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IBM Storage Protect vs Microsoft DPM 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
Microsoft DPM
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
37th
Average Rating
7.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
21
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

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 Microsoft DPM is 0.9%, down from 1.3% 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%
Microsoft DPM0.9%
Other97.0%
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.
Nirukshitha Gamage - PeerSpot reviewer
User finds setup straightforward but seeks wider platform support and advanced features
Microsoft DPM could implement backup capabilities for third-party systems such as Linux. They also need to consider other features such as replication to DR sites, similar to what Veeam and other products offer. Microsoft DPM didn't have that capability at that time. If they want to remain competitive in the market, they need to observe the competition and implement improvements. The backup should have compression, deduplication, and DR replication. They should also improve monitoring of the environment. Microsoft DPM didn't have these basics at that time. If they had continued development on the products, they could have reached a higher level, especially given Microsoft's significant presence and majority of servers. Microsoft DPM didn't have any support structure in the backend. If they had a support structure, we could have escalated issues. I never received any support from Microsoft DPM.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Support of the IBM X platform and the backup data replication to DR are the most valuable features."
"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."
"IBM Spectrum Protect is a scalable solution."
"IBM Spectrum Protect is stable."
"Our customers have come to trust IBM."
"The most valuable features of the product are data deduplication and disaster recovery."
"You can scale the product."
"The software-defined ability to do data reduction through deduplication and compression, as well as being able to replicate data to a cloud container."
"The most valuable feature is the total integration of the System Center solution."
"It is almost perfect for Microsoft products. It is not a very powerful tool, but it is okay for small sites and small businesses with Microsoft products. It is easy to use for backup and restore. It is good for backing up Microsoft servers such as Exchange and SharePoint servers."
"The most valuable feature is the recovery."
"Microsoft DPM is scalable."
"The user interface is very good. The reporting and monitoring features are also good."
"One of the most effective features of Microsoft DPM is its integration with the entire Microsoft ecosystem."
"The automated procedure is quite good for us, as it is able to capture all of the information that we require."
"It has an application backup, a file backup, a system backup and a hypervisor."
 

Cons

"Perhaps some better documentation, which I believe was better in the past."
"Our customers would like to see metadata replication, tearing to tape, and more cloud capabilities."
"The administration interface should implement more functionalities that exist only in the command line and needs improvement in how some reports are created."
"One point for improvement for IBM Spectrum Protect is security, as IBM has not been investing as much as in the past."
"Its price can be better. It is very expensive. Its interface is very old and not user friendly. They can improve its interface. Their support can also be better. My clients are not very satisfied with the support because they are not really quick."
"I find the solution somewhat difficult to use with virtual environments or VMware."
"IBM Spectrum Protect could be improved by making the installation easier. Once it's implemented, it's okay. IBM started lagging behind when things started moving to storage and cloud-based solutions. Even though they've recently released updates that give cloud-based protection, personally, I still believe they are not up to par with the likes of Rubrik. The entire product is a little bit clumsy because they have co-joined two different products, so it's complex. Even from a sales/explaining to people what it does point of view, it's complex. Whereas, if you take more current products, it's a single box solution. You reel it in, you fire it up, you do a couple of points and clicks, and off you go, whereas the IBM system is seriously complex. There's a lot of training involved and it's a massively difficult product to sell at this point in time."
"I am not really impressed with the Level 1 support, but once I get past that and go to Level 2, then we will usually get some type of resolution."
"There is a very poor online user community in terms of people blogging about their experiences with DPM."
"Compatibility and integration with other products needs improvement."
"The user interface can be improved quite a bit."
"It can back up, yet it lacks features compared to Veeam."
"It would be better if it integrated seamlessly with open source and competitor products. In the next release, I would like to see some data governance frameworks. It should have support features for data integration and data replication like Veeam. Right now, we are also using Veeam for certain scenarios."
"You have only a few settings and if you change them for some special configurations, it's very difficult."
"Microsoft DPM could improve by adding S3 backup to S3 storage capabilities."
"The user friendliness could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"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."
"We have capacity licensing. We use the front end. The capacity licensing is pretty okay on the licensing price. I used to use the old PVU-based licensing in the early environment, but now we use capacity-based licensing."
"We pay for a terabyte license to support our backend usage."
"Going to IBM Tech University Conference saved me from making a major purchase of the wrong thing, which was very helpful."
"I don't have an idea about the pricing. They send that over to someone else, but I know that one of the issues they had was the licensing costs. I don't think they were happy with how they were charged."
"Spectrum Protect is not expensive, and it is simple to use."
"I think Microsoft DPM pricing is reasonable. The additional costs are related to storage and technical 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"
"Microsoft DPM is a free solution. However, we pay approximately $3,000 annually for support."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
14%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Educational Organization
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business53
Midsize Enterprise25
Large Enterprise94
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise7
 

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...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft DPM?
The pricing of Microsoft solutions rates in the middle range at five out of ten.
What needs improvement with Microsoft DPM?
Microsoft DPM could improve by adding S3 backup to S3 storage capabilities. AI integration is not necessary for backups as this is not a security solution.
What is your primary use case for Microsoft DPM?
We use Microsoft DPM for backup servers. ManageEngine is used to manage workstations and servers, and Operation Manager is used for monitoring.
 

Also Known As

IBM Spectrum Discover
DPM, Data Protection Manager, MS DPM
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

CEMEX
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: September 2025.
869,566 professionals have used our research since 2012.