IBM Spectrum Protect vs IBM Tivoli CDP for Files comparison

IBM Spectrum Protect and IBM Tivoli CDP for Files are both solutions in the Backup and Recovery category. IBM Spectrum Protect is ranked #14 with an average rating of 7.3, while IBM Tivoli CDP for Files is ranked #75. IBM Spectrum Protect holds a 2.2% mindshare in BRS, compared to IBM Tivoli CDP for Files’s 0.2% mindshare. Additionally, 86% of IBM Spectrum Protect users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of IBM Tivoli CDP for Files users who would recommend it.

IBM Spectrum Protect

Read 149 IBM Spectrum Protect reviews

3,978 Views
3,421 Comparison Views

86% willing to recommend

IBM Tivoli CDP for Files

Read 1 IBM Tivoli CDP for Files review

283 Views
269 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

IBM Spectrum Protect

IBM Tivoli CDP for Files

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between IBM Spectrum Protect and IBM Tivoli CDP for Files based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

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Buyer's Guide

Backup and Recovery

June 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

Ranking in Backup and Recovery

14th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

149

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

IBM Tivoli CDP for Files

Ranking in Backup and Recovery

75th

Average Rating

9.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of IBM Spectrum Protect is 2.2%, up from 2.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Tivoli CDP for Files is 0.2%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Backup and Recovery

Featured Reviews

Syed Habib

Head of Infrastructure Security (S.A.V.P) at EXIM Bank Ltd

Manageable and comprehensive and integrates robust backup features for core banking

It's adequate for my core banking, however, I am looking for another solution for all systems. It is not compatible with other operating systems like Windows or Linux, and lacks a consolidated dashboard from Browser Spectrum. This is why I am searching for another solution. The product also lacks any centralized graphical user interface (GUI), such as Jarek Pod, and I am limited to using a console-based text user interface, which my local partner handles completely.

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reviewer1035033

Sr. Aix Admin at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Restoration and infrastructure are extremely reliable

We are currently using Tivoli to backup 15 terabytes within our Oracle Database using a RMAN backup script. The RMAN's utility and restoration has been perfect, we have yet to experience any issues. It's very reliable The restoration and infrastructure are extremely reliable. We would like to…

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is very stable. A plus is to use POWERAge for the SNR copy of the Spectrum Protect, then it is more reliable."

"The ability to use S3 Data Store as a repository."

"It allows us to have one interface."

"We are able to run it in an enterprise quite easily with one or two resources."

"The solution is very stable. It is one of the most important features that we look for in a product before putting it into the market and when establishing a strategy with our customers."

"Traditional storage works perfectly with it."

"It is a very good and mature enterprise product. Once it is set up and everything is put in, you don't have to manage it. It actually runs automatically by itself."

"It seems very scalable and robust. It can do what we require it to do."

More IBM Spectrum Protect pros

"The restoration and infrastructure is extremely reliable."

Cons

"The features should be a little bit closer together."

"Although I am not a technical user, I would say the cloud integration features could be improved."

"It might be seen as leaning towards the legacy side, missing some features of newer solutions. The main drawbacks would be its complexity and high pricing."

"If you take Spectrum Protect into account, and you have it along with restrictions to Spectrum Archive by means of LTFS, this is also something which should be made better within the overall product's program."

"They are behind on many things, especially security. They are catching up a little bit now, but the competitors are doing better security-wise. There should be malware detection and prevention and higher security."

"In a future release, it would be a benefit to have the ability to add an application as a storage target, as a storage pool. Additionally, they should add more functionality to the administration for the Operation Center."

"This product comes up against other products available that are marketed better but the other products that it's in competition with are a single product and this is one of IBM products. If it could be marketed as more for competitors I think that's where it comes short."

"They do not have a unified GUI, they only work on CLI and operations center, which is really complicated for the installation and configuration."

More IBM Spectrum Protect cons

"We would like to have the opportunity to omit data from being backed up. For example, we have three virtual machines, each with three disks. When running the backup, it will automatically take each disk rather than allowing us to select what data we want backed."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Spectrum Protect is not a cheap option."

"IBM Spectrum Protect can be considered an averagely-priced product."

"License-wise regarding IBM, it's licensed per terabyte. And that is after compression and deduplication."

"The most important feature which I wish to be added involves the GUI, the user interface."

"The solution has a capacity based licensing, front and back-end license."

"We chose IBM Spectrum Protect, because they actually have something called MSP pricing, which means managed services provider pricing. The pricing was attractive, and it seems to be a platform that IBM is totally investing on in terms of new functions and new capabilities."

"The pricing model of this solution is another difficult area, it's very sophisticated in the way they charge. It's based on PBU, which is a type of processor, how, many processors, and you need to put everything into an equation. However, they have different ways of charging or licensing. One way is a back-end volume or front-end volume, which is quite complicated."

"It is very scalable, but the downside is that it costs money."

More IBM Spectrum Protect pricing and cost advice

"It's expensive, but it's worth for it due to the volume of critical information within our database. We are currently paying about $22,000 per year."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

17%

Computer Software Company

12%

Government

Educational Organization

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Spectrum Protect?

IBM Spectrum Protect is stable.

See all answers

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

It's expensive. I acknowledge the cost associated with it.

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What needs improvement with IBM Spectrum 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...

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Comparisons

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Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) vs IBM Spectrum Protect

Compared 12% of the time

Commvault Cloud vs IBM Spectrum Protect

Compared 10% of the time

Iron Mountain Connect vs IBM Spectrum Protect

Compared 2% of the time

More IBM Spectrum Protect Competitors

Veeam Data Platform vs IBM Tivoli CDP for Files

Compared 28% of the time

OpenText Data Protector vs IBM Tivoli CDP for Files

Compared 23% of the time

Commvault Cloud vs IBM Tivoli CDP for Files

Compared 20% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Spectrum Protect

July 2025

Download IBM Spectrum Protect product report

Buyer's Guide

Backup and Recovery

June 2025

Download IBM Tivoli CDP for Files product report

Also Known As

IBM TSM, IBM Tivoli Storage Manager

Tivoli CDP for Files

Overview

IBM Spectrum Protect (Tivoli Storage Manager) is a data protection platform that gives enterprises a single point of control and administration for backup and recovery. It is the flagship product in the IBM Spectrum Protect (Tivoli Storage Manager) family. It enables reliable, cost effective backups and fast recovery for virtual, physical and cloud environments of all sizes.

IBM

IBM Tivoli Continuous Data Protection for Files is a continuous backup software that protects your most important files. This real-time, continuous data protection solution for file servers and user endpoints automatically backs up your most critical files the moment they are saved.

IBM

Sample Customers

CERN, Einstein Healthcare, Nyherji, Allianz Australia, TZM, ABT Online, NCT, Kindred Healthcare Inc., Cobalt Iron, TransGrid, Baptist Health of Northeast Florida, Cash America, Piedmont Healthcare, RWGV, Arkansas Tech University, British Columbia Institute of Technology

Cyberian Data Protection

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