We compared IBM Spectrum Protect and Rubrik based on user reviews in five categories. We reviewed all of the data and you can find the conclusion below.
Features: IBM Spectrum Protect is highly regarded for its ability to integrate with tape libraries and its customization options. Users also like Spectrum Protect's compatibility with various products, scalability, and stability. Rubrik is praised for its automated policy enforcement and efficient ransomware detection. Spectrum Protect could improve its integration with cloud services and make its interface more user-friendly. Rubrik could expand compatibility with open-source databases, improve documentation, and strengthen its ability to back up remote sites.
Service and Support: IBM’s customer service is described as high quality, friendly, knowledgeable, and responsive. At the same time, some said the support process can be lengthy. Rubrik customers appreciate the support team's expertise and fast response.
Ease of Deployment: IBM Spectrum Protect's initial setup is challenging and demands skilled professionals to configure multiple parameters and features. This process can be time-consuming. Rubrik's setup is simple, and users say the support team was available to assist as needed.
Pricing: IBM Spectrum Protect is considered expensive. The pricing model is complex, taking into account factors like processor type and volume. Some users find Rubrik's pricing expensive, but many say it’s justified by its encryption and security features. Rubrik's license includes both software and hardware without any additional costs.
ROI: Users have realized benefits from IBM Spectrum Protect’s data protection and retrieval. They appreciate its ability to reduce storage requirements with larger tape sizes. Rubrik provides peace of mind and some cost savings, but users say that quantifying the ROI is difficult.
Comparison Results: IBM Spectrum Protect is a reliable, customizable solution that allows smooth integration with tape libraries. At the same time, some say that the user interface could be more intuitive and Spectrum Protect could integrate better with the cloud. Users like Rubrik’s advanced ransomware features, excellent support, and automated policy enforcement. However, some had issues with its remote backup abilities and high price tag.
"We are able to run it in an enterprise quite easily with one or two resources."
"Since the technology is reliable, it simplifies the backup process significantly. Now, our focus can primarily be on managing full backups and creating some offline copies."
"You can do restores very quickly. You can mount a drive and restore it right from the drive."
"The fact that we can take the backup straight onto tape is the most valuable feature."
"What I found most valuable in IBM Spectrum Protect is that it allows you to back up physical machines, and its proxy feature lets you back up virtual machines."
"The most valuable features of Spectrum Protect would be the compression and the deduplication."
"The most valuable features of the product are data deduplication and disaster recovery."
"One of the main things that I like about IBM is the versioning of the data - meaning that we can have multiple versions of a file or directory of a server."
"It works with VMware and Hyper-V without agent installation."
"The main benefit is that we are secured in terms of workloads. We know that if we need to restore any VMs, or even any files inside a VM, that we will succeed 100 percent. This means that we don't need to spend much time administering the backup environment because we know it is self-healing and efficient. So, we are spending that time on something else, which is always a plus."
"What I like about Rubrik is that you can back up to the cloud. It is a different kind of backup where you're not archiving the tape. Rubrik is a physical appliance. It is a dedicated appliance to which you can back up, and you can also back up to another device. So, you can back up to Rubrik and then to another device. If you have more than one site, you can set up Rubrik on site A and also on site B. You can back up to the Rubrik on site A and then replicate that data to the Rubrik on site B."
"The system is able to determine when it is the best time to do backups. This is SLA-driven, and if it is not possible to maintain this SLA, the system will tell you too."
"The initial setup is easy."
"Also, the web interface is really great. The design, from a user-experience standpoint, is really straightforward and easy to use... they nailed it. Usually, from the very first panel, the dashboard that you land on after login, you've got most of your functionality right around where you need it to be. You've got your new items on the left, you've got your support on the top right. Nothing really seems out of place or just stuck in someplace."
"Drives the back-end through a powerful, well-documented API."
"Rubrik, when compared to Cohesity, Dell, and Veritas, was the best of the four."
"Better integration with other tools and databases is needed."
"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."
"Probably educating the virtual group who are not as used to the product. Most of our expertise is with AIX servers and virtual server backups."
"We should be talking about the capacity of the tape drives. That's the only problem."
"Ease of use. That has got to be the one thing that I routinely hear from clients and customers, that it's a little bit more difficult than it should be. What I'm finding is that IBM has heard that and they're responding with updated interfaces and things like that."
"Although I am not a technical user, I would say the cloud integration features could be improved."
"The installation process could be simplified."
"Our new leadership has pushed us to go more toward the cloud, so we are definitely going to leverage anything we can in that direction."
"The reporting in the dashboard and reporting for extractions both need improvement. I would suggest making them easier to understand and use, not just out-of-the-box. We should also be able to customize them."
"The reporting, in particular the customization of reports, needs to be improved."
"The integrated reporting is not really that nicely built. The reporting functionality could definitely be a little bit more customizable from an administration perspective, with an easier to understand interface."
"The solution could improve by having fewer VM Stuns."
"It is already very well furnished, but live mounts for Nutanix AHV would be amazing."
"The licensing cost is quite high. That is something that needs to be worked out, because so many times it happens that the team does not have the budget or there are other issues at that time. Cost has become an important factor in deciding whether to continue with the Rubrik solution."
"I would love to be able to just get from the dashboard to a file that I need, or a system that I need."
"It would be nice if they could work on the pricing a bit."
IBM Spectrum Protect is ranked 17th in Backup and Recovery with 146 reviews while Rubrik is ranked 4th in Backup and Recovery with 82 reviews. IBM Spectrum Protect is rated 8.0, while Rubrik is rated 9.2. The top reviewer of IBM Spectrum Protect writes "Performance and recoveries are better, and customers are happier with performance". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Rubrik writes "Easy to use with minimal training required, innovative, good support". IBM Spectrum Protect is most compared with IBM Spectrum Protect Plus, Veeam Backup & Replication, Commvault Cloud, Cohesity DataProtect and Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain), whereas Rubrik is most compared with Veeam Backup & Replication, Cohesity DataProtect, Commvault Cloud, Zerto and Dell NetWorker. See our IBM Spectrum Protect vs. Rubrik report.
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