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IBM Storage Protect vs IDERA SQL Safe Backup comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 12, 2025

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 Storage Protect
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
13th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
IDERA SQL Safe Backup
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
78th
Average Rating
5.0
Reviews Sentiment
4.1
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
Event Monitoring (18th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of IBM Storage Protect is 2.1%, down from 2.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IDERA SQL Safe Backup is 0.4%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
IBM Storage Protect2.1%
IDERA SQL Safe Backup0.4%
Other97.5%
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.
SeniorDB3550 - PeerSpot reviewer
It has reduced our backup time, however backups do get skipped
I would like to see the pieces that they have put in the web only to be put into the thick client sitting on the desktop client. They moved a lot of the features to their web-based version of it. Because of the large number of databases that we have along with our backup, their web product can't handle it. So, we can't use it. So, we are missing out on a lot of the new features. The way the filtering goes, if you filter on your view, there is no indication that you have made a selection. Unless you can remember day-to-day that you may have something deselected or selected, your view may be different than you expect, and there is no visual indication of it.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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 software-defined ability to do data reduction through deduplication and compression, as well as being able to replicate data to a cloud container."
"Support of the IBM X platform and the backup data replication to DR are the most valuable features."
"Technical support is okay. We have not had many issues with them."
"The solution can back up every kind of workload in the environment."
"Incremental backup is highly valuable as it allows for significant time and cost savings."
"I find the whole product useful. The backup archive client, snapshot, spectrum for virtual environments are beneficial features."
"They have recently added support tickets specifically engineered around performance. This has been very useful for us when we run into issues where customers are looking to try to squeeze a lot more horsepower out of older system."
"The compression, because it drastically reduces the disk space."
"It has reduced our backup time and simplified our backup processes across all the servers."
 

Cons

"There is room for improvement in the service aspect."
"I would like to see the operations center be a lot more functional. It was nowhere near as functional as the admin center, and I'm doing a lot of command line with it."
"It can be improved for large file systems with many files. Spectrum Protect can restore large files very well, but if you're restoring millions of little files, it is not as great. At one point, we tried to implement the VMware module with it, and it was awful and terrible. I don't know if that has improved. If it hasn't, this would be one big improvement."
"The interface could be more user-friendly."
"We are not so happy with the technical support because dealing with them is not easy. We have a very complicated environment, therefore I understand for a support person that it is not easy to troubleshoot it."
"The initial setup is complex."
"One point for improvement for IBM Spectrum Protect is security, as IBM has not been investing as much as in the past."
"It needs agents that take into account more databases (PostgreSQL, MySQL, etc.)."
"The way the filtering goes, if you filter on your view, there is no indication that you have made a selection."
"I would like to see the pieces that they have put in the web only to be put into the thick client sitting on the desktop client."
"Make sure you check your backups on a regular basis. Backups do get missed with this tool, for whatever reason."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing fees are between $8,000 and $10,000 per year."
"IBM Spectrum Protect has a fixed price and includes no additional costs."
"Customers need to pay for licensing in order to use IBM Spectrum Protect. The customers that have been using it for a long time are okay and happy with it. From a cost point of view, it's better for them to renew their licenses than to go through the difficult process of changing a backup product in their environment, and migrate from one product to another."
"Its licensing is complicated. It goes by CPUs, and it is pretty expensive as well."
"Its licensing is complex, and its price is not really reasonable. It is on the expensive side. IBM, in general, is slightly expensive, but with IBM Spectrum for the virtual environment, they are looking into the aspect of helping customers with the cost and providing a cost-effective solution."
"IBM Spectrum Protect can be considered an averagely-priced product."
"Regarding retro-compatibility of the product between versions, your data is always available and the ROI is unquestionable."
"The different license models can give good benefits to the end customer."
"The product's pricing is a good value. They have a straightforward licensing model."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business53
Midsize Enterprise25
Large Enterprise94
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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 continue to use in the future.
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 might not be so high. New customers can expect very high prices.
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. There is a need for additional layers of security to fill the gaps, which is wh...
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Also Known As

IBM Spectrum Discover
SQL Safe Backup
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

CEMEX
Woman's Hospital; Sisters of Mercy Hospital System; University Medical Center; MetTel; PPG Industries; 3M; Abbott Laboratories; Comcast; Daimler; GameStop; Hormel Foods; Marriott International; Merck; NCR; United Technologies; City of Lynnwood; Linfosys B.V.; TRI-KES; American Customer Care; Merck & Co., Inc.; Service Corporation International; Fresenius Vascular Care Inc.; Bates White; TechPro Inc.; TW Metals, Inc.; Tulane University; ISO Group; Ameriben Solutions; Instron Corporation; Sentric, Inc.; SPIE; GAS Distribution Company of Thessaloniki and Thessaly SA; American Printing House for the Blind; Paysafe; Freeman Decorating Services, Inc.; Sentric, Inc.; Auburn University; Corporate Communications Group; Sagicor Financial Corporation; Crystal Run Healthcare; Principality Building Society; Experiencias Xcaret; Missoula County; Shellpoint Partners LLC; Solix Inc.; Advicent Solutions, Inc.; Phoenix Newspaper Inc.; Park Place Technologies; Kelly & Associates Insurance Group; Boston Medical Center; Service Corporation International; eResearchTechnology, Inc.
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Storage Protect vs. IDERA SQL Safe Backup and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
869,760 professionals have used our research since 2012.