IBM Spectrum Protect vs N-able Cove Data Protection comparison

IBM and N-able are both solutions in the Backup and Recovery category. IBM is ranked #14 with an average rating of 7.3, while N-able is ranked #30 with an average rating of 8.0. IBM holds a 2.2% mindshare in BRS, compared to N-able’s 1.3% mindshare. Additionally, 86% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of N-able 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

N-able Cove Data Protection

Read 23 N-able Cove Data Protection reviews

3,918 Views
2,272 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

IBM Spectrum Protect

N-able Cove Data Protection

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 11, 2024

IBM Spectrum Protect and N-able Cove Data Protection are two prominent data protection solutions. Users report higher satisfaction with the features of N-able Cove Data Protection, but IBM Spectrum Protect is preferred for its robust support and better pricing structure.

Features: Users value IBM Spectrum Protect for its scalability, reliable data retention capabilities, and robust performance. N-able Cove Data Protection is praised for ease of use, seamless integration with other software, and a user-friendly design.

Room for Improvement: IBM Spectrum Protect users highlight a need for a more modern interface, simplified configuration processes, and enhanced backup speed. N-able Cove Data Protection users suggest improvements in backup speed, error reporting, and interface design.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM Spectrum Protect has a complex deployment process which may require expert assistance, though its customer support is highly rated. In contrast, N-able Cove Data Protection has an easier deployment process and accessible, responsive customer support.

Pricing and ROI: IBM Spectrum Protect is noted for being cost-effective in the long run, offering good ROI due to its robust performance. N-able Cove Data Protection, while perceived as more expensive, justifies its price with comprehensive features and ease of use, leading to faster ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Spectrum Protect vs. N-able Cove Data Protection Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Spectrum Protect vs. N-able Cove Data Protection

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

N-able Cove Data Protection

Ranking in Backup and Recovery

30th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Cloud Backup (17th), SaaS Backup (8th), MSP Backup (2nd)

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 N-able Cove Data Protection is 1.3%, up from 1.2% 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.

Read full review

Per MøllerJacobsen

Senior consultant at Azend A/S

Delivers cost-effective data backup with room for search improvements

The challenges I face especially are those I've mentioned, that finding some specific data in N-able Cove Data Protection is not as easy as it is in some other systems. You cannot just search for something—you need to know where it was and when it was there to restore it, plus it would be nice to take out data from Microsoft 365 in some portable format, which is currently not an option. I would like to extract the data from Microsoft 365 in a portable format, something like a database or maybe just to take out a PST file or SharePoint and Teams files to the file system. Especially in these times, where we discuss potential risks with the Microsoft cloud for European companies, companies would want to know how to access their data from the backup if they suddenly don't have a tenant. I believe there should be the ability to take out data from Microsoft 365 in a portable format. I know that Cohesity is working on making such a thing. It's not there yet; I asked last week for something for forensics, and the support team said it's not possible yet, but I know from our technical account manager they are working on some solutions.

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

"Our customers have come to trust IBM."

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

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

"Every time we go and try to get a file, we can get it. Restores are quick and the data is always there."

"It is good in terms of functionality. My clients are very satisfied with this solution."

"Because of the flexible parameters, everything can be fine-tuned to the customers’ needs in their environment."

"The tool proves invaluable in scenarios where systems need recovery, such as restoring damaged data."

"Their GUI has improved quite a bit. It's made the solution a lot simpler and less complex."

More IBM Spectrum Protect pros

"The most valuables feature is the alerts and monitoring that catches the failed backups."

"The most valuable feature is that it's hands-off. I log in every morning and there are pre-canned filters that I've created to make my life easier. I have something called server status color bars, and that gives me all the servers and, in a nutshell, I can see: if any errors are being reported; when the last backup was; if one is not working, should there be one, and it literally jumps off the page."

"One of the bigger features and advantages of the solution is that it is easy to integrate with my RMM which is also N-able."

"I know I won't have an issue if the data is there. The reliability and the confidence that we have is amazing. It doesn't matter. We've had customers have ransomware. We've had customers that have had corruption. We've had customers that have had employees destroy their data. As long as it's been backed up, I know that I can get it back and I know I have nothing to worry about. Our confidence level is very high."

"The monitoring makes it very easy to check whether a backup has gone bad."

"The ability to back up, restore, and do different types of testing for the preventative maintenance has really increased our importance to these clients because they see the value in how fast we can get them back up and running. We're saving them money in that way."

"N-able Cove Data Protection is user-friendly and straightforward, and the dashboard is clear."

"The solution has reduced backup times by an immeasurable amount. Its backups are incremental, so you are only backing up data changes based on the last 24 hours or so. If you are also maintaining the stored images, the restores are also only incremental, happening in minutes. Whereas, with a lot of the other solutions that we have looked at, each time it goes to refresh the restore, then it has to build a completely new image. That takes forever. This solution also improves recovery time."

More N-able Cove Data Protection pros

Cons

"Stability is very good now. It used to be rocky years ago."

"It needs agents that take into account more databases (PostgreSQL, MySQL, etc.)."

"Any feature that is compliant with virtualizing the application should be improved."

"It needs better connectivity with other non-IBM application hardware and non-IBM platforms."

"There were scalability issues only in the brand new features which were recently released."

"An area for improvement would be the ease of use - the GUI is not up to the mark compared to other products in the market."

"The solution is evolving, so it has to be evolved to fit all new types of software requirements too."

"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

"N-able Cove Data Protection does not provide a lot of SaaS backup products, which is an area they can improve. Additionally, there are some limitations on the storage side, where I cannot have a lot of employees backing up their data."

"There could be a possibility to create a local NAS backup for infrastructure."

"Having the licensing available for partners to be able to take advantage of testing without paying would make a big difference."

"An area for improvement that would really work out well would be if there were a little bit more of an elegant handshake relationship between SolarWinds RMM and the PCs that are being backed up, to advise regarding "up" status... Since RMM is an agent that feeds back that a machine is alive and on, I don't see any reason why they can't either tap into that one feature or build the same exact polling within the backup agent, to update right away and say the system is online or offline."

"The reporting feature and functionality need improvement. We would like to see a little bit more detailed reporting that offers more CEO or C-level focused reporting options."

"We would like to have better reporting."

"Integration with a hybrid cloud is something that I found complicated."

"A better default view on my dashboard would be great. There is a lot of useless information there that it pulls up. They could present the dashboard slightly better, in terms of the extra information after the first five columns. The first five columns are awesome. After that, I don't care about the rest, and there are another seven things after that."

More N-able Cove Data Protection cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

"We have been at our size for a few years. We are not really looking to battle the licensing costs, as this is our primary system."

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

"Licensing IBM Spectrum Protect can be somewhat confusing for new users due to the options available, such as licensing on a capacity or per server basis."

"There may be an advantage to going with IBM in terms of pricing. They have a pay-as-you-grow policy, so there is no need to take one license for the entire datacenter. You can start with small licenses and then grow, and pay, as you use more."

"It is really expensive. Its price is not good for Latin America. Its price is good for the United States or Europe."

"We pay for a terabyte license to support our backend usage."

"Technical support is pretty good. It is doing fine, but you pay for it."

More IBM Spectrum Protect pricing and cost advice

"The pricing is very competitive and it's well worth the price."

"When you have a device/appliance on the site quite a lot of the other enterprise class backup people insist that you have their appliance, which is frankly offensively expensive. Because when you pry the top off, it's just a standard 19-inch tin box with a standard Intel I5 in it, some RAM, and a hard drive. Then, you go, "Why have they just charged me 5,500 quid for a box, which I could have probably build for under 500." Whereas, with the SolarWinds product, they don't have that. The backup appliances that we have onsite are just plain cooking PCs. We can build our own machines, which is reflected in the price that we can offer a customer."

"The only option I would like to see is an adjustable scale. Right now we have 250 seats and we're not using all of them. It would be nice to be able to save that little bit of money by being able to buy just what we need."

"The pricing of SolarWinds seems to be fair compared to the rest of the industry."

"N-able Cove Data Protection is an averagely-priced product."

"The pricing is affordable. N-able Cove Data Protection has a direct-to-cloud architecture, but it also allows saving backups locally without extra storage costs."

"The cost is around ten dollars per workstation a month and that includes a certain amount of data."

"There is no per node cost, at least not the way I am doing it. I am on bulk. New customers can be set up on a trial, where they can get things all squared away, then they can switch over to being a billed customer."

More N-able Cove Data Protection pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

17%

Computer Software Company

12%

Government

Educational Organization

Computer Software Company

18%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Real Estate/Law Firm

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 N-able Backup?

The initial setup of N-able Cove Data Protection was very easy.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for N-able Backup?

In terms of pricing, N-able Cove Data Protection is neither cheap nor expensive compared to other competitors.

See all answers

What needs improvement with N-able Backup?

See all answers

Comparisons

Veeam Data Platform vs IBM Spectrum Protect

Compared 16% of the time

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus vs IBM Spectrum Protect

Compared 15% of the time

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

HPE StoreOnce vs IBM Spectrum Protect

Compared 7% of the time

More IBM Spectrum Protect Competitors

Veeam Data Platform vs N-able Cove Data Protection

Compared 14% of the time

Acronis Cyber Protect vs N-able Cove Data Protection

Compared 9% of the time

Synology C2 Backup vs N-able Cove Data Protection

Compared 6% of the time

NinjaOne vs N-able Cove Data Protection

Compared 5% of the time

Rubrik vs N-able Cove Data Protection

Compared 5% of the time

More N-able Cove Data Protection Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Spectrum Protect

July 2025

Download IBM Spectrum Protect product report

Buyer's Guide

N-able Cove Data Protection

June 2025

Download N-able Cove Data Protection product report

Also Known As

IBM TSM, IBM Tivoli Storage Manager

N-able Backup, SolarWinds Backup, SolarWinds MSP Backup & Recovery, SolarWinds MSP 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

Cove Data Protection, from N-able, is a comprehensive solution designed to safeguard critical business data. It offers a range of features including backup and recovery, disaster recovery, and endpoint protection. With automated backups and flexible scheduling options, it ensures data is protected and easily recoverable.

The solution also includes advanced security measures such as encryption and ransomware detection to prevent unauthorized access and data breaches. Cove Data Protection provides seamless integration with various platforms and offers centralized management for efficient monitoring and control.

With its user-friendly interface and robust capabilities, Cove Data Protection is an ideal choice for businesses seeking reliable data protection.

N-able

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

Computer Depot, Leading Edge Computers, IT Logic Australia

Buyer's Guide

IBM Spectrum Protect vs. N-able Cove Data Protection

July 2025

Free Report: IBM Spectrum Protect vs. N-able Cove Data Protection

Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Spectrum Protect vs. N-able Cove Data Protection and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.

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