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Cohesity DataProtect vs IBM Storage Protect comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 12, 2025

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

Cohesity DataProtect
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
9th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
74
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Backup (8th)
IBM Storage Protect
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
14th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of Cohesity DataProtect is 3.2%, down from 4.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Storage Protect is 2.3%, up from 2.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cohesity DataProtect3.2%
IBM Storage Protect2.3%
Other94.5%
Backup and Recovery
 

Featured Reviews

Giovanni Golinelli. - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy to use, offers good scalability and responsive support
The deployment depends on the environment. Deploying on VMs is relatively simple. But for most of our customers, we implement physical clusters with at least three configured hosts using the existing model. So, it depends on the setup. Implementing DataProtect itself wasn't particularly challenging. One key requirement for successful DataProtect deployment is proper network configuration. If the network setup isn't right, you won't achieve optimal performance. We have developed a service for some of our customers where they implement an appliance or physical cluster of Cohesity at the customer site. Then, we use cloud clustering to replicate, and even in production, a second copy of the protected data. And in some cases, we have developed some disaster recovery procedures using Cohesity.
Syed Habib - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It makes our administrators' lives much easier to combine backup, archiving, and services like hosting file shares in one central system with only one user interface."
"The support is awesome. They are very fast, competent and friendly."
"A robust, verifiable backup with a restore solution, which decreases our backup and has a restore window."
"It offers an easy, quick backup and restore of files and VMs. Also, the "Google-like " search for files is awesome."
"The most valuable feature is ease of use."
"The solution's SQL cloning is great, and its Instant Mount restoration of virtual machines is brilliant."
"We can run test scripts on production data."
"It's stable."
"The ability to use S3 Data Store as a repository."
"Some of the people in our group, like our DBAs and non-technical people, can restore some stuff themselves via Spectrum Protect. That is how simple it is."
"Support of the IBM X platform and the backup data replication to DR are the most valuable features."
"It seems very scalable and robust. It can do what we require it to do."
"The MN backup for a cluster is most valuable because it has made backing up the GSF as a zero-file system easier. I like its stability a lot. Over the years, I very rarely had a problem with it."
"It allows us to have one interface."
"The best functional system I utilize is integrated with the data domain and DIGS backup solution, which makes it easily manageable and comprehensive."
"The best part of this solution is that it just works."
 

Cons

"Many of the reports are basic, at most, and at times we had to open a support ticket to help find or develop a report for our needs."
"Reducing storage capacity requirements and improving security features are also areas that could be enhanced."
"We aren't missing any features. In terms of the solution overall, it's so far so good."
"Non-cloud services need improvement."
"I think Cohesity could add more platform support. For example, they could improve integration with DB2 or make the integration S3 object storage a little tighter. Some of that stuff could use some work, but overall, it's a relatively comprehensive platform."
"The rack mounting instructions did not appear to be correct, but we were able to overcome it."
"We would love to see direct compatibility with HPE Simplivity, which we also leverage."
"I like that Cohesity offers the chance to have data on-premises and on the cloud. All the data is automatically sent to the cloud."
"It would be helpful if the solution included some sort of ransomware protection."
"We recently had a situation where we quickly got code, and the number of tapes exceeded the library capacity so we were waiting a while to change. We got a fix for this right away."
"A lot of my customers always ask for legal holds, especially on email."
"I want a better user interface, support, and integrations."
"We would like to see bare-metal restorers."
"Ease of use."
"The software is very complicated. You have to do a lot of configurations to build a server, and you would need to backup and restore."
"Restoring massive files is a very time-consuming process."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I expect the system to probably pay off within the first two years."
"There is monthly licensing."
"Sizing is important and it is easy to overestimate."
"From my last assessment, the pricing for Cohesity DataProtect was reasonable. Compared to its closest competitor, Rubrik, I found Rubrik's pricing to be somewhat high-end. While Rubrik may have more advanced security features than Cohesity DataProtect currently, Cohesity DataProtect is releasing a new solution in the near future that will compete directly with Rubrik."
"It has reasonable pricing, and we know they can give discounts. If you look at the primary pricing or the list pricing, it conforms to the market pricing, but you have to have a discount on it. Otherwise, it is way too expensive."
"Ensure that you understand the per TB licensing model. Also, Exchange backups are not native to Cohesity and require Kroll."
"Cohesity came in at the best price."
"The solution's pricing is in the mid-range, where it's neither costly nor cheap."
"It can be perceived as expensive since it is designed for enterprise use."
"IBM Spectrum Protect can be considered an averagely-priced product."
"The most important feature which I wish to be added involves the GUI, the user interface."
"The price of IBM Spectrum Protect is expensive and there is only a standard licensing fee."
"The different license models can give good benefits to the end customer."
"The licensing fees are between $8,000 and $10,000 per year."
"We pay for a terabyte license to support our backend usage."
"Spectrum Protect is not a cheap option."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Educational Organization
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise22
Large Enterprise40
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business53
Midsize Enterprise25
Large Enterprise94
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cohesity DataProtect?
Several features enable us to perform fast recovery, such as instant fast recovery. All our virtual machines protected with the product can be quickly restored to another healthy environment with m...
What needs improvement with Cohesity DataProtect?
What areas have room for improvement? Is there anything that could be simplified to make it better?
What do you like most about IBM Storage Protect?
The best point about IBM Storage Protect is that it can use IBM tape environments, which we still use and will continue to use in the future.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Storage Protect?
IBM Storage Protect is generally an expensive tool. However, with good contracts with IBM or its partners, the cost might not be so high. New customers can expect very high prices.
What needs improvement with IBM Storage Protect?
One point for improvement for IBM Spectrum Protect is security, as IBM has not been investing as much as in the past. There is a need for additional layers of security to fill the gaps, which is wh...
 

Also Known As

Cohesity
IBM Spectrum Discover
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Tribune Media
CEMEX
Find out what your peers are saying about Cohesity DataProtect vs. IBM Storage Protect and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
866,286 professionals have used our research since 2012.