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reviewer1805982 - PeerSpot reviewer
Solution architect at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
Quick, simple deployment, relatable and responsive technical support
Pros and Cons
    • "It still needs to grow and add new features. IBM Spectrum Protect Plus, I believe, requires time to become competitive due to a weakness in the other software products."

    What is our primary use case?

    IBM Spectrum Protect Protect and IBM Spectrum Protect Plus are new solutions. I did a lot of POCs with the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus and the SP, as well as TSM. These tools were previously known as storage managers, such as the TSM backup solution. In addition, all Veeam competitors and other hypervisor image backup solutions. All that remained was the product IBM Spectrum Protect Plus and the ability to sell it as a software, software-defined infrastructure.

    The feature is known as failover protection or IBM Failover. The primary goal is to backup the recurring hypervisor environment and to create, deploy, and run a fast backup process. This is the primary goal.

    What is most valuable?

    We conducted a proof-of-concept on the customer side, and they found the product to be user-friendly and extremely useful.

    Its quick deployment and backup are essential. It has nice features. It is user-friendly, it does not require a special environment to prepare the server-side, network side, and other components because everything is already included, similar to a bundle system. 

    It is very simple to create and deploy.

    What needs improvement?

    It still needs to grow and add new features. IBM Spectrum Protect Plus, I believe, requires time to become competitive due to a weakness in the other software products. It does not support replication appliances such as Data Domain, ExaGrid, or other DDOS targets.

    The only issue is the price. That application should be supported.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I had been working with IBM Spectrum Protect Plus for two years.

    I no longer sell IBM Spectrum Protect Plus because the company is with Dell. That's why I use NetWare and Data Domain solutions.

    Previously, I sold the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus product under the Spectrum brand.

    Spectrum is a data protection product in the Spectrum family.

    In my environment, we were using on-premises, private cloud, as well as a hybrid cloud environment.

    I was a reseller as well as a partner.

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    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is a stable product.

    The hypervisor is stable, but I don't think it's easy to recover an item level, light recovery, or granular recovery restore. I believe that a simple image backup is very stable.

    How are customer service and support?

    Technical support is relatable, and their response times are acceptable; their case and response times, I believe, are on a normal level.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    I was also selling IBM backup and storage solutions. I am familiar with the Alliance product. Now I work as a solution architect for multi-vendor solutions. My primary focus is on data protection and backup technologies. Also, private cloud and SAP solutions with regard to it.

    My primary responsibility is to provide competitive analysis for Pure Storage and other products from HP, NetApp, and Huawei. I also compared other backup technologies such as Data Domain, NetWare from Commvault, and others. I've been in the technical construction of service and solution architect positions for 15 years. I'm currently working on a solution, I believe, with a Dell company's titanium partner because it sells.

    I would like to inform you that I replaced Veeam with Spectrum Protect Plus because the Veeam licensing model was very expensive for our customers. They also stated that backup performance and the restore process are not any faster than they are now. The most important thing to replace them is the price because IBM's software price is very competitive and aggressive to Veeam. Price is unimportant to the SPP if they want to close the deal.

    The original IBM ProtecTIER is at its end of life.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup is not complicated, but I don't think it's a developed architecture. It's very straightforward.

    It can take up to 15 minutes to deploy. All infrastructure can be completed in this time frame.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    When compared to other vendors, the price is very competitive.

    Clients prefer to buy a perpetual license, but the majority opt for a yearly subscription.

    I would rate the licensing and price a nine out of ten. The price could be a little lower than that of the other vendors, but the licensing model is fine.

    What other advice do I have?

    Yes, I recommend it, but this solution is not appropriate for every environment because some features must be developed, but in my environment, simple backup environments, such as only image backup, yes. It's perfectly functional.

    I would rate IBM Spectrum Protect Plus an eight out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
    PeerSpot user
    Administrator Systems at a retailer with 51-200 employees
    Real User
    A stable solution with good online support to protect client data
    Pros and Cons
    • "This solution is very stable and has good support available online."
    • "The administration needs to be improved and made simpler to use."

    What is our primary use case?

    We use this solution to back up our client's nodes on a schedule. Our deployment is in an on-premises environment that includes an IBM server and the Lenovo TS3200 Tape Library.

    What is most valuable?

    This solution is very stable and has good support available online.

    What needs improvement?

    The virtual tape library needs to be improved.

    We have trouble with the administration of this solution. We need to update the volumes in the tape, but it first has to be transferred from tape to disk. The administration needs to be improved and made simpler to use.

    The time required for backup should be optimized.

    The verification process needs to be performed daily, so this should be more automated.

    The volume of the database grows every day.

    In the next release of this solution, I would like support for replication between the primary and secondary data centers. The duplicate backup date should be automatically eliminated.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    We have been using this solution for four years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    This solution is very stable.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    We have two users for this solution. One is a backup administrator and the other is the operator.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    We have not used technical support for this solution. When we receive an error code, we search online and find the answer immediately.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    We have been using this solution since it was named the IBM Tivoli Storage Manager (IBM TSM) and did not use another solution prior.

    How was the initial setup?

    With my experience, I don't have a problem with the installation of this solution. However, it is very difficult to install, configure, and administer with the AIX system and virtual environments.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    We pay a monthly licensing fee.

    What other advice do I have?

    At this time, I do not recommend using this solution and suggest that people choose another one. It is difficult to install, configure, and administer.

    I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner.
    PeerSpot user
    Buyer's Guide
    IBM Spectrum Protect Plus
    January 2025
    Learn what your peers think about IBM Spectrum Protect Plus. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2025.
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    reviewer1521576 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Owner at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
    Real User
    Good for users with little backend experience but requires a lot of troubleshooting and sometimes recoveries need to be redone
    Pros and Cons
    • "We used to use the solution with tapes a few years ago. We've switched to discs, and it has gotten much faster."
    • "You end up needing to do a lot of troubleshooting to get things to work effectively."

    What is most valuable?

    We used to use the solution with tapes a few years ago. We've switched to discs, and it has gotten much faster.

    You can put single items back with a certain driver. It's useful for operators maybe who don't have much of a clue about the back end.

    What needs improvement?

    We've had some problems getting a full backup done. It's very slow and can take a number of hours, specifically when we use the exchange database. Most time it's a problem with the agent for exchange. Sometimes you have to try to restore things multiple times. It can sometimes take a whole day just to get a recovery up and running.

    Working on the solution, even when it works, is quite difficult.  

    You end up needing to do a lot of troubleshooting to get things to work effectively. 

    It would be ideal if the solution allowed users to also pick up SharePoint, Teams, and Office 365 items. It should be able to do not just databases. That way, you can have everything, including software, both on-premises and in the cloud. At the moment, for Team, in particular, it's not possible to pick that up, potentially because it includes a lot of chats.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    We've been using the solution for ten or more years at this point. It's been a long time.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    The solution isn't exactly stable. Sometimes you need to attempt to restore the backup multiple times as it doesn't work. It's not a seamless, trouble-free experience.

    What other advice do I have?

    We are customers and end-users. We don't have a business relationship with the company.

    I would rate the solution at a six out of ten. We haven't been completely satisfied with it at this time. The time it takes to get a backup restored is too, too long. On top of that, if you are really unlucky, you'll have to try to restore the backup many times.

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Solution Architect at LODES Consultores
    Real User
    Good integration and technical support, but installation and configuration were difficult and should be improved
    Pros and Cons
    • "What I like about IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is its integration, plus it has very good technical support."
    • "Rooms for improvement in IBM Spectrum Protect Plus are installation and configuration because those were difficult. They should try their best to improve those areas. In the next release of the product, better implementation and administration are what we're expecting."

    What is our primary use case?

    We use IBM Spectrum Protect Plus for our customers, specifically for backups.

    What is most valuable?

    What I like about IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is its integration, plus it has very good technical support.

    What needs improvement?

    Rooms for improvement in IBM Spectrum Protect Plus are installation and configuration because those were difficult. They should try their best to improve those areas.

    In the next release of the product, better implementation and administration are what we're expecting.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I've been working with IBM Spectrum Protect Plus for two to three years now.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is a stable product.

    How are customer service and support?

    The technical support for IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is very good.

    How was the initial setup?

    IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is a product that's difficult to install.

    What other advice do I have?

    Four to six customers use IBM Spectrum Protect Plus.

    My company doesn't have plans of increasing the usage of IBM Spectrum Protect Plus.

    My advice to people looking into implementing the product is to check the prerequisites and manuals and ask for assistance from technical support before implementing IBM Spectrum Protect Plus.

    My rating for IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is seven out of ten.

    My company is a partner of IBM Spectrum Protect Plus.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
    PeerSpot user
    reviewer1547445 - PeerSpot reviewer
    System engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
    Real User
    Easy to use, stable, but better integration needed
    Pros and Cons
    • "The most valuable feature is the ease of use."
    • "There could be better integration with Spectrum Protect and Spectrum Protect Plus, it should be one solution."

    What is our primary use case?

    The primary use of this solution is for VMware integration.

    How has it helped my organization?

    Because of the licensing structure it was possible to use Spectrum Protect Plus without to much financial impact.

    What is most valuable?

    The most valuable feature is the ease of use.

    What needs improvement?

    There could be better integration with Spectrum Protect and Spectrum Protect Plus, it should be one solution.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using this solution for a few years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    I have found the solution stable.

    We have approximately 100 users using this solution in my organization.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    The solution is scalable.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?


    How was the initial setup?

    The installation is straightforward.

    What about the implementation team?

    We used a consultant for the implementation of the solution.

    We have four administrators for the maintenance of the solution.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    I have evaluated Rubrik and Veeam.

    What other advice do I have?

    I would not recommend this solution to others because there are far better solutions on the market.

    I rate IBM Spectrum Protect Plus a seven out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Buyer's Guide
    Download our free IBM Spectrum Protect Plus Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
    Updated: January 2025
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    Buyer's Guide
    Download our free IBM Spectrum Protect Plus Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.