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

"The platform’s most valuable feature is its ability to verify the recoverability of backups."

"We work very closely together with IBM using their Support Center, but we have a strong contact in their development teams, and we have dedicated people from IBM working with us."

"Some of the people in our group, like our DBAs and non-technical people, can restore some stuff themselves via Spectrum Protect. That is how simple it is."

"The main feature of this product is a flexible architecture and functionality that allows you to solve problems of any complexity and scale. Most importantly, it is not just a product that simply makes a backup, but it restores and saves a large number of services in critical situations. By the way, it works fine with different types of clouds, supports S3."

"We can freeze and start databases for consistent backups."

"It is also a product that has been maturing for a long time. This is good because customers need reliability in their enterprise initiatives."

"The tool's backup engine is very powerful. Previously, our client finished backup with HPE product in 48 hours. IBM Storage Protect completes backup in 8 hours."

"The tool proves invaluable in scenarios where systems need recovery, such as restoring damaged data."

More IBM Storage Protect pros

"Deduplication implementation with CAPA is very good."

"It's user-friendly and not overly complicated to configure."

"The normal file system backup is easy to manage, and our success rate is quite high."

"The reliability of HP Data Protector is the most valuable feature for us."

"If you have an idea of what you are doing, it's very flexible and very stable."

"The initial setup is straightforward if you understand Data Protector."

"The installation was simple and provided an easy way to install even on Unix servers. It has excellent features like deduplication."

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

More OpenText Data Protector pros

Cons

"The software is complex; setup is complex."

"Scalability is poor. As you get to bigger environments, this is where our gaps have been introduced. As we have grown over the past couple of years, the gaps have become more apparent."

"It does not do too well in our virtual 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."

"I would like to advance reporting and analytics for the platform to see how much data is coming into the platform. how much data is expiring everyday, and what tape savings we are getting through reclamation."

"Sometimes we experience trouble with the backup transfer of the control files."

"I am not really impressed with the Level 1 support, but once I get past that and go to Level 2, then we will usually get some type of resolution."

"Any feature that is compliant with virtualizing the application should be improved."

More IBM Storage Protect cons

"Micro Focus are improving Data Protector with every new version and since we began undergoing training with the latest version we have not faced any real challenges yet. However, their support does need to be improved, in my opinion. In certain critical cases that we've had, they did not provide a satisfactory level of support."

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

"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."

"The scheduler setup could be better. We are facing some issues scheduling the job based on our requirements."

"Micro Focus Data Protector must improve its overall evolution record. They need to focus on hardware based instant recovery, client recovery, and cloud ability. Now there is no cloud ability."

"OpenText Data Protector is not user-friendly, especially for cloud backup."

"The downside of the flexibility on offer is if you over-configure it, it may fail to function as some configurations may not match."

"Faster VEAgent Restores"

More OpenText Data Protector cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

"The product is low cost. It is very cool when we design it to using licensing based on post capacity."

"Technical support is pretty good. It is doing fine, but you pay for it."

"It is very scalable, but the downside is that it costs money."

"The pricing model of this solution is another difficult area, it's very sophisticated in the way they charge. It's based on PBU, which is a type of processor, how, many processors, and you need to put everything into an equation. However, they have different ways of charging or licensing. One way is a back-end volume or front-end volume, which is quite complicated."

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

"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."

"IBM Spectrum Protect can be considered an averagely-priced product."

More IBM Storage Protect pricing and cost advice

"It is more affordable compared to other vendors."

"The licensing cost is too high."

"The pricing is neither too expensive nor very cheap."

"There is a perpetual license involved in addition to support which needs to be renewed annually."

"Pricing for Micro Focus Data Protector is reasonable."

"Our licensing is on a capacity basis."

"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 license for the solution is very expensive compared to the other products in the market."

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 9% of the time

Dell PowerProtect Data Domain vs IBM Storage Protect

Compared 8% 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 18% of the time

Commvault Cloud vs OpenText Data Protector

Compared 7% of the time

Dell Avamar vs OpenText Data Protector

Compared 5% of the time

Symantec Data Loss Prevention vs OpenText Data Protector

Compared 5% of the time

Veritas NetBackup vs OpenText Data Protector

Compared 5% 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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