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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
10th
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
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 NetWorker is 2.3%, down from 3.1% 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 (%)
Dell NetWorker2.3%
IBM Storage Protect2.1%
Other95.6%
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

"Dell NetWorker is easy to install, configure, and operate."
"The support for legacy products is very good."
"The feature that offers the greatest benefits in ensuring data integrity is its backup capability."
"The possibility of recovering up-to-the-moment data is very useful."
"Very user-friendly with a good interface."
"The solution is very stable, especially if you are using a RAC environment."
"The GUI is the best feature. It's very good and easy to use."
"The full backup is a great feature. Restoration is also good and very quick."
"It has increased our security, scalability, and high availability."
"The business value comes from the capability to overcome data losses."
"It is an IBM product. With SAP, you are using IBM software to protect it. DB2 and AIX servers are both IBM. Therefore, it is a total IBM solution, which helps."
"Disk-based implementation of a data protection solution for multiple sites is a better fit for my complex data protection needs."
"The backup on real-time, especially for the virtual machine, archiving, and retrieving the reader from the backup repository and getting it online, getting it validated, then performing the data consistency check over the backup."
"One of the main things that I like about IBM is the versioning of the data - meaning that we can have multiple versions of a file or directory of a server."
"Reliability: It has never had a problem with backups or restores. If you store something, it is there."
"The most valuable features are the stability and also how it's seamlessly integrated with other IBM offerings."
 

Cons

"I haven't had a good experience with technical support. It takes them a very long time to resolve issues."
"The user interface of this solution could be improved. It is not user friendly and is difficult to understand for new users. New users struggle to understand the logic."
"I am not very satisfied with the support."
"The UI is not user-friendly."
"Support is definitely an area of concern because of the time it takes to resolve our issues."
"The UI needs some enhancement to be more user-friendly."
"The security features need backup and encryption. It would be nice if they added this feature. I would also like to be able to decrypt when restoring the security features. Hackers can sense these vulnerabilities today, and we need to have our enterprise prepared."
"Ports are not visible to the network, which requires a dedicated physical server."
"It seems like they are a little behind on the integration to Azure Cloud as well as Amazon."
"There needs to be a bit more automation."
"We have had some problems about using storage agents on the X6 environment. It is not quite stable, but it is also not supported in a virtualized environment."
"The solution must protect against ransomware attacks better."
"The solution should have better integration with VMware and with IBM Spectrum Protect Plus."
"There were scalability issues only in the brand new features which were recently released."
"I would like a little more ease with the virtual platforms, because it is a huge thing that is coming up."
"It should have the ability to break down the data that's being backed up. It should have better reporting."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Dell NetWorker is an expensive solution. None of the backup products are cheap. The licensing model offered is usually a five-year one."
"The pricing is okay."
"It is not very expensive and not very cheap."
"It is inexpensive compared to new products."
"If you purchase Avamar, NetWorker is free with Avamar, for one terabyte license capacity."
"We do need to purchase a license, but sometimes, it comes as a part of the Dell Data Protection Suite (DPS). It has a capacity-based licensing."
"Dell NetWorker has two types of licensing models."
"The pricing of this solution is very good."
"Use capacity licensing. It's easier and cheaper."
"At scale, the consumption license (per TB) is very expensive."
"Its licensing is complex, and its price is not really reasonable. It is on the expensive side. IBM, in general, is slightly expensive, but with IBM Spectrum for the virtual environment, they are looking into the aspect of helping customers with the cost and providing a cost-effective solution."
"The license model that they have at IBM, which is due to volume, from a certain volume onward is not the right license model."
"Technical support is pretty good. It is doing fine, but you pay for it."
"Regarding retro-compatibility of the product between versions, your data is always available and the ROI is unquestionable."
"Licensing IBM Spectrum Protect can be somewhat confusing for new users due to the options available, such as licensing on a capacity or per server basis."
"You need to put it in a PoC and test it out if you can."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
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 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: September 2025.
869,832 professionals have used our research since 2012.