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Dell NetWorker 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 NetWorker
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
12th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
85
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
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 Dell NetWorker is 2.8%, down from 3.1% 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 (%)
Dell NetWorker2.8%
IBM Storage Protect2.3%
Other94.9%
Backup and Recovery
 

Featured Reviews

ErmiasGirma - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers seamless integration and cost-saving benefits with enhanced recovery capabilities
Currently, in my organization, I am using Dell NetWorker for open-source solutions like PostgreSQL and MySQL databases, and some large VM environments. It also supports the Dell library and is used for the library archiving system Dell NetWorker allows for extensive customization, supporting…
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 solution has minimized the recovery time objective, and the recovery point objective, the RTO and RPO. Most customers are looking for to minimize downtime. The solution has helped ensure this."
"NetWorker has very good scalability."
"It can support many different versions, both newer and older."
"Dell NetWorker allows for extensive customization, supporting various open-source databases like PostgreSQL."
"Dell EMC NetWorker is scalable."
"This solution is very stable."
"It's easy to use."
"The most valuable features for us at the moment are NFS, file system backup, and IP backup."
"The amount of data that it protects with very little storage by doing incremental forever is one of its most valuable features."
"IBM Spectrum Protect has excellent integration capability."
"It scales well for the amount of clients that we use with it."
"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 tool's backup engine is very powerful. Previously, our client finished backup with HPE product in 48 hours. IBM Storage Protect completes backup in 8 hours."
"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."
"From a tech perspective, utilizing deduplication is one of the most valuable features."
"The feature we have found most valuable is when you want to integrate it with a Tape Library and then do the DRM life cycle. That is when it works the best."
 

Cons

"The management of Dell Networker is quite cumbersome."
"I would like to see the user interface improved, more documentation, faster support, and it could be easier to configure."
"When you're working with VMware, you need to use vProxy machines. You have to install the vProxy for every host in the VMware environment."
"The tool should be more streamlined and simplified to create a backup to receive objects."
"We have faced problems with the initial configuration of the solution."
"The price could be cheaper."
"There should be more vendors incorporated into the solution."
"While upgrading to a new version, we encounter challenges related to specific algorithms or code regulations."
"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."
"We need everything cloud. Strong support for cloud services. S3 connectivity, which is mandatory for us in the future along with this integration of Spectrum Copy Data Management or Spectrum Protect services together with these Spectrum Protect Plus functionalities, e.g., hardware, snapshots, and Copy Data Management. They should come together in one solution."
"There is room for improvement in IBM Spectrum Protect, especially regarding its support for virtual environment backups."
"I would like to see more technical training online. Sometimes, it is a little bit difficult to find, or that I do not really know what I am looking for as somebody who is starting off finding their learning curve."
"They need to reduce the complexity and make the learning curve easier."
"The deduplication must be perfect, and thus should be improved."
"A lot of my customers always ask for legal holds, especially on email."
"I would like to see integration with Copy Data Management, which is an IBM product. Right now, these two products are siloed, so if these two become integrated, the product would become a bit of a powerhouse."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Licensing is based on the number of terabytes, so you need to purchase packages."
"It is inexpensive compared to new products."
"They are not cheap."
"The price of the solution could be lower, it is expensive."
"The pricing of this solution is very good."
"Pricing is cheaper for this product, compared to its competitors."
"It is a relatively inexpensive product compared to one of its competitors."
"It's approximate, but I believe we pay around $20-30,000 a month in licensing."
"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."
"That's no longer my department, but I have some past experience with licensing. It is not cheap. I would rate it a three out of five in terms of licensing. In terms of additional costs, there is management overhead. It is a complex solution and a lot of work goes into managing clients. It has gotten better over the years, but compared to its competitor, it is still heavy on management overhead."
"Some of the new advanced features are definitely more into cost savings, e.g., dedupe compression, so doing more with less."
"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."
"Use capacity licensing. It's easier and cheaper."
"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."
"It's very complicated. Licensing is a pain."
"IBM Spectrum Protect, cost-wise, has way higher pricing than Veeam. By switching over to Veeam, my company saved over $600,000 in USD. The IBM Spectrum Protect pricing is a two on a scale of one to ten. My company paid additional fees for maintenance, apart from the standard licensing fees."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
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 Business24
Midsize Enterprise33
Large Enterprise37
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business53
Midsize Enterprise25
Large Enterprise94
 

Questions from the Community

What's the difference between Dell EMC Avamar and Dell EMC NetWorker?
From the very beginning, Dell EMC NetWorker considers users and those who might potentially become users. In terms of both pricing and setup, this product offers an experience that is significantly...
What do you like most about Dell NetWorker?
The feature that offers the greatest benefits in ensuring data integrity is its backup capability.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell NetWorker?
The licensing cost is somewhat expensive. While we use a traditional license, there is a capacity-based license available, but our customer is not comfortable switching to it. A five to seven perce...
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

NetWorker
IBM Spectrum Discover
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Republic Bank, Westgate Resorts, Macquire Cloud Services, Shriners, Panatonni, Qatar Islamic Bank, Eurosport
CEMEX
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell NetWorker vs. IBM Storage Protect and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
866,218 professionals have used our research since 2012.