IBM Spectrum Protect Plus Reviews

It is a new product coming out from IBM to compete mainly against Veeam and Backup Exec software. It is mostly for the virtual environment, which is either VMware or Hyper-V.  

Our starting customers have approximately 30 to 40 VM machines. This is our target per customer, which may grow in the future, but cost-wise, it should be less for them.

Mostly, in our region, they are implemented on-premise with a mix of disk or tape. Some of them are looking for cloud, and this product is fully integrated with all cloud vendors, like IBM Cloud or Amazon Cloud. Therefore, there is no problem if the customer would like to have type of of cloud backup to keep his data.

I would like more integration with security. We need to show the value of the product in regards to handling security. For example, how it handles current malware or viruses. IBM should be more proactive in this direction.

The solution's stability is high because it is derived from Spectrum Protect.

It is scalable. It starts from a small customer and grows with them as they develop and build up their business in the future.

Our company is managing small customer to large enterprise customers. This is because Spectrum Protect or Spectrum Protect Plus database can support very large enterprise customers with more than 4 billion objects. Thus, the solution is scalable and can be fitted for any customer.

We use them to support customer problems. The customer can open a ticket with a PMR with IBM for support. The customer can open it directly or we have our support line on GBM, so it will help the customer at a first stage or step before getting to IBM support. However, in a lot of cases, IBM is already supporting the customer, and the support is very good. The total fix time is recognized, and they can help our customers very well.

I sell the product, but we have client engagement with the customer during the project planning. This explains to the customer the scope of work and how much it will take. So, our implementation guy already creates this scope after discussing the customer requirements and understanding the customer infrastructure, or customer components, then they decide the scope of work. We have to execute the project plan to be ensure that the product is delivered and installed correctly.

If the customer is new, maybe the older version of Spectrum Protect was little bit complex because it did not have full gateway interface interaction. However, the newer version of Spectrum Protect is easier, and the customer is likely to see the gateway interface. It is much more user friendly.

The price offering from IBM is coming down because it is based on number of VM machines. So, IBM is coming to the market to show the added value of the product. The product can be extended again on for a short-term retention on disk if you are going only on a virtual environment, only on VM base licensing. However, if you need to extend it, it can be extended acting like a normal Spectrum Protect with a long archive.

Our customers do evaluate other vendors, especially Commvault. We also cannot ignore Veritas and EMC NetWorker Solutions. These solutions sometimes evaluate our base on pricing or function. It depends on the customer situation. It is different from customer to customer, as it is a bit difficult to change the backup software on the customer side. This is because it requires a lot of migration.

The tool needs to increase the number of threats. 

I have been working with the solution for ten years. 

I rate the tool's stability a nine out of ten. 

I rate IBM Spectrum Protect Plus' scalability a nine out of ten. 

The tool has enough documentation; you don't need to contact the support team. 

You need experience to install the product. The installation depends on the organization's size.  

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is a little expensive. 

I rate the product a nine out of ten. 

We use the solution for offline backups of our VM. This is because we can have a longer retention period and back up our VM using cheaper storage devices, such as tapes. The solution can be deployed both on-premises or cloud.

The most valuable feature is how we can easily power speed up the VM even though the VM resides in remote storage.

The solution only supports HyperV and VMware but doesn't support Nutanix. The solution can be improved by supporting open-source virtualization like KVM and Nutanix for compatibility.

I have been using the solution for three years.

The solution is stable.

The solution is scalable.

The initial setup is straightforward. The deployment takes about an hour.

I give the solution a nine out of ten.

I use the solution for the backup of virtual machines.

The solution integrates with IBM Spectrum Protect. Thus, we can have version backups and enhance retention.

The solution requires much more automation features. Also, its reporting feature for the backup process needs improvement as well.

I have been using the solution as a business partner for five years.

I rate the solution's stability a ten out of ten.

The solution is scalable. I rate its scalability a ten out of ten.

The response time of the solution's technical support team could be better. Also, it should connect with the actual environment to solve the problems.

Neutral

I have used IBM Spectrum Protect before.

I rate the solution's initial setup process a seven out of ten. It includes installing a variety of patches. Compared to VMware, it requires a lot of planning.

The solution is too expensive. 

I recommend the solution to others as it has been in the market since the 1940s. It is a safe product. It may give away speed regarding backups, but it matches the vendor's requirements. It has slow performance speed than competitors but is very stable. I rate it an eight out of ten.

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is used for backing up our data on our servers.

The most valuable feature of IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is its ease of use. Additionally, it does backups of all of the things we need, such as OS, files, and databases.

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus could improve security.

I have been using IBM Spectrum Protect Plus for approximately four years.

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is stable.

The stability of IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is good.

We have approximately 2,000 virtual machines using the solution.

We previously used IBM TSM, which was replaced by IBM Spectrum Protect Plus.

The initial setup of IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is straightforward. It took approximately three weeks to set up all of our servers and everything else.

We used the vendor to do the implementation of IBM Spectrum Protect Plus.

We have two engineers and administrators that do the maintenance and support of the solution.

There is an annual license required to use IBM Spectrum Protect Plus. The cost of the license could improve, it is expensive.

I would recommend the solution to others.

I rate IBM Spectrum Protect Plus seven out of ten.

We use the software for server backup purposes.

Using this tool, we can easily backup and restore or recover the data for PCs and mobiles in case of system crashes.

The software's technical support could improve its response time for different time zones.

I have experience working with IBM Spectrum Protect Plus for over three years.

The software’s technical support team is responsive. There is no delay. Whenever we require support, we schedule a call with them. Although, due to time zone differences, some of our teams receive the solutions a little late.

I rate the technical support services an eight and a half out of ten. 

The complexity of the initial setup varies for the number of servers as per different sizes of organizations. For some, we may require only two servers; for others, we may need 100.

It is a user-friendly software. Sometimes, WhatsApp and Google Photos on mobile may crash. In such situations, having IBM Spectrum Protect Plus for easy data recovery will be more beneficial.

I rate it a ten out of ten.

We are a solution provider and we implement IBM products, such as Spectrum Protect Plus for our clients.

The testing capability is good.

It can back up both VMware and Hyper-V in one console.

It can back up bare metals servers and doesn't need an agent. There is no specific limitation for backing up to either the cloud or on-premises.

The API is very good.

The duplication and compression features are included in one license.

Replication feature is available for off site backup. New generation data backup technologies are constantly being developed for multi-cloud environments.

The feedback that we have received is nice and we have heard no complaints of instability.

We can extend the customer's backup storage, add servers, or add new disaster recovery sites. 

We have been in contact with technical support, and whenever we have a problem we open a ticket to IBM. They have supported us well for any case we have had.

The implementation and installation will take 15 minutes at the maximum.

It can be deployed on-premises or as a cloud-based solution.

The price is lower than that of some competing products.

Some of our customers are planning to replace Veeam with the Spectrum Plus software. Veeam is a powerful tool and good for virtualization, but the price is lower for the IBM product.

This is a modern technology that supports not only data protection, but include HIPAA resources and virtualization. It is a product that I recommend.

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

I was using this solution at my previous job, about six months ago. The company that I am with now is planning to purchase it, although, at this time, we do not have any of these products.

I have experience with the on-premises deployment model, and it was our backup solution.

This solution allows you to create a backup using any storage, and then take another one for disaster recovery. This is something that is very important for us.

This is a multi-platform backup solution where you can take a backup from AIX, Windows, or Linux servers and restore from CD, disk, or tape. It will restore exactly, from whatever you have. It's really comfortable.

This product has no limitations.

The user experience is very bad and the interface needs to be improved. It is not user-friendly. This is not my complaint, alone, but everybody I know who has worked with this solution. In order to perform a backup, professionally, you need to use the command-line interface. By comparison, Veritas has a backup solution with a very nice user interface that is easy to use.

This solution is difficult to troubleshoot when an error occurs. It gives you an error number that you can search for in the manual, or on the internet, to find an answer, but details are not given within the user interface. Again, it is just not user-friendly.

This solution is stable.

This is a scalable solution.

We have three backup managers who work together. I am with the Linux team, and we installed this solution, but we will be handing it over to the maintenance team. As both teams work with this solution, there are five people in total.

We are backing up approximately one hundred servers. We currently don't have any plans to expand this location, so our usage here will not increase. However, we do have branches in other cities, so in the future, we expect to use this solution in each of the branches.

I have a lot of experience with IBM Spectrum Protect, and the Plus version has extra features. It includes, for example, cloud features. After we upgraded to the plus version, I did not use many of the additional features. From my perspective, I did not really notice any difference between the two versions. We made the switch because our consultants suggested the Plus version, and our research told us that it is a really good solution to upgrade to.

We actually used multiple backup solutions, but I am unable to name them.

We did not initially install and configure the Plus version. The initial setup was for IBM Spectrum Protect, and then we performed an upgrade to the Plus version.

The initial setup is complex, for a new installation, when somebody does it for the first time. It is not too hard when you have experience with it. Our deployment took approximately one day.

I and my colleague performed the implementation in-house, with some assistance from IBM.

This solution is worth the investment.

This solution is expensive, but compared to other backup solutions, it is fair.

There are no costs in addition to the standard licensing fees. Unlike some other solutions, such as Veritas NetBackup where you have to pay for different licenses to use different features, there is a single license that allows you to use all of the features.

This is a really strong application that I find really useful and reliable for backup, but it needs to be more user-friendly.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.