Protect is from a previous generation of backup software. In those days, backup software was complex in setting up and complex to manage. The new software, such as Rubrik, is very easy to use and more relatable to younger engineers because its interface design is more similar to Office 365 and the newer controls and labels that we are accustomed to. The difficulty that we now have with IBM Storage Protect is that for this day and age, compared to other products that are out there, it seems complex. If we look back 15 years ago, all enterprise class backup software was complex, so IBM was not any different. However, many of these older systems, such as Commvault, still have the same complaint that they are very complex because they have tried to keep that same interface and the same way it works. This suits them, but it probably needed a complete overhaul to bring it into the ease of use that we have with modern software. However, that upgrade has not been done. IBM Storage Protect has not been upgraded into a modern platform. It still looks a legacy platform.

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reviewer1751496

Project Manager and Technical Consultant at a computer software company with 201-500 employees

Provides effective backup for physical servers and needs improvements for cloud compatibility

We use OpenText Data Protector for Oracle database backup and some applications that run for database security OpenText Data Protector is good for physical backup, specifically for physical servers. It is effective for direct backups to EMC library or storage without using a repository. However,…

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"IBM Spectrum Protect has excellent integration capability."

"The customization and the ability to backup across all platforms are the most valuable features."

"The ability to do dedupe in the product is nice to have."

"The addition of the retention set feature provides a reduction in storage costs. It also reduces RTO and RPO so that you can respond quickly to your clients and services in case of data loss."

"IBM Spectrum Protect offers stable software and products."

"The file-restoring feature is the most valuable."

"The solution offers very good flexibility."

"Its incremental forever approach is valuable, so we don't have to load tapes to do a restore."

More IBM Storage Protect pros

"The solution allows us to be able to backup and exchange directly, to backup Microsoft exchange."

"It's supports Unix, Linux, all of the OS's. It's very stable software."

"I like that it supports HPE UNIX servers since many backup solutions do not - this is the main reason why we chose this solution."

"OpenText Data Protector is good for physical backup, specifically for physical servers."

"Data Protector's GUI is the most useful feature."

"Data Protector's granular recovery features make it easy for us to create and restore backups in an understandable and user-friendly manner. With granular recovery, any database or even just a database table can be restored at will."

"The initial setup was relatively easy."

"This solution is quite stable because we have only three users."

More OpenText Data Protector pros

Cons

"The administration interface should implement more functionalities that exist only in the command line and needs improvement in how some reports are created."

"I would like to see more technical training online. Sometimes, it is a little bit difficult to find, or that I do not really know what I am looking for as somebody who is starting off finding their learning curve."

"There have been some sizing issues now, and we are dealing with those."

"I would love to see something which allows us to do an auto restart of backup jobs."

"The difficulty that we now have with IBM Storage Protect is that for this day and age, compared to other products that are out there, it seems complex."

"The solution's ability to integrate with a cloud solution is one area that needs improvement."

"It lacks reporting and an efficient alert mechanism. The GUI could also be improved."

"Most customers still struggle with the reporting piece, especially generating reports. I think it needs some improvements in this area."

More IBM Storage Protect cons

"Recently, clients have raised concerns about the lack of comprehensive documentation for Data Protector."

"Virtualization."

"It's very expensive compared to Veeam and other similar solutions."

"It has a lot of undeveloped functions like window searching and patent searching, and within the main backup processes like VMware and Microsoft Exchange. It's completely not user-friendly, and it has no built-in antivirus software. In my opinion, Micro Focus Data Protector is not an enterprise level solution."

"I would like to see a better user interface in the next release."

"In general, you can say that Micro Focus Data Protector is behind in capabilities when compared with other backup solutions, such as Commvault, Symantec, NetBackup, but it is very strong for certain use cases such as array integration. We are using it in production even now. There should be some kind of cloud integration and archiving solutions. I think this is the area they need to focus on."

"VM backups needs to be improved. They need to make it similar to the way Veeam and Commvault are doing the virtual backups."

"They should design the solution so that it is much easier for deployment and make the UI easy to use."

More OpenText Data Protector cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"IBM Storage Protect is not expensive and fits the needs of all business types. The licensing is based on a capacity-based model. You can take a license for one, two, or three terabytes."

"That's no longer my department, but I have some past experience with licensing. It is not cheap. I would rate it a three out of five in terms of licensing. In terms of additional costs, there is management overhead. It is a complex solution and a lot of work goes into managing clients. It has gotten better over the years, but compared to its competitor, it is still heavy on management overhead."

"We are paying for support and maintenance on a monthly basis."

"The solution's pricing is fair. Price-wise, I rate the solution an eight out of ten."

"The license model that they have at IBM, which is due to volume, from a certain volume onward is not the right license model."

"The pricing of the solution is high in comparison to other products on the market. For example, IBM and Symantec have less costly options."

"IBM Spectrum Protect has a fixed price and includes no additional costs."

"Going to IBM Tech University Conference saved me from making a major purchase of the wrong thing, which was very helpful."

More IBM Storage Protect pricing and cost advice

"Avoid using many LTO drives; when using fewer drives, the price will be extremely good."

"We have many competitors who are pricing better, and we believe that our pricing is higher."

"The licensing cost was not annual. We didn't pay any license. We paid when we deployed and we didn't pay for anything after that. There were no additional fees after the initial payment."

"Pricing for Micro Focus Data Protector is reasonable."

"Our licensing is on a capacity basis."

"The pricing is around $3,000 to $5,000. The charge additionally for support and to scale."

"The licensing cost is too high."

"In Data Protector, if you need extra features, you need to buy the agents for these features. Some of the features are Terabytes, some of them are agents. There's some complexity in the pricing and licensing."

More OpenText Data Protector pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

14%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Educational Organization

Performing Arts

10%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	53
Midsize Enterprise	25
Large Enterprise	95

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	28
Midsize Enterprise	22
Large Enterprise	61

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Storage Protect?

The best point about IBM Storage Protect is that it can use IBM tape environments, which we still use and will continue to use in the future.

See all answers

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

I do not know the current licensing cost for IBM Storage Protect and how we get our support because our licensing model is not quite standard. We do not buy IBM Storage Protect direct from IBM. We ...

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What needs improvement with IBM Storage Protect?

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Micro Focus Data Protector?

The solution is expensive as it requires purchasing all features without the option to negotiate based on client numbers, unlike Veeam which offers flexibility in pricing.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Micro Focus Data Protector?

OpenText Data Protector is not user-friendly, especially for cloud backup. It lacks functions and facilities compared to Veeam, which offers more user-friendliness for virtual machine backups. Ther...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Micro Focus Data Protector?

We use OpenText Data Protector ( /products/opentext-data-protector-reviews ) for Oracle database backup and some applications that run for database security.

See all answers

Comparisons

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus vs IBM Storage Protect

Compared 10% of the time

Dell PowerProtect Data Domain vs IBM Storage Protect

Compared 9% of the time

Veeam Data Platform vs IBM Storage Protect

Compared 7% of the time

HPE StoreOnce vs IBM Storage Protect

Compared 7% of the time

Commvault Cloud vs IBM Storage Protect

Compared 6% of the time

More IBM Storage Protect Competitors

Veeam Data Platform vs OpenText Data Protector

Compared 20% of the time

Commvault Cloud vs OpenText Data Protector

Compared 8% of the time

Dell Avamar vs OpenText Data Protector

Compared 5% of the time

Veritas NetBackup vs OpenText Data Protector

Compared 5% of the time

Carbonite Server vs OpenText Data Protector

Compared 3% of the time

More OpenText Data Protector Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Storage Protect

January 2026

Download IBM Storage Protect product report

Buyer's Guide

OpenText Data Protector

January 2026

Download OpenText Data Protector product report

Also Known As

IBM Spectrum Discover

Micro Focus Data Protector, Data Protector, OmniBack, HPE Data Protector

Overview

IBM Storage Protect offers data protection and management to secure critical business information efficiently. It's designed to be a scalable and flexible solution for data backup, recovery, and archive needs in complex IT environments.

IBM Storage Protect delivers comprehensive data protection by integrating backup, recovery, and archiving functionalities. It supports a range of workloads and infrastructures, from on-premises to cloud environments, facilitating efficient data management. Its platform provides seamless scalability to meet evolving business needs, underpinned by reliable security measures. Organizations leverage its capabilities to ensure business continuity and minimize data loss risks, making it vital in a data-driven world.

What are the key features of IBM Storage Protect?

Advanced Data Protection: Offers robust encryption and data integrity for secure backup processes.
Scalability: Grows with your data demands, supporting large data volumes without compromising performance.
Cloud Integration: Seamlessly integrates with cloud platforms, enhancing backup strategies with hybrid options.
Automated Operations: Simplifies management tasks with automation, reducing manual intervention and errors.

What benefits should users expect when evaluating IBM Storage Protect?

Cost Efficiency: Reduces storage costs by optimizing backup processes and data retention strategies.
Data Safety: Ensures data accessibility and integrity during recovery efforts, building trust in data protection strategies.
Operational Efficiency: Boosts productivity through streamlined and automated backup management workflows.
Compliance Readiness: Helps maintain compliance with data protection regulations by providing thorough reporting and audit trails.

Industries like finance and healthcare implement IBM Storage Protect to safeguard sensitive information against threats. In financial services, it's crucial for maintaining client data confidentiality, while healthcare institutions use it to protect patient records, ensuring both accessibility and compliance with regulations.

IBM

OpenText Data Protector standardizes and consolidates backups across multiple platforms. It provides secure, comprehensive backup protection for business-critical data and applications whether virtual, physical, or online in the cloud.

OpenText

Sample Customers

CEMEX

GSK Vaccines, Repsol, Vodafone Group, Siemens AG, Medium Enterprise Transportation Services Company

Buyer's Guide

IBM Storage Protect vs. OpenText Data Protector

December 2025

Free Report: IBM Storage Protect vs. OpenText Data Protector

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