Cloudera Distribution for Hadoop vs IBM Spectrum Computing comparison

Cloudera and IBM are both solutions in the Hadoop category. Cloudera is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.2, while IBM is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.0. Cloudera holds a 22.1% mindshare in H, compared to IBM’s 1.9% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Cloudera users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 57% of IBM users who would recommend it.

Cloudera Distribution for H...

Read 51 Cloudera Distribution for Hadoop reviews

1,846 Views
1,200 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

IBM Spectrum Computing

Read 9 IBM Spectrum Computing reviews

538 Views
124 Comparison Views

57% willing to recommend

Cloudera Distribution for H...

IBM Spectrum Computing

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Cloudera Distribution for Hadoop and IBM Spectrum Computing based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Hadoop solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Cloudera Distribution for Hadoop vs. IBM Spectrum Computing Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Cloudera Distribution for Hadoop vs. IBM Spectrum Computing

September 2025

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Helped 867,370 peers since 2012

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

Cloudera Distribution for H...

Ranking in Hadoop

2nd

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

NoSQL Databases (8th)

IBM Spectrum Computing

Ranking in Hadoop

6th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

5.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Cloud Management (26th)

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Hadoop category, the mindshare of Cloudera Distribution for Hadoop is 22.1%, down from 25.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Spectrum Computing is 1.9%, down from 2.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Hadoop Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Cloudera Distribution for Hadoop	22.1%
IBM Spectrum Computing	1.9%
Other	76.0%

Hadoop

Featured Reviews

Rok Dolinsek

Manager, Bussines Development & Co Owner at Troia d.o.o.

Enables on-premise implementation with powerful data processing capabilities

This is the only solution that is possible to install on-premise. Cloudera provides a hybrid solution that combines compute on cloud or on-premises. It includes all machine learning algorithms in the Spark machine learning library. All functionalities needed for a big data platform and ETL are on the platform, eliminating the need for other tools. It is scalable, ready for vertical scaling, and very powerful, offering numerous functionalities and configurations for generative AI.

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OmarIsmail1

Infrastructure Technical Specialist II at Clicks Group

Senior Technical Specialist appreciates intelligent workload management, strong support, and scalability

The best features of IBM Spectrum Computing are common across many of their storage products. The software is solid, meaning that the code is stable. They take business seriously, which is what IBM stands for - International Business Machines. They always maintain a business-oriented approach in their software development. It's not simply clicking through interfaces; in IBM software, they consider their actions, process flows, and workflows around business processes. It requires understanding IBM and their methodology, as the software operates accordingly. I have utilized IBM Spectrum Computing's intelligent workload management feature. We use Insights, which is connected to the cloud. This provides AI capabilities for analyzing the configuration, offering smart recommendations on new code, warning about bugs in current code, and suggesting configuration improvements through its advisor tool. The predictive analytics feature in IBM Spectrum Computing enables optimal software performance through Insights. However, being a storage administrator requires foundational knowledge and understanding beyond these tools. For troubleshooting, it's efficient in spotting bottlenecks, but understanding the terms and metrics is essential as it provides answers that need interpretation.

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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

"We also really like the Cloudera community. You can have any question and will have your answer within a few hours."

"The scalability of Cloudera Distribution for Hadoop is excellent."

"The solution's most valuable feature is the enterprise data platform."

"Cloudera Distribution for Hadoop provides numerous features and capabilities combined into one platform, offers power processing, supports different file systems and query engines, and provides parallel processing for handling many requests."

"The features I find most valuable is that the solution is that it is easy to install and to work with. It starts with the installation and from there on the management is very simple and centralized."

"The tool can be deployed using different container technologies, which makes it very scalable."

"It has the best proxy, security, and support features compared to open-source products."

"Cloudera, as a whole, is designed to provide organizations with solutions for big data."

More Cloudera Distribution for Hadoop pros

"Easy to operate and use."

"I have utilized IBM Spectrum Computing's intelligent workload management feature through Insights, which is connected to the cloud."

"This solution is working for both VTL and tape."

"The most valuable aspect of the product is the policy driving resource management, to optimize the computing across data centers."

"The most valuable feature is the backup capability."

"The best features of IBM Spectrum Computing are common across many of their storage products."

"IBM's ability to cluster compute resources is impressive, with built-in support for scenarios like VR and active-active configurations,"

"Spectrum Computing's best features are its speed, robustness, and data processing and analysis."

More IBM Spectrum Computing pros

Cons

"It is quite complicated to configure and install. Integrating the platform into an information system is always a challenge, especially when starting with on-premise implementation."

"Cloudera's support is extremely bad and cannot be relied on."

"The Cloudera training has deteriorated significantly."

"I would like to see an improvement in how the solution helps me to handle the whole cluster."

"The tool's ability to be deployed on a cloud model is an area of concern where improvements are required."

"The one thing that we struggled with predominately was support. Because it was relatively new, support was always a big issue and I think it's still a bit of an ongoing concern with the team currently managing it."

"It is quite complicated to configure and install."

"The areas of improvement depend on the scale of the project. For banking customers, security features and an essential budget for commercial licenses would be the top priority. Data regulation could be the most crucial for a project with extensive data or an extra use case."

More Cloudera Distribution for Hadoop cons

"Lack of sufficient documentation, particularly in Spanish."

"This solution is no longer managing tapes correctly."

"We'd like to see some AI model training for machine learning."

"IBM's sales and support structure can be challenging."

"Spectrum Computing is lagging behind other products, most likely because it hasn't been shifted to the cloud."

"We have not been able to use deduplication."

"The deduplication software isn't quite up to speed with the market."

"In Pakistan, IBM's disadvantage is the lack of OEM support and presence."

More IBM Spectrum Computing cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is an expensive product."

"The price is very high. The solution is expensive."

"The price could be better for the product."

"I believe we pay for a three-year license."

"Cloudera requires a license to use."

"I wouldn't recommend CDH to others because of its high cost."

"The product’s price depends from project to project."

"The tool is not expensive."

More Cloudera Distribution for Hadoop pricing and cost advice

"This solution is expensive."

"Spectrum Computing is one of the most expensive products on the market."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

18%

Financial Services Firm

18%

Computer Software Company

11%

Energy/Utilities Company

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	16
Midsize Enterprise	9
Large Enterprise	31

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	3
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	6

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cloudera Distribution for Hadoop?

The tool can be deployed using different container technologies, which makes it very scalable.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cloudera Distribution for Hadoop?

The price for Cloudera is average, yet it is very good compared to other solutions. It can be deployed on-premises, unlike competitors' cloud-only solutions.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Cloudera Distribution for Hadoop?

If they could support modifying the data more easily than the current implementation, it would be beneficial.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Spectrum Computing?

IBM Spectrum Computing consistently offers competitive pricing. When solutioning new implementations, IBM always presents the best solution and price. In a recent comparison with Pure Storage and N...

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM Spectrum Computing?

IBM Spectrum Computing had limitations with remote copy services between head office and disaster recovery sites. In the last year, IBM has improved the code by re-engineering it to policy-based re...

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What is your primary use case for IBM Spectrum Computing?

The typical use case for IBM Spectrum Computing is that it's an all-rounder. It can be used in various scenarios, such as the retailer I work for that has batch processing. It's on-demand when perf...

See all answers

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cloudera Distribution for Hadoop

September 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Hadoop

August 2025

Download IBM Spectrum Computing product report

Also Known As

No data available

IBM Platform Computing

Overview

Cloudera Distribution for Hadoop is the world's most complete, tested, and popular distribution of Apache Hadoop and related projects. CDH is 100% Apache-licensed open source and is the only Hadoop solution to offer unified batch processing, interactive SQL, and interactive search, and role-based access controls. More enterprises have downloaded CDH than all other such distributions combined.

Cloudera

IBM Spectrum Computing uses intelligent workload and policy-driven resource management to optimize resources across the data center, on premises and in the cloud. Now up to 150X faster and scalable to over 160,000 cores, IBM provides you with the latest advances in software-defined infrastructure to help you unleash the power of your distributed mission-critical high performance computing (HPC), analytics and big data applications as well as a new generation open source frameworks such as Hadoop and Spark.

IBM

Sample Customers

37signals, Adconion,adgooroo, Aggregate Knowledge, AMD, Apollo Group, Blackberry, Box, BT, CSC

London South Bank University, Transvalor, Infiniti Red Bull Racing, Genomic

Buyer's Guide

Cloudera Distribution for Hadoop vs. IBM Spectrum Computing

September 2025

Free Report: Cloudera Distribution for Hadoop vs. IBM Spectrum Computing

Find out what your peers are saying about Cloudera Distribution for Hadoop vs. IBM Spectrum Computing and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.

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