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IBM Storage Protect vs Microsoft DPM comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 6, 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
40th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft DPM
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
26th
Average Rating
7.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
19
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 Storage Protect is 0.4%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft DPM is 1.1%, down from 1.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery
 

Featured Reviews

Maik Zutz - PeerSpot reviewer
A stable enterprise solution for backup and restore
New workloads are not good for storage protect like container or virtual machines. IBM acknowledges that users and partners with companies do it better and integrate it into the product. It takes too much time to implement it in old Storage Protect. It have features for big databases and big data environments. Although, the product seems to be old fashioned, but it is stable, robust and works for the most use cases where a lot of data is to be protected. It could be easier to manage client data. You have to use configuration. It is not on modern architecture. They should change it on the client area. You can achieve a better environment using Protect. IBM tapes serves as an air gap, consumes less energy, and provides a resilient, stable environment with fewer infrastructure and environmental costs. Intergrating it can help store large amounts of data more cheaper than on disk.
Arthur Fan - PeerSpot reviewer
Scales well, free to use, and simple setup
The support from Microsoft DPM is good but we have to pay for the answers. We have to purchase points and when we need to use the support we have to use some of the points that we purchased. The support does not cost very much and we pay for each problem we have.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."
"The tool's backup engine is very powerful. Previously, our client finished backup with HPE product in 48 hours. IBM Storage Protect completes backup in 8 hours."
"Overall, my experience with the solution is very positive, and I rate it a 9 out of 10."
"The most valuable feature is the recovery."
"The most valuable feature is that DPM has an index so individual files can be searched."
"Microsoft DPM is scalable."
"Its capability to give a BMR for all the workstations that I want to connect to."
"One of the most effective features of Microsoft DPM is its integration with the entire Microsoft ecosystem."
"I could back up all the stuff we had, even the VMs we have for Hyper V."
"One of the most effective features of Microsoft DPM is its integration with the entire Microsoft ecosystem."
"The initial setup is quite straightforward."
 

Cons

"Some features are outdated as the product does not use the latest technologies. The graphical user interface, known as the operation center, is not very well designed. Additionally, IBM Storage Protect does not work well with virtual environments such as VMware and Hyper-V."
"The product should improve its GUI. It should also support Windows clustering."
"The solution is expensive."
"We can't take a snapshot and take it outside, which is a problem."
"Compatibility and integration with other products needs improvement."
"Setting up the solution can be complex."
"There is a very poor online user community in terms of people blogging about their experiences with DPM."
"The problem lies with the 2019 version, it's the file system they’re using."
"The user friendliness could be improved."
"You have only a few settings and if you change them for some special configurations, it's very difficult."
"Management reporting could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"IBM Storage Protect is not expensive and fits the needs of all business types. The licensing is based on a capacity-based model. You can take a license for one, two, or three terabytes."
"I think Microsoft DPM pricing is reasonable. The additional costs are related to storage and technical support."
"Microsoft DPM is a free solution. However, we pay approximately $3,000 annually for support."
"Microsoft DPM can be considered as an expensive solution for smaller or medium enterprises, but we have been satisfied with the price structure as it is fixed and it offers a variety of useful features"
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
24%
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
15%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Educational Organization
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
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?
Some features are outdated as the product does not use the latest technologies. The graphical user interface, known as the operation center, is not very well designed. Additionally, IBM Storage Pro...
What do you like most about Microsoft DPM?
This solution helps us to manage all of the operations across servers and different workstations.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft DPM?
Microsoft licensing is complex, especially for enterprise or data center solutions. However, it's not more complicated compared to other competitors and the market is well balanced.
What needs improvement with Microsoft DPM?
I am not sure if I am competent enough to address areas for improvement in Microsoft DPM.
 

Also Known As

No data available
DPM, Data Protection Manager, MS DPM
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Medical Park, Centropol Energy, a.s., NCFE, D & H Distributing, Metalor, Colosseum, a.s., Sanitas S.A., Icebreaker
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Storage Protect vs. Microsoft DPM and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
859,438 professionals have used our research since 2012.