IBM Spectrum Protect Plus vs Synology DSM comparison

IBM and Synology are both solutions in the Backup and Recovery category. IBM is ranked #47 with an average rating of 7.0, while Synology is ranked #22 with an average rating of 10.0. IBM holds a 1.0% mindshare in BRS, compared to Synology’s 1.4% mindshare. Additionally, 85% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Synology users who would recommend it.

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

Read 33 IBM Spectrum Protect Plus reviews

1,914 Views
1,895 Comparison Views

85% willing to recommend

Synology DSM

Read 10 Synology DSM reviews

2,683 Views
2,656 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

Synology DSM

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 11, 2024

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus and Synology DSM are leading data management solutions. Synology DSM seems to have the upper hand due to its ease of use and cost-efficiency.

Features: IBM Spectrum Protect Plus provides extensive backup and recovery features, robust capabilities, and reliable performance. Synology DSM is noted for its integration with multiple devices and services, flexibility, and versatility.

Room for Improvement: IBM Spectrum Protect Plus could benefit from enhancements in scalability, user experience, and support. Synology DSM needs improvements in customer support, advanced user functionalities, and service response times.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is straightforward in deployment but some users face challenges with initial setup. Synology DSM is user-friendly in deployment and less complex. In customer service, Synology DSM offers faster, more responsive support, outperforming IBM Spectrum Protect Plus.

Pricing and ROI: IBM Spectrum Protect Plus' higher pricing affects its perceived value. Synology DSM is cost-effective with lower setup costs and comprehensive features, offering better return on investment.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Spectrum Protect Plus vs. Synology DSM Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus vs. Synology DSM

December 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 Spectrum Protect Plus

Ranking in Backup and Recovery

47th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Synology DSM

Ranking in Backup and Recovery

22nd

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

8.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is 1.0%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Synology DSM is 1.4%, down from 1.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Backup and Recovery Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Synology DSM	1.4%
IBM Spectrum Protect Plus	1.0%
Other	97.6%

Backup and Recovery

Featured Reviews

reviewer1656648

Senior System Engineer at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees

Offers reliable recovery and backup but needs better ransomware protection

With ransomware protection and cyber protection, more improvement is possible. IBM provides these through a third party, so enhancement is needed. There's significant room for improvement. They are not yet where I want them to be. It does not offer horizontal and vertical scaling. These are areas IBM can improve.

Read full review

Michael Adejoh

Solutions Manager at Excel Connect Ventures

Reliable and cost-effective

One area where Synology DSM could improve is in enhancing its ability to detect and respond to security threats during backups and replication. Currently, it lacks the capability to automatically stop backups if it detects a virus or suspicious network activity, as some third-party solutions can. Having AI-driven analytics to identify anomalies and halt backups during potential attacks, along with notifications to administrators, would be valuable. Additionally, providing a dashboard for monitoring the backup environment's security would be a beneficial feature. These improvements would help address security concerns and make Synology more competitive in this aspect.

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

"What I like about IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is its integration, plus it has very good technical support."

"If the system were to go down, we needed to make sure that the system could be recovered and available as soon as possible. Spectrum Protect provides you access to directly bind the backup volume to the server and make the system available instead of restoring it and copying the system."

"Large-scale recoveries are very straightforward."

"The most valuable feature is how we can easily power speed up the VM even though the VM resides in remote storage."

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

"The most valuable feature of IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is its ease of use. Additionally, it does backups of all of the things we need, such as OS, files, and databases."

"The solution's stability is high because it is derived from Spectrum Protect."

"The solution offers a very straightforward deployment. You click, click, click and it's done. There's not much configuration to do."

More IBM Spectrum Protect Plus pros

"It offers a variety of software options through its package center, allowing users to customize their NAS device to serve multiple purposes."

"Because of its simplicity and the wide array of features it offers, I would recommend DSM for both tech-savvy individuals and those who prefer a straightforward file-serving solution."

"The product performs well. It is easy to use and implement."

"The most valuable features are the basic storage, file management, Btrfs file system, and built-in backups that come with the solution."

"Synology DSM is very easy to work and operate."

"The most valuable features of Synology DSM are its security and connectivity."

"The most valuable aspect is its ability to handle multiple disks."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it serves as a backup for our company's virtual machine."

More Synology DSM pros

Cons

"I cannot determine what benefit IBM Spectrum Protect Plus brings to the organization because we deployed this solution with one customer, and that customer changed the product after one or two years because the product is not stable and it changes with every version."

"The solution should allow for backup of iOS snapshots."

"I think the graphical reports are a shortcoming of the tool since it fails to provide my company with what we want in terms of reporting. Due to the product's inability to take care of its reporting part, we have to use third-party software."

"It requires much more automation features."

"The replication feature is not available."

"The administration needs to be improved and made simpler to use."

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

"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."

More IBM Spectrum Protect Plus cons

"The product's only shortcoming is pricing, as it is an expensive solution."

"One area where Synology DSM could improve is in enhancing its ability to detect and respond to security threats during backups and replication."

"Users may lose their data if they don't configure the solution properly."

"Synology DSM is a good enough solution for small and medium companies, but I have not seen a big configuration of the solution for a big organization."

"Even though Synology provides a backup solution, it does not recognize the VM movement across cluster hosts."

"The platform could be much more cost-effective and flexible for integrating third-party products."

"Synology DSM's user interface is not quite intuitive."

"The only bothersome aspect is that the device is aging."

More Synology DSM cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

"The price is lower than that of some competing products."

"The price offering from IBM is coming down because it is based on number of VM machines. So, IBM is coming to the market to show the added value of the product."

"IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is a little expensive."

"If you need to extend it, it can be extended acting like a normal Spectrum Protect with a long archive."

"There is an annual license required to use IBM Spectrum Protect Plus. The cost of the license could improve, it is expensive."

"Unlike some other solutions, such as Veritas NetBackup where you have to pay for different licenses to use different features, there is a single license that allows you to use all of the features."

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

More IBM Spectrum Protect Plus pricing and cost advice

"It is quite an affordable solution."

"The price of the solution is very good."

"The pricing varies widely, catering to a broad range of needs."

"The licensing part of the solution is free. The hardware is more expensive than the other solutions in the market, but it's okay in the long run."

"Synology DSM is a cheap solution."

"Synology DSM is a free tool."

"The solution’s pricing is neither cheap nor expensive."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Computer Software Company

Educational Organization

Computer Software Company

14%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	14
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	17

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	8
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	1

Questions from the Community

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

Pricing is good; it is reasonable and more reasonable than any other vendors.

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM Spectrum Protect Plus?

Technical support could be improved significantly. IBM Spectrum Protect Plus could be made more lightweight and user-friendly in terms of GUI features to make it closer to a perfect score.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for IBM Spectrum Protect Plus?

I have been using it for our own organization.

See all answers

What do you like most about Synology DSM?

The most valuable features of Synology DSM are its security and connectivity.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Synology DSM?

The solution’s pricing is neither cheap nor expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Synology DSM?

Users may lose their data if they don't configure the solution properly.

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 23% of the time

Veeam Data Platform vs IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

Compared 10% of the time

Rubrik vs IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

Compared 6% of the time

Atempo Live Navigator vs IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

Compared 6% of the time

Carbonite Server vs IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

Compared 4% of the time

More IBM Spectrum Protect Plus Competitors

Veeam Data Platform vs Synology DSM

Compared 7% of the time

UrBackup vs Synology DSM

Compared 6% of the time

NetApp SnapCenter vs Synology DSM

Compared 6% of the time

GoodSync For Business vs Synology DSM

Compared 6% of the time

NAKIVO Backup & Replication vs Synology DSM

Compared 4% of the time

More Synology DSM Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

January 2026

Download IBM Spectrum Protect Plus product report

Buyer's Guide

Synology DSM

January 2026

Download Synology DSM product report

Also Known As

No data available

Synology DiskStation Manager (DSM)

Overview

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

Synology DSM (DiskStation Manager) is a comprehensive software platform designed for Synology NAS (Network Attached Storage) devices. It serves as the operating system for these devices, providing a wide range of features and functionalities.

The primary use case of Synology DSM is to centralize and manage data storage for organizations. It allows businesses to store, access, and share files securely across multiple devices and platforms. With its intuitive user interface, DSM simplifies the management of data, making it easy to create shared folders, set access permissions, and monitor storage usage.

One of the most valuable functionalities of Synology DSM is its robust data protection capabilities. It offers various RAID configurations, including SHR (Synology Hybrid RAID), which ensures data redundancy and safeguards against drive failures. DSM also supports advanced backup and disaster recovery solutions, such as Snapshot Replication and Hyper Backup, enabling organizations to protect their critical data effectively.

Furthermore, Synology DSM provides a wide range of productivity and collaboration tools. It offers applications like Synology Drive, which allows seamless file synchronization across devices, and Synology Office, a web-based suite for document editing and collaboration. DSM also supports various third-party applications, including popular cloud services like Dropbox and Google Drive, enabling organizations to integrate their existing workflows seamlessly.

Synology

Sample Customers

PT Wings Surya, Tectrade, State of Ohio

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus vs. Synology DSM

December 2025

Free Report: IBM Spectrum Protect Plus vs. Synology DSM

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