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IBM ProtectTIER vs NetApp FAS Series comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

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 Deduplication Software
13th
Average Rating
7.2
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
Backup and Recovery (62nd)
NetApp FAS Series
Ranking in Deduplication Software
4th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
111
Ranking in other categories
NAS (3rd), Modular SAN (Storage Area Network) (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Deduplication Software category, the mindshare of IBM ProtectTIER is 2.7%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetApp FAS Series is 5.2%, up from 3.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Deduplication Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
NetApp FAS Series5.2%
IBM ProtectTIER2.7%
Other92.1%
Deduplication Software
 

Featured Reviews

AG
Technical Lead at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Provides a short-term backup, archive, and cataloging for 20,000 people in our organization
The backup for a large amount of data is slow. When there's a large amount of data, sometimes the backup isn't completed in time. I have a 24 hour cycle, so it doesn't get completed in 24 hours with the large amount of data. With Veritas NetBackup, I can take 20 terabytes of backup in a day.
Srikanth Purushothaman - PeerSpot reviewer
DIRECTOR at Vellore Online Systems
Has supported long-term data protection and backup while requiring better part availability and pricing options
For monitoring purposes, we normally use flash access storage exclusively. We utilize a hybrid system because we need performance, combining NL-SAS for the volume and SAS flash to use as a fast cache system that provides more IOPS. We normally implement RAID 10, which we prefer over RAID 6's n plus 2 combinations. We utilize it for data redundancy, even with write intensity on. Regarding the unified storage architecture for NetApp FAS Series, we normally opt for exclusivity unless budget constraints exist. Our IOPS are very high, reaching somewhere about 50k to 150k or 1.150k. The high performance ensures minimal latency. An advantage we've seen with NetApp FAS Series is that snapshots provide very rapid backup and fast recovery. We basically use snapshots for data protection as first-level protection, with deduplication between the two storages serving as second-level protection.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"In terms of stability, I've found it to be very stable."
"The command-line interface is good."
"The most valuable feature is the incremental backup."
"The cataloging is the best feature, as it takes millions of frames for the backup and, because it's incremental, it takes less time to complete."
"I will highly recommend this product for excellent and quick backup solution in small and large IBM I Series environment."
"If you are looking for a reliable and scalable enterprise-class solution, you should consider this solution."
"The solution is highly stable."
"Overall IBM ProtectTIER is a great solution. It is easy to use."
"The solution is stable."
"It is great to see that NetApp is ahead of the game with regard to support for Virtual Volumes – it is also nice to see that the 8.3 release can be installed on older versions of hardware allowing FAS customers, who purchased their systems a number of years ago, to take advantage of Virtual Volumes."
"The solution's most valuable feature is its absolute reliability."
"If you need reliability, definitely go for NetApp."
"We have used some solutions like Hitachi, Dell, and EMC, but NetApp has more flexibility and we decided to stay with NetApp."
"We tested many storages, and NetApp was the most successful in terms of performance."
"Just do it. Chances are the functionality that comes with the ONTAP software will be better than other products at a similar price."
"Fast Snapshots"
 

Cons

"Setting up the system to work with legacy equipment is a bit complex at times."
"These days, we are thinking about pushing another solution because of the poor support from IBM."
"The backup for a large amount of data is slow. When there's a large amount of data, sometimes the backup isn't completed in time."
"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."
"IBM ProtectTIER could improve by being more user-friendly."
"My advice to anybody who is considering this solution is to conduct a proof of concept first because everybody's needs are different, and this product is not suitable for every kind of backup."
"It is unmanageable. Support would be good."
"The configuration wizards are still complex and hard to navigate. These should be easier to manage."
"The WAFL is slow."
"The process for going to cluster mode is expensive."
"I would like to see an improvement in the licensing on Data Mirroring (SnapMirror) features."
"NetApp for all these years has been improving their storage. The only area that could be improved is to lower prices for their All Flash FAS."
"We're supposed to have used NetApp FAS Series for replication, but then one of the nodes failed, and then it's taken us some time to bring it up."
"I think that they are upgrading the performance monitoring tool, which is the main thing I think needs improvement."
"One of the issues that we have had with NetApp in upgrading over the years is that migrating data from one system to another is one-way only."
"If our customer needs a high-performance storage solution then we don't recommend this product."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This solution is very expensive."
"IBM ProtectTIER is an expensive solution."
"We have a capacity-based license, which is managed centrally for all the sites of my company."
"The customer can decide how they want to purchase a license. However, the price of the solution is expensive."
"The solution is more expensive than other vendors."
"The licensing cost is on yearly basis."
"The product's pricing is reasonable."
"The NetApp FAS series price is very competitive compared to other solutions on the market it is a good choice."
"The pricing of NetApp FAS Series is reasonable for its performance."
"The solution’s cost is reasonable."
"it’s not an inexpensive solution and it may not be for the cost-sensitive customer."
"If we want a ransomware solution with the product or other extended features, we need to pay an extra cost."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
20%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Construction Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise3
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business31
Midsize Enterprise38
Large Enterprise59
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
Which SAN product would you choose: IBM FlashSystem (FS9500) vs PureFlash Array/X NVMe vs PureFlash Array/XL NVMe?
Have you considered a NetApp FAS Storage for your NAS needs? I am sure it fits very well.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetApp FAS Series?
Regarding its pricing, I believe it is high. I utilize both HDD and SSD, where SSDs are more cost-friendly, yet HDDs are higher in cost, making it not very affordable but still useful. For general ...
What needs improvement with NetApp FAS Series?
Regarding improvements for NetApp FAS Series, I think everything is generally good. If there is a need to improve something, they can extend their support. Previously, in my company, I only saw Net...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Durham Police Department, Re-Store LLC, CenterGrid, pixx.io GmbH, Australian Government Department of Defence, QD, Refresco Gerber
Children's Hospital Central California, Plex Systems, PDF PNI Digital Media, Denver Broncos, PDF KSM Legal, Clayton Companies, Virginia Community College
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM ProtectTIER vs. NetApp FAS Series and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
915,287 professionals have used our research since 2012.