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IBM Spectrum Protect vs Veritas Backup Exec comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 11, 2024

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
150
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Veritas Backup Exec
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
13th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
76
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 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 Veritas Backup Exec is 1.7%, down from 2.6% 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.
Pawel Augustyn - PeerSpot reviewer
Simplified interface with good performance but needs monitoring
I need to use PowerStore and Veritas Backup Exec. It is a direct backup to types, and it is supported by my backup. It offers good performance and stability, and it works properly. I am happy with this program. It is still working on aligning with security requirements and data encryption for Amazon or ATAC. It has a lot of functions and security measures, which ensure our backups are secure.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"When I have to do disaster recoveries, I can do it with this tool."
"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."
"Data reduction definitely reduces costs, not only software costs, but from the infrastructure needed."
"The ability to use S3 Data Store as a repository."
"Regarding technical support, if one has the entire enterprise support, I would rate it a nine out of ten...Stability-wise, I rate the solution an eight out of ten."
"Nothing beats this solution for file backup."
"Performance and recoveries are better. Our clients and customers are happier with the performance of it."
"We can scale. Today, we have an average backup volume of 100TB a day."
"The price is one of the best."
"The solution is very scalable. Whenever we grew, it was just a matter of adding new licenses, so it's easy to grow."
"One of the valuable features is the instant recovery for VMs. It reduces the RTO (Recovery Time Objective) drastically."
"In the global business world, Veritas has a very good name. I think they have a good solid product, and they are always trying to improve it, and update it. ;They know what the client actually needs, and they are up to the challenge of satisfying those needs."
"The most important feature is the variety of backup applications it supports, including ERP systems and most other programs, such as Microsoft."
"Veritas is good for small environments."
"The interface easy to use and it is compatible with most backup devices."
"The product's most valuable feature is scalability."
 

Cons

"It's difficult in terms of the configuration at set up. In our case, it required another admin, one person dedicated to the backup."
"Our customers would like to see metadata replication, tearing to tape, and more cloud capabilities."
"I would like to see more technical training online. Sometimes, it is a little bit difficult to find, or that I do not really know what I am looking for as somebody who is starting off finding their learning curve."
"The solution could be more user-friendly and provide better monitoring. The monitoring should be improved first since it is a higher priority."
"It could use single store. The ability to mark an archive from my backup for long-term retention."
"It is not compatible with other operating systems like Windows or Linux, and lacks a consolidated dashboard from Browser Spectrum."
"The GUI has long been a problem for TSM/Spectrum Protect."
"I would not recommend the tool to others because it is a really complex product."
"The reports could be made in an easier way."
"There's one common issue with tape backups: the tape might have some space left, but Backup Exec says it's not writable and needs replacement. We've encountered this with multiple clients, so it doesn't seem environment-specific. It's likely related to the software. We usually just format the tape and use it again without much investigation."
"The image backup functionality needs to be examined, because I know a few customers who are using Veritas Backup Exec find it difficult to take a proper image backup and perform image restoration in case of a hardware failure of the client."
"Its scalability should be improved."
"The backup is not robust enough when you have a lot of technology."
"There are some issues with the Backup Exec Library and the random picking of tapes."
"Initial setup is a bit complex and needs some expertise for troubleshooting when something goes wrong."
"I probably need to monitor the infrastructure and check the logs to be notified about anomalies."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is very scalable, but the downside is that it costs money."
"We are paying for support and maintenance on a monthly basis."
"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 solution's pricing is fair. Price-wise, I rate the solution an eight out of ten."
"When compared to the cost of other enterprise products, it seems to be in the same range. However, compared to the cost of non-enterprise products, it is really high."
"Spectrum Protect is not a cheap option."
"IBM Spectrum Protect has a fixed price and includes no additional costs."
"For my company, the tool is affordable and reasonable...I don't think most people know that when a company has large systems in place, the TCO is a lot lower."
"Pricing is similar, but they don´t offer the same options/technology."
"Licensing depends on the part of the backup you're using. If you have SQL backup, then you must have a SQL license. If you have normal data backup, you would require a license for that."
"Regarding expense, Backup Exec is generally suitable for small and medium businesses. However, we can customize them based on the workload."
"It is cheap compared to the other backup technologies. It all depends on the requirements."
"I would like to see a better licensing model. They changed it and it's just horrendous."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"Its price is a bit high. There is only the standard fee. There is no additional fee."
"The price of this solution is a bit high."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
9%
Educational Organization
8%
Computer Software Company
17%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with IBM Spectrum Protect?
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 dash...
How do the backup solutions of Veeam and Veritas compare?
Technically, Veeam is best for hyper-v & VMWare replications, snapshots, HA failover, also support for file system backups inside VMs., support for tape library & FC too. But Veritas Netbac...
What do you like most about Veritas Backup Exec?
The most important feature is the variety of backup applications it supports, including ERP systems and most other programs, such as Microsoft.
 

Also Known As

IBM TSM, IBM Tivoli Storage Manager
Backup Exec, Symantec Backup Exec
 

Overview

 

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
Beta Offshore
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Spectrum Protect vs. Veritas Backup Exec and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
859,579 professionals have used our research since 2012.