Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) 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 PowerProtect DP (IDPA)
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
20th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.5
Number of Reviews
15
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 PowerProtect DP (IDPA) is 0.7%, down from 0.9% 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 PowerProtect DP (IDPA)0.7%
Other97.2%
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

"IDPA's best feature is Turbo Boost Technology. The compression and duplication features are excellent, too."
"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."
"The solution's most valuable features are networker and continuous data protection."
"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."
"We use it for complete backup and recovery. We have multiple clients and have created multiple large virtual capabilities and zoning backlogs."
"The most valuable feature is the deduplication rate."
"Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) offers a backup, recovery, and management tool that is very easy to use."
"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."
"It is pretty scalable. It will scale to anything."
"Regarding technical support, if one has the entire enterprise support, I would rate it a nine out of ten...Stability-wise, I rate the solution an eight out of ten."
"The way it covers backup and archive needs. The flexibility of backup copy group always allows me to cover the customer's requests."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is application-aware backups."
"Performance and recoveries are better. Our clients and customers are happier with the performance of it."
"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."
"I've had no problems with the stability of this solution."
 

Cons

"The only thing that could be improved would be the complexity of the initial setup."
"The product's index master feature needs improvement."
"Dell PowerProtect DP needs to include more features and improve backup for a continual base."
"One area of Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) that can be improved is probably more integrations with third-party software, particularly third-party backup software."
"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."
"Managing the product is a little bit complicated."
"The solution's implementation was very complicated and could be improved."
"The price could be lowered slightly, to make it more competitive."
"RTO is a huge gap for us. If we had a disaster scenario and had to recover a bunch of stuff from tape, the RTO would be too long for us."
"Any feature that is compliant with virtualizing the application should be improved."
"The user interface needs to be improved."
"We should be talking about the capacity of the tape drives. That's the only problem."
"Although I am not a technical user, I would say the cloud integration features could be improved."
"One point for improvement for IBM Spectrum Protect is security, as IBM has not been investing as much as in the past."
"An area for improvement would be the ease of use - the GUI is not up to the mark compared to other products in the market."
"I am looking forward to new features in the next release. One of the main features is the cloud storage integration, which was one of my main required features. I've had more difficult experiences with other platforms than with this one."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) has a yearly subscription fee."
"It is a cost-effective solution."
"I would rate the solution's pricing a seven out of ten."
"The licensing is billed on a monthly basis. Dell is bundled so that when you order IDPA, you get everything together with the license."
"We have a perpetual license. It is a capacity-based license."
"We are paying for support and maintenance on a monthly basis."
"The most important feature which I wish to be added involves the GUI, the user interface."
"Customers need to pay for licensing in order to use IBM Spectrum Protect. The customers that have been using it for a long time are okay and happy with it. From a cost point of view, it's better for them to renew their licenses than to go through the difficult process of changing a backup product in their environment, and migrate from one product to another."
"Regarding retro-compatibility of the product between versions, your data is always available and the ROI is unquestionable."
"The licensing fees are between $8,000 and $10,000 per year."
"We worked our licensing into a capacity model, which is nice. Now, everything is much simpler to manage from a licensing perspective."
"It's very complicated. Licensing is a pain."
"We have spec'd out our build, and the cost of it can work quite easily today for our future needs."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Backup and Recovery solutions are best for your needs.
872,098 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
University
14%
Government
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
Construction Company
7%
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 Business4
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise5
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business53
Midsize Enterprise25
Large Enterprise94
 

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)?
The pricing of Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) is competitive compared to its peers in the market, and while it can always come down, I still think it's a fair price.
What needs improvement with Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA)?
One area of Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) that can be improved is probably more integrations with third-party software, particularly third-party backup software.
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

Dell EMC IDPA, Dell IDPA, EMC IDPA
IBM Spectrum Discover
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Under Armour, Christian Brothers University, Presidio
CEMEX
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) vs. IBM Storage Protect and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
872,098 professionals have used our research since 2012.