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IBM Spectrum Protect Plus vs IBM Storage Protect comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 16, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
7.7
IBM Spectrum Protect Plus offers competitive pricing and integration benefits, achieving mixed ROI within two to three years.
Sentiment score
1.0
IBM Storage Protect enhances data recovery, reduces downtime, and aids compliance, making it a valuable investment for organizations.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
4.4
IBM Spectrum Protect Plus support is mostly praised for efficiency, though complex cases sometimes encounter delays and challenges.
Sentiment score
7.6
IBM Storage Protect's support shows mixed experiences, with praise for expertise but concerns over response times and service consistency.
Their documentation, runbooks, troubleshooting articles, and support people are good.
Senior System Engineer at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Support from IBM is very good, and they always have knowledgeable people.
Interim Head of Infrastructure at a real estate/law firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Some support staff are highly skilled, others are not, leading to longer times to resolve issues.
CEO at Fischerei Leipold
Support is good from IBM, although it mainly comes from my local partner.
Head of Infrastructure Security (S.A.V.P) at EXIM Bank Ltd
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.3
IBM Spectrum Protect Plus offers scalability for enterprises, supporting storage expansion and workload adjustments despite some infrastructure challenges.
Sentiment score
7.7
IBM Storage Protect is praised for scalability and adaptability, though some users cite challenges in features and large-scale integration.
The solution does not provide horizontal and vertical scaling.
Senior System Engineer at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
IBM Data Protect is the scalable solution, not IBM Spectrum Protect Plus.
IT Specialist at Saudi Business Machines - SBM
It is one of the most scalable platforms, and that is its strong point.
Interim Head of Infrastructure at a real estate/law firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
TSM is a generic and robust product, which is why I continue using it for my core banking.
Head of Infrastructure Security (S.A.V.P) at EXIM Bank Ltd
Scalability is great in IBM Spectrum Protect; there are several options available to scale.
Solution architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.0
IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is stable and reliable, handling heavy loads well, but may occasionally require repeated backup restorations.
Sentiment score
8.0
IBM Storage Protect is highly stable and reliable, with consistent enhancements despite occasional minor issues with new features.
 

Room For Improvement

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus needs integration, interface, automation, and security improvements, alongside enhanced installation, support, and data protection features.
IBM Storage Protect needs an improved interface, intuitive features, better cloud integration, and enhanced reporting and virtualization support.
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.
Manager - Storage & Backup at a pharma/biotech company with 10,001+ employees
It does not offer horizontal and vertical scaling.
Senior System Engineer at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
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.
IT Specialist at Saudi Business Machines - SBM
The new software, such as Rubrik, is very easy to use and more relatable to younger engineers because its interface design is more similar to Office 365 and the newer controls and labels that we are accustomed to.
Interim Head of Infrastructure at a real estate/law firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
It is not compatible with other operating systems like Windows or Linux.
Head of Infrastructure Security (S.A.V.P) at EXIM Bank Ltd
There is a need for additional layers of security to fill the gaps, which is why we are using Cobalt Iron.
Solution architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Setup Cost

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus offers strong value with scalable pricing, though some find it expensive for corporate use.
IBM Storage Protect offers varied and complex licensing, often seen as expensive but potentially cost-effective with tailored agreements.
Pricing is good; it is reasonable and more reasonable than any other vendors.
Manager - Storage & Backup at a pharma/biotech company with 10,001+ employees
They are fairly expensive.
Senior System Engineer at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
We do not see the cost of the licensing.
Interim Head of Infrastructure at a real estate/law firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
It's expensive.
Head of Infrastructure Security (S.A.V.P) at EXIM Bank Ltd
New customers can expect very high prices.
CEO at Fischerei Leipold
 

Valuable Features

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is praised for its integration, ease of use, scalability, and robust disaster recovery features.
IBM Storage Protect excels in efficient backups, cost-effective storage, scalability, reliability, user-friendliness, adaptability, and robust disaster recovery.
The biggest benefit of IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is that it's an agentless backup product which is very easy to configure and use.
IT Specialist at Saudi Business Machines - SBM
IBM Spectrum Protect has excellent integration capability.
Solution architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
The product works efficiently with very large tape libraries, unlike most other products in the market that have problems handling large tape libraries or more than one tape library.
CEO at Fischerei Leipold
Incremental and differential backup features are built-in, which I frequently utilize on a weekly and daily basis.
Head of Infrastructure Security (S.A.V.P) at EXIM Bank Ltd
 

Categories and Ranking

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
49th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
32
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
IBM Storage Protect
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
13th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
4
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 IBM Storage Protect is 1.8%, down from 2.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
IBM Storage Protect1.8%
IBM Spectrum Protect Plus1.0%
Other97.2%
Backup and Recovery
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer1656648 - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
reviewer2787573 - PeerSpot reviewer
Interim Head of Infrastructure at a real estate/law firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Backup coverage has supported immutable protection and now needs a more modern, intuitive interface
IBM Storage Protect is from a previous generation of backup software. In those days, backup software was complex in setting up and complex to manage. The new software, such as Rubrik, is very easy to use and more relatable to younger engineers because its interface design is more similar to Office 365 and the newer controls and labels that we are accustomed to. The difficulty that we now have with IBM Storage Protect is that for this day and age, compared to other products that are out there, it seems complex. If we look back 15 years ago, all enterprise class backup software was complex, so IBM was not any different. However, many of these older systems, such as Commvault, still have the same complaint that they are very complex because they have tried to keep that same interface and the same way it works. This suits them, but it probably needed a complete overhaul to bring it into the ease of use that we have with modern software. However, that upgrade has not been done. IBM Storage Protect has not been upgraded into a modern platform. It still looks a legacy platform.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Educational Organization
5%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Educational Organization
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business13
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise17
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business53
Midsize Enterprise25
Large Enterprise95
 

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.
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.
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

No data available
IBM Spectrum Discover
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

PT Wings Surya, Tectrade, State of Ohio
CEMEX
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Spectrum Protect Plus vs. IBM Storage Protect and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
879,422 professionals have used our research since 2012.