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Dell Data Protection Advisor 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

Dell Data Protection Advisor
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
38th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
IBM Storage Protect
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
13th
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 October 2025, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of Dell Data Protection Advisor is 0.6%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Storage Protect is 2.1%, down 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 (%)
IBM Storage Protect2.1%
Dell Data Protection Advisor0.6%
Other97.3%
Backup and Recovery
 

Featured Reviews

AnkurGupta1 - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers seamless integration with robust data privacy features
I am currently working with other companies on data center solutions. In our data center, we work with HP, Dell, and Nutanix on data center build-up and migrations. I work with Dell Data Protection Advisor for cloud, though not extensively, and we provided that solution to one customer and are awaiting their approval. I am a reseller and service provider. We implemented Dell Data Protection Advisor for data privacy, and another team handles data protection and related issues. I did not work extensively on specific features, so nothing particularly stands out. From my reseller and end customer perspective, I would rate Dell Data Protection Advisor an eight out of ten as it is a good solution.
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

"The reporting feature and the Dell's continuous improvement of the solution are the most valuable features. The solution not only supports Dell Power Products but also other products."
"The most valuable aspects of the solution are the compression and the duplication."
"The initial setup is very straightforward. Deployment typically takes about one hour. You just need one person to handle the deployment process."
"I have never found any glitch in any Dell solution to date."
"I can increase the tool's licensing as per my requirement with no conditions applied."
"The deduplication is probably the most valuable feature of that requirement."
"This is a stable solution."
"The predictive analytics feature in Dell Data Protection Advisor provides predictions about backup size and capacity for future periods."
"The solution is very stable. It is one of the most important features that we look for in a product before putting it into the market and when establishing a strategy with our customers."
"The file-restoring feature is the most valuable."
"Good deduplication and compression features."
"The backup of Sybase databases is the most valuable feature in the existing environment. They have got the most documentation out there on the internet for its software protection. The documentation is excellent, and there are a lot of blogs, websites. Because it's still one of the oldest products out there for data protection, there are also lots of people who have a lot of experience in using this solution."
"The backup is very good. In other backup systems, you need a lot of storage to gain the same backup policy."
"The product helps us do data protection and restoration for disaster recovery (DR)."
"When I have to do disaster recoveries, I can do it with this tool."
"We work very closely together with IBM using their Support Center, but we have a strong contact in their development teams, and we have dedicated people from IBM working with us."
 

Cons

"They should empower their customers with the ability to upgrade this solution as long as it's in the same major release."
"The solution requires more integration with our other solutions. I know that they have full integration with VMware because it is also from EMC. However, we have to have better integration with Microsoft and Nutanix as well."
"From a service perspective, improvements are needed at Dell because when customers call, it takes a long time to get a response for calls or emails. Response time is the main problem that needs addressing."
"There is a steep learning curve to use the interface and to create new reports, this could be made easier. If the solution could provide more drag and drop functionality to build more advanced reports that would be very helpful."
"Customization of reports or creating new reports can be difficult. Users need to have a deep knowledge of SQL. 70-80% of customers can't seem to understand how to do it. They don't know how to address reporting. If Dell EMC could simplify it, it would benefit the end-user."
"The functionality of the Data Protection Advisor is limited and is something that is lacking in this solution. Other solutions like CloudIQ and DDMC provide a much better outlook on how data protection should be done."
"Some minor adjustments could be made regarding the graphical interface and customization options."
"Dell Data Protection Advisor is somewhat complicated, but this depends on the software limitations."
"In a future release, it would be a benefit to have the ability to add an application as a storage target, as a storage pool. Additionally, they should add more functionality to the administration for the Operation Center."
"We would like to see cloud integration."
"The solution should improve the ability to monitor backup failure."
"If IBM could provide a partial module, that would be great."
"Sometimes we experience trouble with the backup transfer of the control files."
"The solution's initial setup process wasn't easy...The solution is overly complicated in terms of architecture, especially compared to other tools in the market."
"It does not do too well in our virtual environment."
"I would like a little more ease with the virtual platforms, because it is a huge thing that is coming up."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"If the customer has huge lineup of Dell Products then they receive discount on the pricing."
"For pricing, I would rate Dell 2 out of 5. It's affordable."
"You have to procure the license when you are ordering or quoting for Dell Data Protection Suite (DPS). DPS is bundled with the suite and comes with a license. However, if you purchase NetWorker separately then you will have to procure the license for DPS separately."
"The product pricing has been satisfactory, particularly with the economy of scale in our agreement."
"The product is affordable."
"You need to make an upfront payment for three, five, or seven years and renew the licenses for support. We can do an annual maintenance contract with Dell. I would rate the product's pricing a six out of ten."
"It's not very expensive — I think the price is fair."
"One can go with either a PVU licensing model or a capacity based licensing model. Either solution does not block the usage, if over used."
"Licensing can be either complicated or simple depending on what type of licensing you wish to use and what works best for your environment."
"IBM Spectrum Protect has a fixed price and includes no additional costs."
"IBM Storage Protect is not expensive and fits the needs of all business types. The licensing is based on a capacity-based model. You can take a license for one, two, or three terabytes."
"The licensing is varied. If we have small environments (not many TB being managed) it is best to license by PVUs (depending on the number of cores of the machine). If we manage many TBs we look at licensing by capacity which allows us to use all the agents of the product."
"We have found that the pricing is high in our country."
"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."
"The product is not cheap."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Performing Arts
13%
Government
9%
Energy/Utilities Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business2
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise7
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business53
Midsize Enterprise25
Large Enterprise94
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Dell Data Protection Advisor?
The platform's most valuable features are data protection and retention.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell Data Protection Advisor?
The pricing of Dell Data Protection Advisor is very competitive among other vendors, and the license model is more economical than other vendor products.
What needs improvement with Dell Data Protection Advisor?
Dell Data Protection Advisor is somewhat complicated, but this depends on the software limitations. However, you can scale it if you work on the virtualization platform. There are no limitations re...
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

DPA
IBM Spectrum Discover
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Nielsen, Trek Bicycle, Cal-Israel Credit Cards
CEMEX
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell Data Protection Advisor vs. IBM Storage Protect and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
871,408 professionals have used our research since 2012.