IBM Spectrum Protect vs MSP360 Backup comparison

IBM and MSP360 are both solutions in the Backup and Recovery category. IBM is ranked #17 with an average rating of 7.2, while MSP360 is ranked #56 with an average rating of 7.0. IBM holds a 2.2% mindshare in BRS, compared to MSP360’s 0.4% mindshare. Additionally, 86% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of MSP360 users who would recommend it.

IBM Spectrum Protect

Read 149 IBM Spectrum Protect reviews

4,073 Views
3,133 Comparison Views

86% willing to recommend

MSP360 Backup

Read 15 MSP360 Backup reviews

829 Views
639 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

IBM Spectrum Protect

MSP360 Backup

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 11, 2024

IBM Spectrum Protect and MSP360 Backup are robust solutions for data protection and backup management. IBM Spectrum Protect stands out for its advanced features, while MSP360 Backup has an advantage due to its intuitive setup and ease of use.

Features: IBM Spectrum Protect offers data deduplication, extensive scalability, and robust security measures. MSP360 Backup is known for its simplicity, ease of use, and integration with multiple cloud services.

Room for Improvement: IBM Spectrum Protect needs a more intuitive administrative console, better support documentation, and reduced complexity. MSP360 Backup could improve its customer support response times, reporting features, and provide more comprehensive support documentation.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Deploying IBM Spectrum Protect can be complex and time-consuming, requiring skilled personnel, while MSP360 Backup is generally quicker and easier to deploy. Customer service for IBM Spectrum Protect is seen as adequate but not exceptional, whereas MSP360 Backup’s customer service, though helpful, is sometimes slow.

Pricing and ROI: IBM Spectrum Protect often involves higher initial setup costs and provides robust ROI for large-scale deployments. MSP360 Backup is cost-effective for SMBs and provides rapid ROI due to its lower setup costs and straightforward deployment.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Spectrum Protect vs. MSP360 Backup Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Spectrum Protect vs. MSP360 Backup

April 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

17th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

149

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

MSP360 Backup

Ranking in Backup and Recovery

56th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Cloud Backup (44th), Disaster Recovery (DR) Software (27th), MSP Backup (3rd)

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of IBM Spectrum Protect is 2.2%, up from 2.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MSP360 Backup is 0.4%, down from 0.5% 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.

Read full review

CONRAD FORREST

President at MTS Consulting Group, Inc.

The solution provides the ability to backup all types of cloud drives, is inexpensive, and has decent support

MSP360 Backup provides the backup functionality, but we need to provide the storage component. We can use Azure, AWS, or another provider, but we need to choose the storage provider and create a bucket to store our data. The vendor is making changes to improve the functionality of the service and the separation of storage, but I would like to see more integration and a knowledge base of the tool. Currently trying to understand why the storage is separated and how to implement the storage properly is a challenge. Using the solution incurs additional charges for the device storage and backup which are not included in the service. Unlike other solutions such as Kohl which includes everything at one price. MSP360 Backup can be improved by adding inclusive pricing.

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

"The most valuable features of the product are data deduplication and disaster recovery."

"The components of IBM Spectrum Protect explain how the data is protected. The administration is very easy, and the vertical migration is intuitive."

"It is more efficient than most traditional backup solutions."

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

"IBM Spectrum Protect offers stable software and products."

"We can scale. Today, we have an average backup volume of 100TB a day."

"It scales well for the amount of clients that we use with it."

"Traditional storage works perfectly with it."

More IBM Spectrum Protect pros

"Provides connectivity to a lot of different cloud storage solutions."

"One massive advantage of this solution, as compared to more enterprise products, is that no firewall changes are needed on the client's premises. For the product to back up from the client's premise to the cloud, it just needs port 8 and port 443, which are anyway always open. This was one of the things that made us decide to go with the product. It is very difficult to justify a firewall change for a small client who doesn't even know what a firewall is and how to maintain a firewall, or doesn't have anybody maintaining their firewall. You then have to maintain the firewall. MSP360 Backup takes away firewall change requirements, VPNs, or channels that are needed for the backup."

"General ease of use and performance of the Windows version is the most valuable feature."

"The best feature is that it's very user-friendly to do scheduled backups and version maintenance."

"MSP360 Backup's most valuable feature is its backup interface."

"Client-side encryption minimizes worries about data being captured on the back-end."

"Block level transfers have significantly reduced the amount of time for transfers over some other solutions"

"The initial setup is very easy. It's not overly complex."

More MSP360 Backup pros

Cons

"They need to do a better job on Windows, because if you are running Windows, the scalability is more limited than AIX and Linux."

"Integration with Windows environments needs improvement. It should be more "assisted", both at the application and database level. It remains a product that fits better in Unix/Linux environments than in Windows environments, given its configuration procedures."

"IBM Spectrum Protect could be improved by making the installation easier. Once it's implemented, it's okay. IBM started lagging behind when things started moving to storage and cloud-based solutions. Even though they've recently released updates that give cloud-based protection, personally, I still believe they are not up to par with the likes of Rubrik. The entire product is a little bit clumsy because they have co-joined two different products, so it's complex. Even from a sales/explaining to people what it does point of view, it's complex. Whereas, if you take more current products, it's a single box solution. You reel it in, you fire it up, you do a couple of points and clicks, and off you go, whereas the IBM system is seriously complex. There's a lot of training involved and it's a massively difficult product to sell at this point in time."

"We are still using TSM Manager for many of our projects to administer our platform because the gap was not resolved with the new Operations Center."

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

"The reporting could be better."

"There have been some sizing issues now, and we are dealing with those."

"Perhaps if they could add replication to a second site or third site from the same console, that would be helpful. Currently, we have to connect to another console."

More IBM Spectrum Protect cons

"The main improvement is that it should have GDPR compliance. That's the problematic point. They say they are GDPR compliant, but they are not."

"The solution's pricing is very high."

"Maybe implement an easier interface for basic users. For example, a set-up wizard with all the commonly used features as default."

"The interface feels like it is targeted for end users who typically are looking for an all-in-one integrated push button solution. It would be better if the interface had a beginner mode and an expert mode."

"They can add some production backup capabilities and the ability to do single instance back up. At the moment, it doesn't do deduplication on the standard backup. So, the issue is backing up PSG files for customers who have limited bandwidth. The other issue is that I don't like the implementation of the SQL backup. We do use SQL ourselves using a PowerShell script with the VDA tools as a module. That's how we back up. The rotation feature would be nice to have, but I know that they've got it on their dashboard or on their list to look at. They can also do a few tweaks to the dashboard. I would like the reporting capabilities on the portal to be much more granular. Normally, I export it to a text file, and then I run it through a pivot table in order to look at it from a cost-recovery point of view and to see when the backup last ran and if it was successful when it ran two or three days ago. Such a feature would work really well for my market. They can also add a cost-effective backup for Android and Apple cellphones. I've had one or two customers who were looking for this feature. I haven't found this functionality at the moment. I've been looking for a product that does that."

"The initial setup is a little complex as it has to be done in the office and requires someone to come in and install the solution on your server, then configure the scheduling, backup pushing, and so on."

"There are some things that we don't like about it. That is why I was exploring alternatives in a hyper-scale environment. That is why I was checking IT Central Station."

"Using the solution incurs additional charges for the device storage and backup which are not included in the service."

More MSP360 Backup cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"One can go with either a PVU licensing model or a capacity based licensing model. Either solution does not block the usage, if over used."

"Use capacity licensing. It's easier and cheaper."

"The different license models can give good benefits to the end customer."

"You need to put it in a PoC and test it out if you can."

"Licensing can be either complicated or simple depending on what type of licensing you wish to use and what works best for your environment."

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

"The price of IBM Spectrum Protect is expensive. However, there are a few packages and it is unclear because, for the entry suite they have both options, which are the back-end storage capacity and the front-end storage capacity."

"The licensing fees are between $8,000 and $10,000 per year."

More IBM Spectrum Protect pricing and cost advice

"Its pricing needs improvement."

"MSP360 is vastly cheaper than its competitors and has almost all the same features."

"We have a very good return on investment."

"It includes a standard licensing fee. Once a year, there is a rebranding fee. The licensing costs are available on the internet for MSP360 Backup. There is a discount structure where if you have over 50 devices, you get a 50% discount. So, my cost is $2 a license per month."

"The solution is expensive."

"The cost is pretty inexpensive. Around four to five dollars per device, per workstation on each server."

"I rate the price of MSP360 Backup a seven out of ten."

"Pricing is reasonable although can be quite a large upfront cost."

More MSP360 Backup pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

17%

Computer Software Company

13%

Government

University

Computer Software Company

17%

Financial Services Firm

Construction Company

Manufacturing Company

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?

See all answers

What do you like most about MSP360 Backup?

MSP360 Backup's most valuable feature is its backup interface.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for MSP360 Backup?

I rate the price of MSP360 Backup a seven out of ten.

See all answers

What needs improvement with MSP360 Backup?

The product could be more user-friendly. Its pricing needs improvement as well.

See all answers

Comparisons

Veeam Data Platform vs IBM Spectrum Protect

Compared 18% of the time

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus vs IBM Spectrum Protect

Compared 18% of the time

Commvault Cloud vs IBM Spectrum Protect

Compared 10% of the time

Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) vs IBM Spectrum Protect

Compared 10% of the time

Rubrik vs IBM Spectrum Protect

Compared 7% of the time

More IBM Spectrum Protect Competitors

Acronis Cyber Protect vs MSP360 Backup

Compared 29% of the time

Veeam Data Platform vs MSP360 Backup

Compared 22% of the time

N-able Cove Data Protection vs MSP360 Backup

Compared 15% of the time

NinjaOne vs MSP360 Backup

Compared 14% of the time

Comet Backup vs MSP360 Backup

Compared 11% of the time

More MSP360 Backup Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Spectrum Protect

April 2025

Download IBM Spectrum Protect product report

Buyer's Guide

MSP360 Backup

April 2025

Download MSP360 Backup product report

Also Known As

IBM TSM, IBM Tivoli Storage Manager

Cloudberry Backup

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

MSP360 Backup is a comprehensive data protection solution designed for businesses of all sizes. It offers a wide range of features and capabilities to ensure the safety and security of critical data.

With support for various storage destinations, including local drives, network shares, and cloud storage providers, MSP360 Backup provides flexibility and scalability. It also offers advanced scheduling options, allowing users to automate backups based on specific time intervals or events.

The solution supports both full and incremental backups, minimizing storage requirements and optimizing backup speed. MSP360 Backup also includes built-in encryption and compression, ensuring data privacy and reducing storage costs. Additionally, it offers easy file and folder recovery, allowing users to quickly restore lost or corrupted data.

With its intuitive user interface and robust set of features, MSP360 Backup is a reliable and efficient solution for businesses looking to protect their valuable data.

MSP360

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

StratX

Buyer's Guide

IBM Spectrum Protect vs. MSP360 Backup

April 2025

Free Report: IBM Spectrum Protect vs. MSP360 Backup

Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Spectrum Protect vs. MSP360 Backup and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.

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