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Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) vs IBM Spectrum Protect comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 11, 2024

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 PowerProtect DP (IDPA)
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
21st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
IBM Spectrum Protect
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
17th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
149
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) is 0.6%, down from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Spectrum Protect is 2.2%, up from 2.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery
 

Featured Reviews

SamuelThomas - PeerSpot reviewer
Ensures data safety and effective cloud integration with AI-powered protection
Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) offers a backup, recovery, and management tool that is very easy to use. It provides a flexible protection suite that accommodates scalability and performance needs. Integration with VMware and multi-cloud protection is effective. AI integration enhances backup operations by analyzing data and ensuring malware protection. Customers also benefit from hybrid cloud options and tiers of backup.
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

"Instead of four or five tools, consisting of backup software, storage where the backup resides, and a separate system for reporting and central monitoring, they all now come in the virtual edition for IDP."
"Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) offers a backup, recovery, and management tool that is very easy to use."
"The solution's most valuable features are networker and continuous data protection."
"The solution is strong."
"It backs up our Windows systems and our Linux systems and everything."
"The product is integrated with Huawei software and its backup and recovery time is very fast."
"IDPA's best feature is Turbo Boost Technology. The compression and duplication features are excellent, too."
"The product is easy to troubleshoot and store data."
"It is a really scalable solution. We can scale it up. Scalability-wise, I rate the solution an eight out of ten."
"We like IBM Spectrum's versioning capabilities. It lets us specify how many versions of a file we want to keep and for how long. Also, the archive component of the software helps us a lot."
"All other products contain the same features, but when I'm backing up an IBM Power server I feel more comfortable with IBM Spectrum Protect because it's the same vendor."
"Because of the flexible parameters, everything can be fine-tuned to the customers’ needs in their environment."
"The archiving feature is the most valuable aspect of the solution."
"The main feature of this product is a flexible architecture and functionality that allows you to solve problems of any complexity and scale. Most importantly, it is not just a product that simply makes a backup, but it restores and saves a large number of services in critical situations. By the way, it works fine with different types of clouds, supports S3."
"The most valuable feature is the backup speed."
"We apply the new dedupe and compression technology, using maintenance and time to give more time for the backup window and less time for the overhead related to the daily housekeeping."
 

Cons

"There is room for improvement in terms of network connectivity."
"I would like to see integration with Dell EMC's Cloud Tier."
"After resizing and compression, the system continuously runs out of space. Dell EMC doesn't do automatic cleanup or other things, so we constantly have to manually go in there or work with Dell support on this. The solution has not been working as advertised."
"We would like to see the pricing drop a bit."
"We cannot add IDPA to DPC, and each IP has a DP Central, which cannot monitor other IDPAs."
"The two-factor authentication is missing from Dell products."
"The solution should be easier to use."
"The product's index master feature needs improvement."
"If IBM could provide a partial module, that would be great."
"Our customers would like to see metadata replication, tearing to tape, and more cloud capabilities."
"The product should be improved to save more space."
"I would like to see a way to have "always on" implemented."
"We would like to see capabilities of long-term archiving and more support for hardware platforms."
"The previous GUI that they had was slow, and it did not have enough information on it."
"IBM's support hasn't been so good in the last few years."
"I want a better user interface, support, and integrations."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I would rate the solution's pricing a seven out of ten."
"We have a perpetual license. It is a capacity-based license."
"Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) has a yearly subscription fee."
"The licensing is billed on a monthly basis. Dell is bundled so that when you order IDPA, you get everything together with the license."
"It is a cost-effective solution."
"It can be perceived as expensive since it is designed for enterprise use."
"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."
"The solution is expensive."
"Spectrum Protect is not a cheap option."
"The licensing fees are on a yearly basis, which for us it is about R400,000 (approximately $27,000 USD)."
"Technical support is pretty good. It is doing fine, but you pay for it."
"The solution's pricing is fair. Price-wise, I rate the solution an eight out of ten."
"The price of IBM Spectrum Protect is expensive and there is only a standard licensing fee."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
30%
University
12%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
17%
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
9%
University
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA)?
What I find valuable about Dell PowerProtect IDPA is its stability and strong performance.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA)?
Pricing is competitive with other software vendors. The product's features, network, and VMware integration contribute to its value. There are different licensing options available, such as applian...
What needs improvement with Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA)?
Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) requires more updates and innovations in AI-powered cyber resilience. While technical support is generally not poor, there are challenges with expertise in Linux-based c...
What needs improvement with IBM Spectrum Protect?
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 dash...
 

Also Known As

Dell EMC IDPA, Dell IDPA, EMC IDPA
IBM TSM, IBM Tivoli Storage Manager
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Under Armour, Christian Brothers University, Presidio
CERN, Einstein Healthcare, Nyherji, Allianz Australia, TZM, ABT Online, NCT, Kindred Healthcare Inc., Cobalt Iron, TransGrid, Baptist Health of Northeast Florida, Cash America, Piedmont Healthcare, RWGV, Arkansas Tech University, British Columbia Institute of Technology
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) vs. IBM Spectrum Protect and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
850,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.