We compared Dell NetWorker and IBM Spectrum Protect based on user reviews in five categories. We reviewed all of the data and you can find the conclusion below.
Features: Dell NetWorker is recognized for its intuitive graphical user interface, integration with Data Domain, and impressive speed. IBM Spectrum Protect is highly regarded for its ability to integrate with tape libraries and its customization options. Users also praised Spectrum Protect for its compatibility with various products, scalability, and stability. Dell NetWorker needs improvements in reporting, integration, and documentation. IBM Spectrum Protect could improve its integration with cloud services and make its interface more user-friendly.
Service and Support: Dell NetWorker received mixed reviews, with some customers expressing frustration about delayed responses and unresolved problems. IBM’s customer service is described as high quality, friendly, knowledgeable, and responsive. At the same time, some said the support process can be lengthy.
Ease of Deployment: Some users consider Dell NetWorker's setup to be effortless, but some said it was somewhat complex. IBM Spectrum Protect's initial setup is challenging and demands skilled professionals to configure multiple parameters and features. This process can be time-consuming.
Pricing: Some reviewers consider Dell NetWorker to be expensive, while others find it to be reasonable and cheaper than other options with similar features. IBM Spectrum Protect is considered expensive. The pricing model is complex, taking into account factors like processor type and volume.
ROI: Users have provided no feedback about Dell NetWorker’s ROI so far. Users have realized benefits from IBM Spectrum Protect’s data protection and retrieval. They appreciate its ability to reduce storage requirements with larger tape sizes.
Comparison Results: Dell NetWorker is regarded as a reasonably priced, high-performing backup solution with a user-friendly GUI. At the same time, many users were dissatisfied with Dell’s support and asked for improvements in reporting and documentation. IBM Spectrum Protect is a reliable, customizable solution that allows smooth integration with tape libraries. At the same time, some say that the user interface could be more intuitive and Spectrum Protect could integrate better with the cloud.
"When it was required that data had to be restored for our customer, it was accomplished successfully and this has kept our end users satisfied."
"The solution has a longer lifespan."
"The standout feature of Dell NetWorker is its expertise in handling our VMware environment."
"The solution offers compatibility with many types of database systems. It is one of the largest backup solutions. Additionally, it gives important information about data domain systems with deduplication."
"The solution is very user-friendly. After setting up five machines for our customers we teach them how to set up the agent and start doing their backups. It is very easy for them once they see how to do it, they like to do it on their own."
"The most valuable feature is NetWorker's integration with the data domain that transfers the data directly into the Dell appliance, so the data doesn't need to pass through the network. NetWorker acts like a pipe, allowing the data to flow directly from the database or the VMware environment to the data domain."
"The solution is very stable, especially if you are using a RAC environment."
"The GUI is user-friendly."
"It is scalable beyond anything my customers ever aspire to."
"IBM Spectrum Protect is a scalable solution."
"The platform has valuable stability."
"Instead of taking three different backups of your systems, you're taking only one. You're able to crack that open and get what you need. The incident recovery, where it creates the VM and then you're running it, technically you're running it on Spectrum Protect. But then in the background, it's doing the storage motion and moving it off the Spectrum Protect back to your VMware environment. The users don't know the difference."
"The fact that we can take the backup straight onto tape is the most valuable feature."
"It's a very stable product, and we've never had any downtime with it."
"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."
"You can protect your data and keep it for long durations, without it spending too much time on the local disk."
"It's complex in nature."
"The deduplication needs improvement and it could use better integration."
"The support is an area with concerns where improvements are required."
"It could be more user-friendly."
"The user interface is hard to use, it should be simplified. There are a lot of web-based management interfaces which they should consider."
"The management of Dell Networker is quite cumbersome."
"The product should provide integration with AWS."
"Dell NetWorker could improve the GUI to include rack recovery."
"There have been some sizing issues now, and we are dealing with those."
"I want a better user interface, support, and integrations."
"They need to do a better job on Windows, because if you are running Windows, the scalability is more limited than AIX and Linux."
"Any feature that is compliant with virtualizing the application should be improved."
"It lacks reporting and an efficient alert mechanism. The GUI could also be improved."
"The solution is evolving, so it has to be evolved to fit all new types of software requirements too."
"The main admin console from the UI cannot do anything in the product. It just allows us to maintain, maybe, 30% to 40%. For the rest, we have to use the command line."
"Perhaps if they could add replication to a second site or third site from the same console, that would be helpful. Currently, we have to connect to another console."
Dell NetWorker is ranked 14th in Backup and Recovery with 73 reviews while IBM Spectrum Protect is ranked 17th in Backup and Recovery with 146 reviews. Dell NetWorker is rated 7.8, while IBM Spectrum Protect is rated 8.0. The top reviewer of Dell NetWorker writes "A stable tool that has an easy-to-use GUI that enables quick restoration". On the other hand, the top reviewer of IBM Spectrum Protect writes "Performance and recoveries are better, and customers are happier with performance". Dell NetWorker is most compared with Dell PowerProtect Data Manager, Dell Avamar, Veeam Backup & Replication, Veritas NetBackup and Cohesity DataProtect, whereas IBM Spectrum Protect is most compared with IBM Spectrum Protect Plus, Veeam Backup & Replication, Commvault Cloud, Cohesity DataProtect and Dell PowerProtect Data Manager. See our Dell NetWorker vs. IBM Spectrum Protect report.
See our list of best Backup and Recovery vendors.
We monitor all Backup and Recovery reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.
