IBM Spectrum Protect vs OpenText Data Protector comparison

IBM and OpenText are both solutions in the Backup and Recovery category. IBM is ranked #17 with an average rating of 7.2, while OpenText is ranked #23 with an average rating of 7.5. IBM holds a 2.2% mindshare in BRS, compared to OpenText’s 0.6% mindshare. Additionally, 86% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 80% of OpenText users who would recommend it.

IBM Spectrum Protect

Read 149 IBM Spectrum Protect reviews

4,073 Views
3,133 Comparison Views

86% willing to recommend

OpenText Data Protector

Read 102 OpenText Data Protector reviews

1,521 Views
931 Comparison Views

80% willing to recommend

IBM Spectrum Protect

OpenText Data Protector

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 11, 2024

IBM Spectrum Protect and OpenText Data Protector compete in the enterprise data protection category. IBM Spectrum Protect is favored for its pricing and customer support, while OpenText Data Protector excels in features and user satisfaction.

Features: IBM Spectrum Protect is valued for scalability, reliability, and effective data backup and recovery. OpenText Data Protector offers comprehensive protection, broader support for varied environments, and superior compatibility.

Room for Improvement: IBM Spectrum Protect needs better reporting, enhanced performance management, and streamlined updates. OpenText Data Protector requires improved technical support, simplified updates, and more efficient customer service.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM Spectrum Protect is praised for straightforward deployment and responsive customer service. OpenText Data Protector's deployment is more complex, and users face slower support responses.

Pricing and ROI: IBM Spectrum Protect is cost-effective with a favorable ROI. OpenText Data Protector is more expensive, justified by advanced features, but IBM Spectrum Protect offers better value for money.

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

Buyer's Guide

IBM Spectrum Protect vs. OpenText Data Protector

February 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 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

OpenText Data Protector

Ranking in Backup and Recovery

23rd

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 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 OpenText Data Protector is 0.6%, down from 0.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Backup and Recovery

Featured Reviews

Syed Habib

Head of Infrastructure Security (S.A.V.P) at EXIM Bank Ltd

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.

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Jeroen Vranckaerts

System Engineer - Server & Storage, DBA at Audi Brussels

Though a highly stable tool, it needs to be made easier to use and configure

Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a five out of ten. OpenText Data Protector is complex to configure correctly, but the areas concerning the data and compression are good. Once you get the product to work, it works, but it's much too complex to configure and troubleshoot, as it takes a lot of time and energy, making it not so efficient. Once the tool is configured in your environment, it provides good backup and compression features. In my company, we use OpenText Data Protector as a backup for our servers, and we have a team of 20 people to take care of the data backup using the tool. My company doesn't use OpenText Data Protector as a backup for our client's computers. In my company, we have scheduled the process related to backup, which makes the tool run daily around 30 to 40 times.

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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

"Replication processes with container storage pools allow reduction of storage space and network bandwidth, using deduplication and compression."

"What I found most valuable in IBM Spectrum Protect is that it allows you to back up physical machines, and its proxy feature lets you back up virtual machines."

"Their GUI has improved quite a bit. It's made the solution a lot simpler and less complex."

"The main thing is to keep the data safe and in files, keep it on tape ready for a request from a bank, and it is working perfectly with all our hardware."

"I've had no problems with the stability of this solution."

"The most valuable features of the product are data deduplication and disaster recovery."

"The backup of Sybase databases is the most valuable feature in the existing environment. They have got the most documentation out there on the internet for its software protection. The documentation is excellent, and there are a lot of blogs, websites. Because it's still one of the oldest products out there for data protection, there are also lots of people who have a lot of experience in using this solution."

"Traditional storage works perfectly with it."

More IBM Spectrum Protect pros

"Micro Focus Data Protector's most valuable feature is its interaction with the fiber share. It is easy to use, we use it to back up without any problem to VTLs, and can use the Fiber Channel that is still the TCP."

"The solution is easy to use."

"It is very easy to use and the interaction with various systems is very handy."

"Data Protector is very good at automation. From the time of the backup, verification, and copy to tape, it is very good. I don't need to touch it, it will do it by itself."

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

"The file system backup (by far, the most used) is the most valuable feature."

"The initial setup is very easy."

"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."

More OpenText Data Protector pros

Cons

"The solution should have better integration with VMware and with IBM Spectrum Protect Plus."

"We need everything cloud. Strong support for cloud services. S3 connectivity, which is mandatory for us in the future along with this integration of Spectrum Copy Data Management or Spectrum Protect services together with these Spectrum Protect Plus functionalities, e.g., hardware, snapshots, and Copy Data Management. They should come together in one solution."

"Ease of use. That has got to be the one thing that I routinely hear from clients and customers, that it's a little bit more difficult than it should be. What I'm finding is that IBM has heard that and they're responding with updated interfaces and things like that."

"My customers are not always happy with the Level 1 support. Sometimes, it just takes too long for the response to come, which is probably something that needs to be addressed."

"I need two separate solutions for virtual and physical systems. I need IBM Spectrum Protect Plus for virtual systems and Spectrum Protect for physical systems and that's a pain. It would be an improvement if they were combined."

"This solution does not have good support for virtualization and a hyper-converged environment."

"I would like to see the operations center be a lot more functional. It was nowhere near as functional as the admin center, and I'm doing a lot of command line with it."

"In a future release, it would be a benefit to have the ability to add an application as a storage target, as a storage pool. Additionally, they should add more functionality to the administration for the Operation Center."

More IBM Spectrum Protect cons

"I'm uncertain if it supports virtual machine backup and restoration. If they could enhance this aspect, they could gain more support from end users."

"This solution is not scalable."

"The technical support was very slow."

"VMware backup integration and cloud recovery is lacking."

"The GUI could be updated. The GUI hasn't changed since version 6. It's on version 10 now. The reporting could also be better. Also, while Data Protector is excellent for backing up physical hardware, it needs more features for backing up VM images because many environments use hypervisor."

"In terms of what can be improved, I would say integrations with MongoDB. We use MongoDB and we need to go to scripts to do backups. We need more integrations."

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

"The solution is not intuitive enough. I think they should work on the user experience and the graphical interface. These can be a lot better."

More OpenText Data Protector cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"For my company, the tool is affordable and reasonable...I don't think most people know that when a company has large systems in place, the TCO is a lot lower."

"We worked our licensing into a capacity model, which is nice. Now, everything is much simpler to manage from a licensing perspective."

"We chose IBM Spectrum Protect, because they actually have something called MSP pricing, which means managed services provider pricing. The pricing was attractive, and it seems to be a platform that IBM is totally investing on in terms of new functions and new capabilities."

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

"The product is not cheap."

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

"Licensing IBM Spectrum Protect can be somewhat confusing for new users due to the options available, such as licensing on a capacity or per server basis."

"The solution is expensive."

More IBM Spectrum Protect pricing and cost advice

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

"They have two types of licensing, one is for storage capacity and the other is client licensing. The capacity licensing here is a bit expensive."

"The licensing cost is too high."

"The licensing structure provides cost savings to business."

"Pricing/licensing is Data Protector's single best offering. In its most basic environment, the only license required is for whatever target device is required."

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

"The pricing is acceptable for enterprise level companies, but it's not acceptable for small- and medium-sized businesses. Micro Focus Data Protector is not an enterprise level solution, and it should cover small- and medium-sized businesses with acceptable prices."

"The solution requires paying for a license."

More OpenText Data Protector pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

16%

Computer Software Company

13%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

16%

Manufacturing Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Spectrum Protect?

IBM Spectrum Protect is stable.

See all answers

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

It's expensive. I acknowledge the cost associated with it.

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM Spectrum Protect?

See all answers

What do you like most about Micro Focus Data Protector?

I haven't experienced any crashes while using the solution...Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

See all answers

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

Pricing is high compared to other solutions. If they offer suitable features and a compatible price, we can attract clients. If the tech support becomes good, the price becomes less of a concern. W...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Micro Focus Data Protector?

Recently, clients have raised concerns about the lack of comprehensive documentation for Data Protector. This has been an issue, especially when troubleshooting or integrating with other vendor-spe...

See all answers

Comparisons

Veeam Data Platform vs IBM Spectrum Protect

Compared 19% of the time

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus vs IBM Spectrum Protect

Compared 18% of the time

Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) vs IBM Spectrum Protect

Compared 11% of the time

Commvault Cloud vs IBM Spectrum Protect

Compared 11% of the time

Rubrik vs IBM Spectrum Protect

Compared 6% of the time

More IBM Spectrum Protect Competitors

Veeam Data Platform vs OpenText Data Protector

Compared 75% of the time

Veritas NetBackup vs OpenText Data Protector

Compared 17% of the time

Commvault Cloud vs OpenText Data Protector

Compared 9% of the time

More OpenText Data Protector Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Spectrum Protect

March 2025

Download IBM Spectrum Protect product report

Buyer's Guide

OpenText Data Protector

March 2025

Download OpenText Data Protector product report

Also Known As

IBM TSM, IBM Tivoli Storage Manager

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

Overview

IBM Spectrum Protect (Tivoli Storage Manager) is a data protection platform that gives enterprises a single point of control and administration for backup and recovery. It is the flagship product in the IBM Spectrum Protect (Tivoli Storage Manager) family. It enables reliable, cost effective backups and fast recovery for virtual, physical and cloud environments of all sizes.

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

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

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

Buyer's Guide

IBM Spectrum Protect vs. OpenText Data Protector

February 2025

Free Report: IBM Spectrum Protect vs. OpenText Data Protector

Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Spectrum Protect vs. OpenText Data Protector and other solutions. Updated: February 2025.

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