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HPE Zerto Software vs IBM Storage Protect vs Veritas NetBackup comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of HPE Zerto Software is 2.6%, down from 2.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Storage Protect is 2.2%, up from 2.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Veritas NetBackup is 2.8%, down from 5.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
HPE Zerto Software2.6%
Veritas NetBackup2.8%
IBM Storage Protect2.2%
Other92.4%
Backup and Recovery
 

Featured Reviews

Sachin Vinay - PeerSpot reviewer
Leverage disaster recovery with reliable support and cost-effective future-proof features
Zerto is straightforward to implement because it only requires the installation of an agent on the VMs designated for migration. A service, typically a VM, must also be deployed at the disaster recovery location. This entire process is simple and can be completed within three days. Zerto's near-synchronous replication occurs every minute, allowing for highly granular recovery points. This means that even if interruptions or malware disruptions occur within that minute, Zerto can restore to the last known good state, effectively recovering the entire setup to the latest backup. This capability ensures high data security and minimizes potential data loss. One of the main benefits of implementing Zerto is its data compression, which significantly reduces the load on our IPsec VPN. Zerto compresses data by 80 percent before transmitting it across the VPN, minimizing the data transferred between geographically dispersed locations. This compression and subsequent decompression at the destination alleviate the strain on the VPN, preventing overload and ensuring efficient data synchronization. Zerto simplifies malware protection by integrating it into its disaster recovery and synchronization features. This comprehensive approach eliminates the need for separate antivirus setups in virtual machines and applications. It streamlines our security measures and removes the need for additional software or solutions, resulting in an excellent return on investment. Zerto's single-click recovery solution offers exceptional recovery speed. Through the user interface, a single click allows for a complete restoration from the most recent backup within two to three minutes, enabling rapid recovery and minimal downtime. Zerto's Recovery Time Objective is excellent. In the past, if a virtual machine crashed, we would recover it from a snapshot, which could take one to two hours. With Zerto, the recovery process takes only five minutes, and users are typically unaware of any disruption. This allows us to restore everything quickly and efficiently. Zerto has significantly reduced our downtime. When malware affects our data, Zerto immediately notifies us and helps us protect other applications, even those not yet implemented with Zerto. By monitoring these applications, we can quickly identify and address any potential malware spread, minimizing downtime across our systems. Zerto significantly reduces downtime and associated costs during disruptions. Our services are unified, so in the event of a disruption without Zerto, even a half-day disruption would necessitate offline procedures. This would lead to increased manpower, service delays, and substantial financial losses due to interrupted admissions and other critical processes. By unifying service processes, Zerto minimizes the impact of outages. Zerto streamlines our disaster recovery testing across multiple locations by enabling efficient failover testing without disrupting live services. Traditionally, DR testing required downtime of critical systems, but Zerto's replication and failover capabilities allow us to test in parallel with live operations. This non-disruptive approach ensures continuous service availability while validating our DR plan, even in scenarios like malware attacks, by creating a separate testing environment that mirrors the live setup. This comprehensive testing provides confidence in our ability to handle real-world incidents effectively. This saves us over 60 percent of the time. Zerto streamlines system administration tasks by automating many processes, thereby reducing the workload for multiple administrators. This allows them to focus on other university services that require attention and effectively reallocate support resources from automated tasks to those requiring more dedicated management. Zerto is used exclusively for our critical services, providing up to a 70 percent improvement in our IT resilience.
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.
Rizwan Islam - PeerSpot reviewer
We optimize critical data management with versatile enterprise solutions while maintaining excellent user interface experience
The features of Veritas NetBackup that are most useful for us involve different backup scenarios such as huge contents, including our file server repositories. We have to write that backup on the tape media, which is why we observe that Veritas NetBackup is a very strong product in these areas. Regarding granular recovery, we sometimes use certain files, specifically accidentally deleted or required files from the backups, in maintaining data continuity. The feature is effective and works every time. The interface in Veritas NetBackup is very friendly and useful, and it has been standard during the last 10 years. We are very used to this interface and do not feel any complications. Veritas NetBackup is basically a single product which fulfills all the technical requirements specifically required for the backup job or the backup domain. It supports multi platforms, multi applications, and multiple hardware at the same time, so we generally feel it is a full feature solution. Most importantly, they have very tight integration at a very granular level, and recently we inducted another product Veritas File System in our environment because we have an issue with huge content data, so we have optimized the problem of that data by using the Veritas File System VxFS. Veritas NetBackup is a scalable solution for us. It is a very comprehensive solution that can manage numerous backups, and we already have a somewhat complicated environment in which backups are first written on the backup appliance and then moved to tape, and everything is managed through Veritas NetBackup very easily.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The real-time replication of data is the most valuable feature. It is a vast improvement in scheduled daily backups. Real-time data is streamed to the offsite data center, which allows us to restore our mission-critical applications up to 10 seconds from when the last changes were made in our system. If we enter a sales order or enter any kind of information in our ERP application it is replicated within 10 seconds to the offsite location."
"With the deployment of Zerto, this has significantly improved."
"The replication and recovery features are the most valuable... On two occasions, other departments in our organization reported issues with specific virtual machines. We used the checkpoint feature of the Zerto to enable the recovery of those machines to a point that was a few minutes prior to the problem."
"The most valuable feature is how quickly it powers down the original source VMs and the speed at which it powers up the new VMs. The amount of time it takes to put up the operating system is valuable. The speed is what I like the best."
"We have had many instances where VMs were corrupted by an application owner, where they were installing something and did not create a snapshot in VMware for it. Instead of tapping into our backups, with just two clicks, we were able to restore the VM back to its original state. It helps a lot in the day-to-day running of our business."
"The failover capabilities were the most valuable feature because, in the event of a disaster, we'd be able to power everything up on the other side."
"We use the solution to move servers and VMs between data centers."
"Some of the most valuable features are the synchronous replication and migration with RDMs. I really like the conversion of RDM VMs for migration."
"The product is very stable."
"Good user interface."
"It has a lot more capabilities and functions than a lot of other products. Even though it is more complex, the reason is because it gives you a lot more features. This is what I prefer, especially for a long retention."
"For initial setup, we started with the blueprints, which were great. The blueprints allowed us to be able to decide if we needed to use small, medium,k or large. Because we are a large environment, we used a large blueprint. Once we followed everything in the blueprint, it was a smooth transition from there."
"Technical support is okay. We have not had many issues with them."
"It is good in terms of functionality. My clients are very satisfied with this solution."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the centralized enterprise backup."
"Our customers have come to trust IBM."
"The most valuable feature is that it is basically a replica of our SAND data. We archive the SAND data for recovery, if there is an issue on the fence."
"Veritas NetBackup Automatic Image Replication and CloudCatalyst features allow me to replicate deduped backup images from one site to a remote site, as well as duplicating deduped images to the Cloud (i.e. AWS S3, etc.)"
"The solution offers the hardware and the software at the same time."
"I like the virtual server backup."
"The most valuable feature is that you don't need any special connectivity - you just need to give your seller name, and then it automatically discovers all your virtual machines, which is a great benefit, especially in a bigger environment."
"There's a very nice central console for the administration of all of the instances."
"The solution is easy to scale."
"We can easily expand the ability of the solution."
 

Cons

"There are quite a few elements in the long-term retention areas that I wish were better. The bio-level recovery indexing of backups is the area I struggle with the most. That's probably because I desire to do tasks that ordinary users wouldn't do with the solution. The standard medium to large customer would probably never ask for anything like I ask for, so I think it's pretty good the way it is. I'm excited to see some of the new improvements coming in the 9.5 version. Some of the streamlines and how the product presents itself for some of the recovery features could be better."
"If there's any way to validate that data on the recovery site without having to manually go in and do failover testing and try to validate, that would be a feature that would be really nice."
"HPE Zerto Software can be improved by allowing a system inside my makeshift vault to reach out to the other system and pull backups inside, which would let me punch fewer holes."
"I would like them to add a VM host replication option. Being able to replicate host configuration between sites would be a huge benefit."
"Overall, Zerto is doing a very good job. We have experienced a few downtimes on networking. Most of the time, they come up with a solution immediately to sort out any challenge that may affect data flow or data migration. It does not happen frequently. We might experience it once in two months, but when we face any downtime, it does not impact the data."
"This solution could be improved if it met all the requirements that we look for including supporting multiple operating systems. We would prefer to use one solution for DR and backup."
"The number one thing we have found we would like changed so far is the cost per VM. It would be great to get that pricing reduced."
"When changing replication, the Delta Sync takes approximately six hours for six terabyte virtual machines. During this time, the virtual machine is inaccessible."
"The solution needs to work on disaster recovery integration. Basically, VMware applications to the cloud, for example. There needs to be integration with the storage, and integration with VMware."
"Integration with some applications in the healthcare field could be added, as that is a big part of our business."
"The solution is expensive."
"It does not do too well in our virtual environment."
"IBM's support hasn't been so good in the last few years."
"I would like a little more ease with the virtual platforms, because it is a huge thing that is coming up."
"If you take Spectrum Protect into account, and you have it along with restrictions to Spectrum Archive by means of LTFS, this is also something which should be made better within the overall product's program."
"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."
"We would like the Java console to be updated."
"It would be better if it had a cloud integration feature. I would like to use a single product for the cloud instances and the on-premise instances. The price could also be better."
"Enhancing reporting across the board would be beneficial."
"The solution could improve by having a feature to backup iSeries workloads."
"This product would be improved with the inclusion of a Sandbox feature like Veeam Sandbox."
"The product must enable data migration from on-premise to the cloud."
"The solution could have a more clear dashboard about the license and the operation status."
"There may be a learning curve."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product's pricing is the one area where it is less competitive."
"We found that in an event that was massive enough to cause an entire cluster to go offline we would be happy with our core services up and running."
"It is an enterprise-grade product. When you buy enterprise-grade tools, you have to expect to pay a higher price. It goes back to the idea of you get what you pay for."
"We have seen ROI. Several times, we needed to recover, and we were able to go to Zerto."
"When they changed their licensing model, pricing might have gotten a little more expensive for some use cases, but it has been pretty straightforward."
"I ballpark Zerto's pricing at about $1,000 per VM, which I find fair for what it does, but the cost of entry was tough initially due to the minimum number needed to start. I really needed to prove to the business that it was worth the investment."
"If it were easier to license, and to scale it out a little bit more economically, that'd be a godsend. At the end of the day, my druthers would be to have all 200 of our servers protected by this platform. But for a company our size, that stretches our IT budget and it just doesn't make economic sense."
"It's a little bit expensive."
"We have spec'd out our build, and the cost of it can work quite easily today for our future needs."
"The licensing fees are between $8,000 and $10,000 per year."
"The platform is neither highly priced nor inexpensive. I rate the pricing a seven out of ten."
"It is really expensive. Its price is not good for Latin America. Its price is good for the United States or Europe."
"The licensing fees are on a yearly basis, which for us it is about R400,000 (approximately $27,000 USD)."
"The pricing of the solution is high in comparison to other products on the market. For example, IBM and Symantec have less costly options."
"It is fairly reasonable as compared to other solutions in the market."
"IBM Spectrum Protect, cost-wise, has way higher pricing than Veeam. By switching over to Veeam, my company saved over $600,000 in USD. The IBM Spectrum Protect pricing is a two on a scale of one to ten. My company paid additional fees for maintenance, apart from the standard licensing fees."
"The solution is expensive."
"My licensing model is based on capacity so as we grow, the price we pay increases and it becomes too expensive."
"The licensing model is cost-prohibitive as you scale out."
"Its price is quite reasonable. The cost depends on the depreciation and the volume. It also depends on the infrastructure. If your infrastructure increases, you would need some more licenses."
"When you compare NetBackup's software licensing system with Veeam's, which is simpler and based on instances (or how many physical machines or virtual machines you want to protect), NetBackup isn't that competitive for smaller scale companies. However, if you're running many large workloads, then NetBackup may be the better option."
"Annual licensing fee."
"Licensing fees are charged based on the number of CPU cores."
"This is an affordable solution"
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Comparison Review

it_user159711 - PeerSpot reviewer
Nov 9, 2014
VMware SRM vs. Veeam vs. Zerto
Disaster recovery planning is something that seems challenging for all businesses. Virtualization in addition to its operational flexibility, and cost reduction benefits, has helped companies improve their DR posture. Virtualization has made it easier to move machines from production to…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
23%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Healthcare Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Educational Organization
8%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business91
Midsize Enterprise85
Large Enterprise193
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business53
Midsize Enterprise25
Large Enterprise94
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business32
Midsize Enterprise21
Large Enterprise65
 

Questions from the Community

What advice do you have for others considering Oracle Data Guard?
Ik fluister:VM Host Oracle en DataGuard hebben we per toeval vervangen door Zerto :-) tijdens de Zerto implementatie ...
What do you like most about Zerto?
Its ability to roll back if the VM or the server that you are recovering does not come up right is also valuable. You...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zerto?
Regarding my experience with pricing, setup costs, and licensing, I think on the pricing side, I don't generally deal...
What do you like most about IBM Storage Protect?
The best point about IBM Storage Protect is that it can use IBM tape environments, which we still use and will contin...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Storage Protect?
IBM Storage Protect is generally an expensive tool. However, with good contracts with IBM or its partners, the cost m...
What needs improvement with IBM Storage Protect?
One point for improvement for IBM Spectrum Protect is security, as IBM has not been investing as much as in the past....
What is the best next generation backup tool?
Assuming you have an onprem ecosystem which runs the VMware, physical systems on Win, Linux and Unix and run both tra...
What do you like most about Veritas NetBackup?
The most valuable feature of cloud integration is the ability to send data outside of your location. This can be achi...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Veritas NetBackup?
Veritas NetBackup is quite expensive, and sometimes vendors do not suggest it and always recommend different other op...
 

Also Known As

Zerto Virtual Replication
IBM Spectrum Discover
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

United Airlines, HCA, XPO Logistics, TaxSlayer, McKesson, Insight Global, American Airlines, Tencate, Aaron’s, Grey’s County, Kingston Technologies
CEMEX
Beta Offshore
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