IBM Spectrum Protect Plus vs Synology DSM comparison

IBM and Synology are both solutions in the Backup and Recovery category. IBM is ranked #23 with an average rating of 7.8, while Synology is ranked #18 with an average rating of 9.0. IBM holds a 0.9% mindshare in BRS, compared to Synology’s 1.9% mindshare. Additionally, 88% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Synology users who would recommend it.

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

Read 31 IBM Spectrum Protect Plus reviews

1,646 Views
1,095 Comparison Views

88% willing to recommend

Synology DSM

Read 10 Synology DSM reviews

2,068 Views
1,585 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: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus vs. Synology DSM

June 2025

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Helped 859,129 peers since 2012

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

23rd

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Synology DSM

Ranking in Backup and Recovery

18th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

8.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is 0.9%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Synology DSM is 1.9%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Backup and Recovery

Featured Reviews

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

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

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

"The solution is scalable."

"The most valuable features are the API features because it allows you to integrate with your Microsoft SQL, your Oracle, and your IBM Db2."

"Using this tool, we can easily backup and restore or recover the data for PCs and mobiles in case of system crashes."

"We used to use the solution with tapes a few years ago. We've switched to discs, and it has gotten much faster."

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

"The tool has enough documentation; you don't need to contact the support team."

"The API is very good."

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."

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

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

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

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

"The solution's most valuable feature stems from its ease of use, making it the tool's most interesting part."

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

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

More Synology DSM pros

Cons

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

"The software's technical support could improve its response time for different time zones."

"It requires much more automation features."

"Rooms for improvement in IBM Spectrum Protect Plus are installation and configuration because those were difficult. They should try their best to improve those areas. In the next release of the product, better implementation and administration are what we're expecting."

"The replication feature is not available."

"Not particularly user friendly."

"An area that needs improvement is data validation. We currently use another product that gives us immediate validation, information about when the last backup was, and no risk of corruption happening. TSM in IBM Spectrum is not mature so that you can validate on the spot."

"The backup support for IBM Power Virtualization needs to be added."

More IBM Spectrum Protect Plus cons

"There's a surveillance application that allows you to connect IP cameras and stream footage to Synology and it is a great feature, but it's not always clear that adding more cameras may require purchasing additional licenses."

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

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

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

"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."

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

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

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

More Synology DSM cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The initial cost of the product is perpetual but the support fees are billed annually."

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

"Clients prefer to buy a perpetual license, but the majority opt for a yearly subscription."

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

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

"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."

"The solution is too expensive."

More IBM Spectrum Protect Plus pricing and cost advice

"Synology DSM is a free tool."

"It is quite an affordable solution."

"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."

"The price of the solution is very good."

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

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

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

16%

Computer Software Company

15%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Computer Software Company

14%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

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

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

IBM Spectrum Protect vs IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

Compared 56% of the time

Rubrik vs IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

Compared 11% of the time

Veeam Data Platform vs IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

Compared 11% of the time

IBM Storage Protect vs IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

Compared 8% of the time

HPE Zerto Software vs IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

Compared 6% of the time

More IBM Spectrum Protect Plus Competitors

Veeam Data Platform vs Synology DSM

Compared 15% of the time

NetApp SnapCenter vs Synology DSM

Compared 9% of the time

UrBackup vs Synology DSM

Compared 9% of the time

GoodSync vs Synology DSM

Compared 5% of the time

ExaGrid Tiered Backup Storage vs Synology DSM

Compared 5% of the time

More Synology DSM Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

June 2025

Download IBM Spectrum Protect Plus product report

Buyer's Guide

Synology DSM

May 2025

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

June 2025

Free Report: IBM Spectrum Protect Plus vs. Synology DSM

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