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IBM Spectrum Protect vs OpenText Data Protector comparison

IBM and OpenText are both solutions in the Backup and Recovery category. IBM is ranked #14 with an average rating of 7.3, while OpenText is ranked #22 with an average rating of 8.0. IBM holds a 2.2% mindshare in BRS, compared to OpenText’s 0.7% mindshare. Additionally, 86% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 80% of OpenText 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
OpenText Data Protector
Read 102 OpenText Data Protector reviews
  • 1,648 Views
  • 1,351 Comparison Views
80% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 11, 2024

IBM Spectrum Protect and OpenText Data Protector compete in the enterprise data protection category. IBM Spectrum Protect is favored for its pricing and customer support, while OpenText Data Protector excels in features and user satisfaction.

Features: IBM Spectrum Protect is valued for scalability, reliability, and effective data backup and recovery. OpenText Data Protector offers comprehensive protection, broader support for varied environments, and superior compatibility.

Room for Improvement: IBM Spectrum Protect needs better reporting, enhanced performance management, and streamlined updates. OpenText Data Protector requires improved technical support, simplified updates, and more efficient customer service.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM Spectrum Protect is praised for straightforward deployment and responsive customer service. OpenText Data Protector's deployment is more complex, and users face slower support responses.

Pricing and ROI: IBM Spectrum Protect is cost-effective with a favorable ROI. OpenText Data Protector is more expensive, justified by advanced features, but IBM Spectrum Protect offers better value for money.

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To learn more, read our detailed IBM Spectrum Protect vs. OpenText Data Protector Report (Updated: July 2025).
Buyer's Guide
IBM Spectrum Protect vs. OpenText Data Protector
July 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
OpenText Data Protector
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
22nd
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.8
Number of Reviews
102
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 OpenText Data Protector is 0.7%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery
 

Featured Reviews

Syed Habib - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Read full review
Jeroen Vranckaerts - PeerSpot reviewer
Though a highly stable tool, it needs to be made easier to use and configure
Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a five out of ten. OpenText Data Protector is complex to configure correctly, but the areas concerning the data and compression are good. Once you get the product to work, it works, but it's much too complex to configure and troubleshoot, as it takes a lot of time and energy, making it not so efficient. Once the tool is configured in your environment, it provides good backup and compression features. In my company, we use OpenText Data Protector as a backup for our servers, and we have a team of 20 people to take care of the data backup using the tool. My company doesn't use OpenText Data Protector as a backup for our client's computers. In my company, we have scheduled the process related to backup, which makes the tool run daily around 30 to 40 times.
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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

"We've found the product to be quite stable and the performance is very good."
"We are able to run it in an enterprise quite easily with one or two resources."
"It saves you a lot of storage."
"The most valuable feature is the backup speed."
"It is good in terms of functionality. My clients are very satisfied with this solution."
"Enterprise-wide type of architecture supports a lot of different platforms."
"It is scalable beyond anything my customers ever aspire to."
"Our performance is better."
More IBM Spectrum Protect pros
"What I like the most about this solution is that I can change and access the Oracle backup file."
"It is a traditional backup model. If you talk about file server and the official Windows database, it's a stable product."
"The solution allows us to be able to backup and exchange directly, to backup Microsoft exchange."
"The tool's most valuable aspect is its ease of management. It was not complex. In terms of features, I can mention a couple of things. For example, if you need to restore a VM, you can do it with multiple streams in OpenText Data Protector, which is an advantage over Commvault, from what I've noticed, having worked with multiple tools. Another thing is the Oracle backups; configuring Oracle backups is much easier in OpenText Data Protector."
"The reliability of HP Data Protector is the most valuable feature for us."
"In one of the projects involving a database and UCMDB integration, we needed to manage a large database. We used the scheduling feature in Data Protector to automate backups."
"The stability of the product seems to be quite good."
"The initial setup is very easy."
More OpenText Data Protector pros
 

Cons

"Perhaps some better documentation, which I believe was better in the past."
"We cannot take VMware backups for our banking data center environment."
"Integration with some applications in the healthcare field could be added, as that is a big part of our business."
"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."
"Generally, the implementation of virtualization could be improved. The workflow service and so on are not working properly."
"It does what we need it to do, but it could be better with VM backups. It could be better integrated with virtual machines or VM backups, but that's why they have their Plus out now. Plus version is more geared toward VM backups. The regular version is more for endpoint clients."
"There needs to be a bit more automation."
"I am not really impressed with the Level 1 support, but once I get past that and go to Level 2, then we will usually get some type of resolution."
More IBM Spectrum Protect cons
"It has a lot of undeveloped functions like window searching and patent searching, and within the main backup processes like VMware and Microsoft Exchange. It's completely not user-friendly, and it has no built-in antivirus software. In my opinion, Micro Focus Data Protector is not an enterprise level solution."
"We faced some certification issues after we upgraded to version 10.2."
"I would like to see a better user interface in the next release."
"The downside of the flexibility on offer is if you over-configure it, it may fail to function as some configurations may not match."
"In SAP restoration, we faced issues with changing the SIDs and changing the path for every backup object. It is quite a lengthy process to do that."
"The interface has been the same for many years and needs to be updated"
"I don't like this solution so much because it's very technical and compared to Commvault and Veeam, it's not so user-friendly. The interface needs improvement."
"It would be ideal if they could improve their level of support."
More OpenText Data Protector cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing fees are on a yearly basis, which for us it is about R400,000 (approximately $27,000 USD)."
"Regarding retro-compatibility of the product between versions, your data is always available and the ROI is unquestionable."
"Spectrum Protect is not expensive, and it is simple to use."
"Technical support is pretty good. It is doing fine, but you pay for it."
"The product is low cost. It is very cool when we design it to using licensing based on post capacity."
"We pay for a terabyte license to support our backend usage."
"The licensing fees are between $8,000 and $10,000 per year."
"The pricing is a little expensive for our current employer, so they want to move to a cheaper solution."
More IBM Spectrum Protect pricing and cost advice
"We have many competitors who are pricing better, and we believe that our pricing is higher."
"Avoid using many LTO drives; when using fewer drives, the price will be extremely good."
"The licensing cost is too high."
"The pricing is neither too expensive nor very cheap."
"The pricing is acceptable for enterprise level companies, but it's not acceptable for small- and medium-sized businesses. Micro Focus Data Protector is not an enterprise level solution, and it should cover small- and medium-sized businesses with acceptable prices."
"Data Protector's pricing is very competitive and we have no issues in this regard. I would give it an eight out of ten in terms of pricing."
"The solution requires paying for a license."
"Pricing/licensing is Data Protector's single best offering. In its most basic environment, the only license required is for whatever target device is required."
More OpenText Data Protector pricing and cost advice
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
8%
Educational Organization
8%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Performing Arts
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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.
See all answers
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...
See all answers
What do you like most about Micro Focus Data Protector?
I haven't experienced any crashes while using the solution...Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Micro Focus Data Protector?
The solution is expensive as it requires purchasing all features without the option to negotiate based on client numbers, unlike Veeam which offers flexibility in pricing.
See all answers
What needs improvement with Micro Focus Data Protector?
OpenText Data Protector is not user-friendly, especially for cloud backup. It lacks functions and facilities compared to Veeam, which offers more user-friendliness for virtual machine backups. Ther...
See all answers
 

Comparisons

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Compared 10% of the time
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Compared 8% of the time
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Compared 6% of the time
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Compared 6% of the time
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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
IBM Spectrum Protect
June 2025
IBM Spectrum Protect reportDownload IBM Spectrum Protect product report
Buyer's Guide
OpenText Data Protector
June 2025
OpenText Data Protector reportDownload OpenText Data Protector product report
 

Also Known As

IBM TSM, IBM Tivoli Storage Manager
Micro Focus Data Protector, Data Protector, OmniBack, HPE Data Protector
 

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
OpenText Data Protector standardizes and consolidates backups across multiple platforms. It provides secure, comprehensive backup protection for business-critical data and applications whether virtual, physical, or online in the cloud.
OpenText
 

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
GSK Vaccines, Repsol, Vodafone Group, Siemens AG, Medium Enterprise Transportation Services Company
Buyer's Guide
IBM Spectrum Protect vs. OpenText Data Protector
July 2025
Free Report: IBM Spectrum Protect vs. OpenText Data Protector
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Spectrum Protect vs. OpenText Data Protector and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
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