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IBM Spectrum Protect vs Veritas Backup Exec comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 11, 2024
 

Categories and Ranking

IBM Spectrum Protect
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
14th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
148
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Veritas Backup Exec
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
17th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
73
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2024, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of IBM Spectrum Protect is 2.2%, down from 2.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Veritas Backup Exec is 2.2%, down from 2.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery
 

Featured Reviews

Rainer Kummerfeldt - PeerSpot reviewer
A stable security solution for data center protection
We have the requirements for cybersecurity. Spectrum Protect or other products do not have the technology. They need external products to meet this requirement. We utilize various storage solutions across different data centers, including tape and disk storage. It is immutable, preventing external changes. External tools may be required to verify backup integrity. Additionally, there's another product called IBM Spectrum Protect Defender, which aids in backup verification. However, other products can integrate with various tools depending on specific backup needs and at a lower cost. The service cost for IBM is very high. In the event of problems, we open a support call and discuss issues with the lab, which is crucial given the critical nature of some situations. Spectrum Protect's development trajectory differed from Veeam's as it initially didn't prioritize virtualization, resulting in later integration efforts. The first version of IBM Spectrum Protect Plus had shortcomings, though subsequent iterations like Plus may have improved. However, I need more direct experience with Plus to offer a comparison. Veeam holds a stronger market presence, particularly concerning cloud and virtualization, as it was developed with these trends in mind. The evolving landscape, including cloud services like Microsoft Office 365, demands versatile backup solutions with various storage and connectivity options, whether Amazon, Google, or others. This necessitates interfaces tailored to different cloud environments and storage types. Previously, our focus primarily revolved around IBM Protect, which centered on systems storage and tape libraries alongside platforms like AIX. However, the current landscape predominantly features Linux and Windows environments. Despite these shifts, AIX remains notably stable. Overall, I rate the solution an 8 out of 10.
Sameer Pansare - PeerSpot reviewer
Has a valuable feature for data encryption and good technical support services
Our primary use case for this solution is preliminary data restoration from tape media, disaster recovery, or recovering any data backed up to tapes The product's most valuable feature is encryption. The backup software is easy to use. They could include backup functionality for enterprise…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"One of the features which is most interesting in Spectrum Protect is the ability to scale out to great environments. This is something that not many vendors have on the market."
"The platform has valuable stability."
"Every time we go and try to get a file, we can get it. Restores are quick and the data is always there."
"Instead of taking three different backups of your systems, you're taking only one. You're able to crack that open and get what you need. The incident recovery, where it creates the VM and then you're running it, technically you're running it on Spectrum Protect. But then in the background, it's doing the storage motion and moving it off the Spectrum Protect back to your VMware environment. The users don't know the difference."
"I have found that the most valuable feature is useful documentation and troubleshooting."
"We have better, faster backup times, and it has improved efficiency in the backups."
"The product helps us do data protection and restoration for disaster recovery (DR)."
"The most valuable features are compression and de-duplication."
"The interface, dashboard, and pricing are all perfect."
"The product allows for versatile storage options, enabling users to store data on disk storage, NAS storage, or tape libraries."
"I have not seen another backup solution as scalable as this one."
"Its reliability and the fact that we have all the skills that we need for Veritas Backup Exec are the most valuable."
"It is easy to set up and use for daily processes and a good solution for preserving crucial data."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to back up IBM Power virtual servers."
"The implementation is straightforward."
"The most valuable features of Veritas Backup Exec are the easy-to-use intuitive GUI. It is very easy to understand. I have never lost data and I have been able to recover all the data I need."
 

Cons

"For Spectrum Protect Plus, I would like to see more enhanced reporting features and integration with Spectrum Protect."
"They need to reduce the complexity and make the learning curve easier."
"A lot of my customers always ask for legal holds, especially on email."
"There is room for improvement in IBM Spectrum Protect, especially regarding its support for virtual environment backups."
"We did not see any drawbacks to IBM Spectrum Protect before assisting a customer using Windows that wanted to migrate to using UNIX. IBM Spectrum Protect does not offer an option to migrate from other operating systems."
"I should be able to backup Linux. I would like SUSE for Linux on POWER. Right now, we have to use Storex, which is a pain to use."
"I need to have more than two instances working together. I need a worldwide grid able to have replication between three, four, or five instances."
"The interface could be more user-friendly."
"It is currently missing the dynamic backup feature for virtual machines, which is available in NetWorker. I can create politics in NetWorker to add virtual machines with specific tags, but I cannot do this in Backup Exec, which is a minus point for me. Currently, a user has to send a request to the Backup administrator to add a machine to the backup, but I should be able to create rules to automatically add a new machine to the backup. This kind of functionality is very important in current times, especially when we are using cloud solutions. I should be able to create more than one stream in a policy and specify how many streams I want to run in parallel in one policy. Currently, I have to manually create more policies to backup more than one virtual machine at the same time. Their support can also be improved in terms of response time."
"Maybe they could improve reporting capabilities and predictions."
"I would like to see this solution improve on faster restoration. Currently, it takes a long time to restore my data."
"The reports could be made in an easier way."
"Better integration with non-Microsoft products would be an improvement."
"There is no training provided, and their technicians are unaware of the features available."
"There's one common issue with tape backups: the tape might have some space left, but Backup Exec says it's not writable and needs replacement. We've encountered this with multiple clients, so it doesn't seem environment-specific. It's likely related to the software. We usually just format the tape and use it again without much investigation."
"Currently, the solution does not have the capability to restore a single mailbox, so you lose a lot of time having to restore for example ten mailboxes just to recover one."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"When compared to the cost of other enterprise products, it seems to be in the same range. However, compared to the cost of non-enterprise products, it is really high."
"Going to IBM Tech University Conference saved me from making a major purchase of the wrong thing, which was very helpful."
"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."
"It is fairly reasonable as compared to other solutions in the market."
"We pay for a terabyte license to support our backend usage."
"It's very complicated. Licensing is a pain."
"Customers need to pay for licensing in order to use IBM Spectrum Protect. The customers that have been using it for a long time are okay and happy with it. From a cost point of view, it's better for them to renew their licenses than to go through the difficult process of changing a backup product in their environment, and migrate from one product to another."
"We have found that the pricing is high in our country."
"Its price is a bit high. There is only the standard fee. There is no additional fee."
"It is affordable, but I hope that the price will come down a lot because of other competitors. It is a good price for the customer, but sometimes, the competition provides a much lower price. There are two ways to license it. You can license it per instance or per terabytes of data that we are mocking up. It is enough because it is not so complex. It is good when you're working with customers."
"The price is reasonable for the features it offers."
"The pricing of Veritas Backup's license is comparable to Veeam."
"The product is inexpensive compared to enterprise software."
"The pricing is good."
"I think it's sold at the right price. It's not expensive. The license is usually for a year."
"Regarding expense, Backup Exec is generally suitable for small and medium businesses. However, we can customize them based on the workload."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
16%
Computer Software Company
14%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
17%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Spectrum Protect?
For my company, the tool is affordable and reasonable, but most people don't know that. People only see one major price for the tool, which runs into millions, so they would always say that it is a...
What needs improvement with IBM Spectrum Protect?
The technical team's service depends on where the support service is located. Some products are not included in IBM itself, but external companies are developing some solutions for IBM. I think the...
How do the backup solutions of Veeam and Veritas compare?
Technically, Veeam is best for hyper-v & VMWare replications, snapshots, HA failover, also support for file system backups inside VMs., support for tape library & FC too. But Veritas Netbac...
What do you like most about Veritas Backup Exec?
The most important feature is the variety of backup applications it supports, including ERP systems and most other programs, such as Microsoft.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Veritas Backup Exec?
I would rate the pricing a seven out of ten, with ten being very expensive. The pricing is good. We have a yearly license. The total license cost is around 40,000 dollars. That's with add-ons and t...
 

Also Known As

IBM TSM, IBM Tivoli Storage Manager
Backup Exec, Symantec Backup Exec
 

Learn More

 

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
Beta Offshore
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Spectrum Protect vs. Veritas Backup Exec and other solutions. Updated: December 2024.
824,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.