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IBM Storage Protect vs Veritas Backup Exec 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
14th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Veritas Backup Exec
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
18th
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 August 2025, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of IBM Storage Protect is 2.3%, up from 2.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Veritas Backup Exec is 1.7%, down from 2.5% 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

"It is good in terms of functionality. My clients are very satisfied with this solution."
"I find the whole product useful. The backup archive client, snapshot, spectrum for virtual environments are beneficial features."
"It is a very stable product. The cost is similar to that of other enterprise solutions."
"It helps our customers protect their data, keep it long-term, and feel pretty secure about it, basically sleeping well at night."
"We optimize our costs of media and storage use, thanks to the Incremental Forever backup. The TDP software provides us many ways to protect our data, so we don't need to use monstrous scripts for doing backups now."
"You can do restores very quickly. You can mount a drive and restore it right from the drive."
"I love the TDP for VMware because of the web interface and the possibilities provided by this tool. It's amazing."
"Every time customers make a change or we have made a change, then they use the product to do a cloning and refreshing. They are happy that they get good performance something changes."
"It is easy to set up and use for daily processes and a good solution for preserving crucial data."
"The dashboard was good. I loved to see the maintenance dashboard every time I logged on. That was my first screen because it always gave me a reminder of how many days before my next renewal."
"The initial setup is easy."
"It's quite stable, and so far, we have had no technical issues with Veritas Backup Exec."
"I have found the overall features of the solution very good and there is the option to backup to the cloud."
"We have never had any problem with storage and backups. It works very well and is a user-friendly solution."
"We are satisfied with the stability of the product."
"The beauty of the solution is that you can rely on it. It offers a quick recovery time when it's backing up items. The way it recovers data is excellent."
 

Cons

"The version that we had when I first started made it look really bad. We are talking about commands that should have run in two seconds, but instead took four to eight hours. Other components were sluggish."
"Our new leadership has pushed us to go more toward the cloud, so we are definitely going to leverage anything we can in that direction."
"There needs to be a bit more automation."
"For the database side, it does not have object level recovery."
"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 think Spectrum Protect's interface is not so user-friendly, but the interface is not so friendly. Some of the functions are too complicated. I prefer a simpler solution."
"It is not compatible with other operating systems like Windows or Linux, and lacks a consolidated dashboard from Browser Spectrum."
"The interface could be more user-friendly."
"They can improve the reporting component. The reports aren't user-friendly at all. You have to download them to Excel to get statistics."
"The console of Veritas Backup Exec is complex when compared to other software."
"It doesn't support the AIX platform."
"I have experienced some errors, such as failures, but there have not been very many."
"The licensing packet is confusing. If Veritas could do a better job of clarifying it, that would be helpful."
"More stable environment in a WAN infrastructure."
"I would like to be able to create a restore task that can be scheduled so that the same restore action will be performed automatically."
"One area that needs improvement is SQL backup. Backup Exec doesn't support higher availability."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing fees are on a yearly basis, which for us it is about R400,000 (approximately $27,000 USD)."
"The solution is expensive."
"At scale, the consumption license (per TB) is very expensive."
"IBM Spectrum Protect has a fixed price and includes no additional costs."
"Spectrum Protect is not a cheap option."
"The most important feature which I wish to be added involves the GUI, the user interface."
"The licensing fees are between $8,000 and $10,000 per year."
"You need to put it in a PoC and test it out if you can."
"I rate the price of Veritas Backup Exec a four out of five."
"Veritas comes with an annual licensing fee."
"The product is affordable."
"Veritas licensing is somewhat expensive. They have to decrease the price."
"It's a good price for the product."
"We are satisfied with the price of this solution."
"The product's price is reasonable."
"Its price is reasonable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
15%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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...
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 Spectrum Discover
Backup Exec, Symantec Backup Exec
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

CEMEX
Beta Offshore
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Storage Protect vs. Veritas Backup Exec and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,140 professionals have used our research since 2012.