IBM Spectrum Protect vs Quest NetVault Plus comparison

IBM and Quest Software are both solutions in the Backup and Recovery category. IBM is ranked #17 with an average rating of 7.2, while Quest Software is ranked #47 with an average rating of 8.0. IBM holds a 2.2% mindshare in BRS, compared to Quest Software’s 0.6% mindshare. Additionally, 86% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 83% of Quest Software 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

Quest NetVault Plus

Read 11 Quest NetVault Plus reviews

1,350 Views
868 Comparison Views

83% willing to recommend

IBM Spectrum Protect

Quest NetVault Plus

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 9, 2025

IBM Spectrum Protect and Quest NetVault Plus are leading solutions in the data protection category, each with its strengths. IBM Spectrum Protect has the upper hand due to its scalability and advanced enterprise-level features, making it ideal for larger organizations.

Features: IBM Spectrum Protect offers advanced features like incremental backups, deduplication, and comprehensive data replication. It efficiently supports multiple platforms without frequent upgrades and allows for enterprise-level scalability. Quest NetVault Plus stands out with an easy-to-use interface and streamlined backup process featuring effective snapshot management and user-friendly operations.

Room for Improvement: IBM Spectrum Protect could improve its GUI, simplify reporting, and enhance tape management efficiency. Quest NetVault Plus might benefit from better restore accuracy, improved handling of extensive logs, and stronger integration with virtual environments.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM Spectrum Protect is typically deployed on-premises with hybrid cloud support, known for robust customer service but with some feedback variability in technical support. Quest NetVault Plus offers both on-premises and private cloud options, receiving high ratings for customer service, praised for its efficient support system despite minor discrepancies.

Pricing and ROI: IBM Spectrum Protect's comprehensive suite comes with a complex and potentially expensive licensing structure, justified for highly regulated industries. Quest NetVault Plus, though also costly, provides a flexible licensing model that focuses on necessary features, contributing to swift ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Spectrum Protect vs. Quest NetVault Plus Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Spectrum Protect vs. Quest NetVault Plus

April 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

Quest NetVault Plus

Ranking in Backup and Recovery

47th

Average Rating

7.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Disaster Recovery (DR) Software (24th)

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 Quest NetVault Plus is 0.6%, up from 0.6% 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.

Read full review

Isa Safii

Senior System Engineer at PT. Virtus Technology Indonesia

Comprehensive data protection and reliable backup capabilities enable smooth disaster recovery operations

The features of Quest NetVault Plus ( /products/quest-netvault-plus-reviews ) that are most valuable include the ability to pick up and restore to tape servers and external hard disks. It allows us to pick up from devices and then restore to the same devices or external server storage. Additionally, the application supports scanning files for malware before backup operations.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We are talking about a stable solution which boasts good performance and security."

"The best part of this solution is that it just works."

"One way they have improved our organization is through the stability of the solution and the availability of the product."

"Since the technology is reliable, it simplifies the backup process significantly. Now, our focus can primarily be on managing full backups and creating some offline copies."

"The technical support for Spectrum Protect is very mature. It is very committed to giving a top-notch support experience."

"Traditional storage works perfectly with it."

"I love the TDP for VMware because of the web interface and the possibilities provided by this tool. It's amazing."

"It is an IBM product. With SAP, you are using IBM software to protect it. DB2 and AIX servers are both IBM. Therefore, it is a total IBM solution, which helps."

More IBM Spectrum Protect pros

"The initial setup is straightforward. It's not that complicated. Deployment took maybe about 15 minutes."

"The user interface is good."

"Having the web-based interface is important to us because we can access it from any computer in the network, rather than having it installed and available for use only on a specific one."

"Its dashboard is quite well done. When you log into the GUI, you can basically see everything you need to know. There is also the possibility to edit the view as you like, which is great."

"If a job is pending, the solution communicates it to us through emails."

"Quest NetVault Plus has a high level of stability."

"The solution allows us to block off our network and only give access to whatever we want."

"The interface is very user-friendly."

More Quest NetVault Plus pros

Cons

"Restoring massive files is a very time-consuming process."

"The product’s recovery process in terms of agent installation needs improvement"

"It needs agents that take into account more databases (PostgreSQL, MySQL, etc.)."

"They are behind on many things, especially security. They are catching up a little bit now, but the competitors are doing better security-wise. There should be malware detection and prevention and higher security."

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

"It does what we need it to do, but it could be better with VM backups. It could be better integrated with virtual machines or VM backups, but that's why they have their Plus out now. Plus version is more geared toward VM backups. The regular version is more for endpoint clients."

"It is not compatible with other operating systems like Windows or Linux, and lacks a consolidated dashboard from Browser Spectrum."

"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."

More IBM Spectrum Protect cons

"The initial setup is a little complex."

"In the next version, I would like to see support for the MongoDB database. As it is now, there is no component that works with it and we cannot back the data up using NetVault."

"Improvements could be made in the deduplication and data management capabilities. There is also a need for better security measures, as security is critical to ensure backups are safe and free from malware."

"The interface can be improved. It should be more clear what features are available and make them easy to find."

"There are command-line limitations. There is not a very strong possibility to work with the command line. The commands that are there are not that powerful, and you need to be very good at scripting, for example, in PowerShell or in Bash in case it is running on Linux systems. You need to combine a lot of commands together, and still, you will not get a great output that is presentable to others. You cannot work with it as easily."

"There are certain issues with the product that we report to Quest, and we get offered a workaround instead of a fix. There could be better interaction with the development teams, perhaps in terms of transparency."

"The product’s SQL backup plugin needs improvement."

"The stability of the solution is poor."

More Quest NetVault Plus cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We have capacity licensing. We use the front end. The capacity licensing is pretty okay on the licensing price. I used to use the old PVU-based licensing in the early environment, but now we use capacity-based licensing."

"It is expensive."

"The licensing fees are between $8,000 and $10,000 per year."

"The price of IBM Spectrum Protect is expensive. However, there are a few packages and it is unclear because, for the entry suite they have both options, which are the back-end storage capacity and the front-end storage capacity."

"Its licensing is complicated. It goes by CPUs, and it is pretty expensive as well."

"At scale, the consumption license (per TB) is very expensive."

"License-wise regarding IBM, it's licensed per terabyte. And that is after compression and deduplication."

"I rate the pricing a four on a scale of one to ten, where one is not cost-effective, and ten is cost-effective."

More IBM Spectrum Protect pricing and cost advice

"When we purchased four licenses, we were given a very good price. However, it is still on the high side when compared to some other vendors."

"The price of our 12-month contract is approximately $1,500 AUD ($1,100 USD)."

"The tool is expensive."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

17%

Computer Software Company

13%

Government

University

Computer Software Company

14%

Manufacturing Company

Real Estate/Law Firm

Financial Services Firm

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 Quest NetVault ?

NetVault is a great cloud-ready enterprise backup software for hybrid data centers. Here are some of the things I really like about the solution: It is easy to use right out of the box and scales ...

See all answers

What do you like most about Quest NetVault?

If a job is pending, the solution communicates it to us through emails.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Quest NetVault?

Improvements could be made in the deduplication and data management capabilities. There is also a need for better security measures, as security is critical to ensure backups are safe and free from...

See all answers

Comparisons

Veeam Data Platform vs IBM Spectrum Protect

Compared 18% of the time

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus vs IBM Spectrum Protect

Compared 17% of the time

Commvault Cloud vs IBM Spectrum Protect

Compared 11% of the time

Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) 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 Quest NetVault Plus

Compared 40% of the time

Veritas NetBackup vs Quest NetVault Plus

Compared 13% of the time

Quest Rapid Recovery vs Quest NetVault Plus

Compared 13% of the time

vRanger vs Quest NetVault Plus

Compared 11% of the time

Arcserve UDP vs Quest NetVault Plus

Compared 9% of the time

More Quest NetVault Plus Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Spectrum Protect

April 2025

Download IBM Spectrum Protect product report

Buyer's Guide

Quest NetVault Plus

April 2025

Download Quest NetVault Plus product report

Also Known As

IBM TSM, IBM Tivoli Storage Manager

NetVault Backup, Quest NetVault, Quest NetVault Backup, BakBone

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

Quest NetVault Plus is used by organizations for efficient backup in environments such as retail machines, VMware, and virtual servers, including Hyper-V. It supports hybrid environments with Nutanix Xi.

Quest NetVault Plus is designed for backing up databases, applications, and security logs in hybrid environments. It includes a universal backup system with deduplication and allows data path mapping. Users install a client agent on PCs and a server agent for recovery tasks. Commonly used in industries like pharma, Quest NetVault Plus offers a web interface for network-wide access, dashboards for visualization, and reliable stability and reporting features. While appreciated for its backup management and efficient search capabilities, users desire improvements in its web interface and compatibility.

What are the key features of Quest NetVault Plus?

Efficient Search: Quickly locate tables and databases in backups.
Time-Saving Restoration: Speeds up recovery tasks.
Streamlined Management: Manage backups across different locations easily.
User-Friendly Interface: Offers network-wide access via an intuitive web interface.
Comprehensive Dashboard: Provides clear visibility of backup processes.

What benefits should organizations expect from Quest NetVault Plus?

Stability and Reporting: Reliable backup operations with built-in reporting tools.
Media Utilization: Optimize backup media usage for cost efficiency.
Capacity Planning: Plan for storage needs with detailed reports.
Communication: Stay informed with email notifications on backup status.

In industries like pharma, Quest NetVault Plus is implemented by configuring agents on clients and servers for effective backup and recovery. Its adaptability in hybrid setups with Nutanix Xi enhances server backup management, while its dashboard and reporting capabilities assist in monitoring and optimizing backup workflows across sectors.

Quest Software

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

intel, Mars, MERK, Microsoft, Uber, Visa

Buyer's Guide

IBM Spectrum Protect vs. Quest NetVault Plus

April 2025

Free Report: IBM Spectrum Protect vs. Quest NetVault Plus

Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Spectrum Protect vs. Quest NetVault Plus and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.

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