IBM Spectrum Computing had limitations with remote copy services between head office and disaster recovery sites. In the last year, IBM has improved the code by re-engineering it to policy-based replication versus legacy IP replication. This represents a major improvement and simplification. The technology has evolved from traditional, mainframe-type technology to meet current market demands.

There are additional areas where IBM Spectrum Computing can improve, particularly in system administration and management. The GUI has evolved from IBM's traditionally plain interface, but there's potential for further improvements to make it more Microsoft Windows friendly.

IBM's sales and support structure can be challenging. To work on an IBM deal, you often need to involve multiple specialists, each knowledgeable about only part of the product, rather than having a single point of contact. This fragmentation complicates the sales process, especially for software and server solutions with numerous SKUs. Customers are frequently overwhelmed by the complexity of quotes and the large number of SKUs, which can detract from the perceived value.

IBM's hardware, particularly servers, tends to be complex and expensive. It often becomes unsupported within three to five years, leading to issues with obtaining replacement parts or compatible components. This lack of downward compatibility can frustrate customers, who may feel pressured to make additional purchases to stay current. As a result, some customers might consider switching to other options, especially if they encounter difficulties with support or compatibility.

IBM also works on new initiatives like PowerBS for virtual systems and cloud integration. While this may address some of the existing challenges, IBM still has room for improvement in simplifying its offerings and support.

Spectrum Computing is lagging behind other products, most likely because it hasn't been shifted to the cloud. If IBM shifts it, it will be one of the best tools available. 

We'd like to see some AI model training for machine learning.

We are not fully satisfied with this product at the moment because we are having issues with reliability.

We have not been able to use deduplication.

I cannot use any protocol other than VTL. We have VTL hardware that has some additional functions there are not supported by the VTL protocol. Also, VTL is a little bit slow. For example, we use a VTL from EMC and they use another protocol for the copying. At this moment, TSM will not use a protocol that is different from IBM.

Hyper-convergence can be improved. IBM Spectrum is not supported or compatible with Nutanix with hyper-convergence. SMB storage and HPC is not compatible and it should be supported by IBM Spectrum Computing.

The GUI could be more user-friendly for the administrator. In the GUI you cannot do all of the administration tasks, you have to go to the Command-Line.

In VM the GUI can handle everything, Spectrum should be like this.

Also, I would like to have the Hyper-converged solution Nutanix with IBM Spectrum, it's a very good product.

This solution is no longer managing tapes correctly.

I had to script another one to make the software use fewer tapes.

Normally, you would have backup software tuned for speed or capacity and here, it was tuned for speed, which could be the reason for so many bad tapes.

The biggest problem is the lack of documentation in general, and documentation in Spanish, in particular. 

IBM operates in my market, particularly in Pakistan, UAE, and other regions. In Pakistan, IBM's disadvantage is the lack of OEM support and presence. While there are many on-ground technical support and hands-on resources, the absence of direct OEM involvement is a significant drawback. Our team chose IBM independently due to the long-term financial advantages and scalability. Without IBM's marketing or guidance, we decided on IBM based on our specific HPC needs, which favored IBM. However, other storage options like Huawei might have been more advantageous for different solutions.