IBM ProtectTIER vs IBM Spectrum Protect Plus comparison

IBM ProtectTIER and IBM Spectrum Protect Plus are both solutions in the Backup and Recovery category. IBM ProtectTIER is ranked #89, while IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is ranked #46 with an average rating of 7.3. IBM ProtectTIER holds a 0.1% mindshare in BRS, compared to IBM Spectrum Protect Plus’s 0.9% mindshare. Additionally, 60% of IBM ProtectTIER users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 88% of IBM Spectrum Protect Plus users who would recommend it.

IBM ProtectTIER

Read 7 IBM ProtectTIER reviews

445 Views
191 Comparison Views

60% willing to recommend

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

Read 32 IBM Spectrum Protect Plus reviews

1,482 Views
1,438 Comparison Views

88% willing to recommend

IBM ProtectTIER

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 11, 2024

IBM ProtectTIER and IBM Spectrum Protect Plus are data protection solutions that cater to enterprises. Spectrum Protect Plus seems to have the upper hand in flexibility and adaptability, though it is more complex.

Features: ProtectTIER offers efficient data reduction, fast recovery times, and reliable performance. Spectrum Protect Plus provides integration capabilities, broad platform support, and versatile functionalities.

Room for Improvement: ProtectTIER could enhance scalability, user-friendliness, and streamline processes. Spectrum Protect Plus needs simplified management, quicker issue resolution, and reduced complexity.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: ProtectTIER is noted for straightforward setup with fewer deployment issues. Spectrum Protect Plus has complicated deployment but superior customer support.

Pricing and ROI: ProtectTIER is known for competitive pricing and faster ROI. Spectrum Protect Plus requires a higher initial investment but offers greater long-term benefits.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM ProtectTIER vs. IBM Spectrum Protect Plus Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM ProtectTIER vs. IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

July 2025

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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

IBM ProtectTIER

Ranking in Backup and Recovery

89th

Average Rating

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Deduplication Software (13th)

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

Ranking in Backup and Recovery

46th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of IBM ProtectTIER is 0.1%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is 0.9%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Backup and Recovery Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
IBM Spectrum Protect Plus	0.9%
IBM ProtectTIER	0.1%
Other	99.0%

Backup and Recovery

Featured Reviews

ValereFEUGWANG

Information System Consultant at CFAO Technologies

Protects data in hybrid infrastructures, but it is an expensive product with poor support

The main challenge for our customers is to replicate the virtual environment upon restart, without using any additional solutions such as VMware SLM. I would like the possibility to back up the infrastructure and then replicate it upon on restart, without having to orchestrate the starting of the VM. It would be much better for us. This solution can be made easier to use. Technical support is very frustrating and we are considering other solutions because of it. Stability is something that should be improved. The product is expensive and the licensing should be changed.

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Atif Najam

Chief Information Officer and Program Lead at Gatron Industries Ltd

Enables organizations to make large-scale recoveries easily, but the security must be improved

The security must be improved. We face a lot of cyber threats like ransomware. It impacts data availability and protection. The tool must provide a mechanism to make resilient backups. The tool must ensure that the recent backups have no ransomware. The backup must be immutable. They must be cyber-resilient backups. Finding a good resource person for IBM Spectrum in Pakistan is difficult. We have to rely on the support team. Resource availability is a challenge.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The most valuable features are the Self-Service, and the ability to search the data."

"The command-line interface is good."

"The cataloging is the best feature. It takes millions of frames for the backup. It's incremental, so it takes less time to complete."

"Overall IBM ProtectTIER is a great solution. It is easy to use."

"The solution is highly stable."

"In terms of stability, I've found it to be very stable. I've walked into the server room when it was at 60 degrees Celcius, and it was still running fine."

"Some of the features we find very valuable and use a lot, are retention sets."

"This is a multi-platform backup solution where you can take a backup from AIX, Windows, or Linux servers and restore from CD, disk, or tape."

"The most valuable feature is the ease of use."

"The most valuable features of the solution stem from the fact that the product works and helps with restoration areas whenever there is a need to restore something."

"Reliability, recovery features, and stability are valuable to me."

"With this product, we now have a reliable backup solution."

"There is protection against disasters with good, fast, reliable recovery options."

"The initial setup of IBM Protect Plus is simple and not complex."

More IBM Spectrum Protect Plus pros

Cons

"Setting up the system to work with legacy equipment is a bit complex at times."

"IBM ProtectTIER could improve by being more user-friendly."

"The backup for a large amount of data is slow."

"The configuration wizards are still complex and hard to navigate. These should be easier to manage."

"I would like the possibility to back up the infrastructure and then replicate it upon on restart, without having to orchestrate the starting of the VM."

"There's significant room for improvement. They are not yet where I want them to be."

"IBM has made a decision to withdraw the product and replace it with IBM Data Protect."

"The tool needs to increase the number of threats."

"I would like more integration with security. We need to show the value of the product in regards to handling security. For example, how it handles current malware or viruses. IBM should be more proactive in this direction."

"With ransomware protection and cyber protection, more improvement is possible."

"There could be better integration with Spectrum Protect and Spectrum Protect Plus, it should be one solution."

"IBM Spectrum Protect Plus could improve the IBM Spectrum Protect environment. It can be difficult to administer. The initial configuration can be difficult for entry-level teams or deployment teams, and it might be difficult to integrate. There's just too much content involved in the solution. The documentation is way too large."

"The user experience is very bad and the interface needs to be improved."

More IBM Spectrum Protect Plus cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This solution is very expensive."

"We have a capacity-based license, which is managed centrally for all the sites of my company."

"IBM ProtectTIER is an expensive solution."

"The customer can decide how they want to purchase a license. However, the price of the solution is expensive."

"The price is perpetual, but the maintenance cost is annual. That is, we pay once for the product and pay annually for the maintenance and support. The price was much cheaper than what we would have had to pay for EMC or Veritas. The pricing is competitive, and I would rate it at four out of five."

"The licensing model of Spectrum Protect Plus is more efficient and cheaper compared to the original."

"We have a perpetual license for the tool since it is deployed on-premise."

"There are a few options available for purchasing the solutions. Overall, the price of the is high."

"IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is a little expensive."

"I rate the price of IBM Spectrum Protect Plus a one on a scale of one to ten, where one is extremely expensive, and ten is very cheap."

"In addition to the standard licensing fees, we paid for implementation and training."

"Depends on the licensing options that you choose."

More IBM Spectrum Protect Plus pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	3
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	3

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	13
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	17

Questions from the Community

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What do you like most about IBM Spectrum Protect Plus?

The most valuable features of the solution stem from the fact that the product works and helps with restoration areas whenever there is a need to restore something.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Spectrum Protect Plus?

It is probably based on the number of CPUs. They are fairly expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM Spectrum Protect Plus?

I used IBM Spectrum Protect Plus, but IBM is now replacing it with IBM Data Protect, which is a giant product now in common development with a well-known company in backup solutions.

See all answers

Comparisons

Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) vs IBM ProtectTIER

Compared 71% of the time

HPE StoreOnce vs IBM ProtectTIER

Compared 29% of the time

More IBM ProtectTIER Competitors

IBM Storage Protect vs IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

Compared 48% of the time

Veeam Data Platform vs IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

Compared 13% of the time

Rubrik vs IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

Compared 10% of the time

Atempo Live Navigator vs IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

Compared 7% of the time

HPE Zerto Software vs IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

Compared 7% of the time

More IBM Spectrum Protect Plus Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Deduplication Software

August 2025

Download IBM ProtectTIER product report

Buyer's Guide

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

August 2025

Download IBM Spectrum Protect Plus product report

Overview

IBM TS7650G ProtecTIER Deduplication Gateway is designed to meet the disk-based data protection needs of the enterprise data center while enabling significant infrastructure cost reductions. The solution offers industry-leading inline deduplication performance and scalability up to 1 petabyte (PB) of physical storage capacity per system, and can provide up to 25 PB or more backup storage capacity. Combined with IBM or third-party storage, TS7650G ProtecTIER Deduplication Gateway provides a powerful disk-based repository to improve the performance, retention and availability of backup and archive data in a small footprint for energy and cost efficiency.

IBM

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is a data protection and availability solution for virtual environments that can be deployed in minutes and protect your environment within an hour. It simplifies data protection, whether data is hosted in physical, virtual, software-defined or cloud environments. It can be implemented as a stand-alone solution or integrate with your IBM Spectrum Protect environment to off-load copies for long term storage and data governance with scale and efficiency.

IBM

Sample Customers

Durham Police Department, Re-Store LLC, CenterGrid, pixx.io GmbH, Australian Government Department of Defence, QD, Refresco Gerber

PT Wings Surya, Tectrade, State of Ohio

Buyer's Guide

IBM ProtectTIER vs. IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

July 2025

Free Report: IBM ProtectTIER vs. IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

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