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Azure Backup vs IBM Spectrum Protect Plus comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 11, 2024

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

Azure Backup
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
11th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
IBM Spectrum Protect Plus
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
22nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of Azure Backup is 3.4%, down from 4.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is 0.9%, down from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery
 

Featured Reviews

Terry Tull - PeerSpot reviewer
Straightforward to set up and manage and allows us to monitor all backups in one place
I would rate the easiness of the initial setup as an eight out of ten. Setting up Azure Backup was pretty straightforward, especially if you follow the steps in the right order. It might seem a bit complex at first, but with experience, subsequent setups become easier. Planning is key to optimizing its effectiveness. Deploying Azure Backup typically takes around half an hour to an hour to set up one VM, involving creating a recovery services vault, defining a backup policy, and configuring storage options. For a more comprehensive setup including proper recovery planning, it might take a few hours. The key steps involve creating a resource group, and a recovery services vault, selecting a storage type, and defining backup policies. I deployed the solution myself.
Atif Najam - PeerSpot reviewer
Has very good integration features and can quickly backup data and optimize storage
I would like to see continuous data protection (CDP). If there is machine failure, you don't have to go to the backup copy that you took 12 hours ago. You can actually go back to the backup copy made half an hour ago. That is, it would be good to have certain-point-in-time recovery. I would like them to add global deduplication. With deduplicate backups, deduplication will work only with the data of a certain machine or a certain backup set. Usually, the data is repeated across the data of the backup sets. However, if IBM Spectrum Protect Plus provides a global deduplication option it will ultimately result in better storage savings.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Enables immediate recovery and immediate restoration."
"The MARS agent makes it easy to use."
"When it comes to Azure Backup, the advantage is that it's native and it's very easy to configure. We don't require a separate tool or manage something on a separate server. At the backend, it's managed by Microsoft itself, and we don't need to manage it."
"It's useful, it works, and it's fairly reliable."
"We use the normal features for Azure Backup, specifically to make backups of the VMs."
"With Azure Backup, you can readily make your environment if your setup somehow fails on the cloud or on-premises."
"The compression features save us money and speed up the backup and restore process."
"The scalability has been good."
"The support from IBM is very good."
"The most valuable feature is how we can easily power speed up the VM even though the VM resides in remote storage."
"The solution offers a very straightforward deployment. You click, click, click and it's done. There's not much configuration to do."
"The solution integrates well with other tools."
"The tool has enough documentation; you don't need to contact the support team."
"Virtual snapshots that offer incremental backups."
"What I like about IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is its integration, plus it has very good technical support."
"This solution is very stable and has good support available online."
 

Cons

"The length of time it takes to restore is our main source of frustration. It would be beneficial to shorten the time it takes."
"Azure Backup is limited to certain workloads. It would be helpful if Microsoft focused on enabling backups for Oracle and other unsupported databases."
"Technical support is in need of improvement."
"Ransomware protection is missing in Azure Backup."
"Azure Backup could improve by offering better integration for Oracle databases and enhancing features like granular restore and backup compliance capabilities."
"The solution should involve more redundancy types in the backup storage and support open-source OS."
"Azure lacks sufficient solutions for a particular scenario, we may need to resort to using third-party applications. In such cases, these applications can be employed to facilitate backup, replication, and the efficient utilization of internet connectivity and bandwidth. They enable us to effectively manage and transfer data while ensuring optimal utilization of network resources. However, it would be a benefit if we did not have to use third-party applications for these operations."
"Technical support can be slow to respond at times."
"The Gui interface and usability are not so friendly and easy."
"The solution should allow for backup of iOS snapshots."
"It requires much more automation features."
"An area that needs improvement is data validation. We currently use another product that gives us immediate validation, information about when the last backup was, and no risk of corruption happening. TSM in IBM Spectrum is not mature so that you can validate on the spot."
"The security must be improved."
"IBM Spectrum Protect Plus could improve by adding SAP Rena."
"In the future, I would like to see support for global deduplication."
"It still needs to grow and add new features. IBM Spectrum Protect Plus, I believe, requires time to become competitive due to a weakness in the other software products."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price is somewhat high and could be lower."
"Customers prefer Azure Backup because it has a pay-as-you-go model, and they won't have to pay an upfront amount at the initial level."
"The pricing of the solution does not depend on the service itself but rather on the minimum data volume encountered. This pricing approach seems reasonable and is on par with other competitors in the market. It is a good solution for on-premise needs because it is more cost-effective. When evaluating the overall financial expenditure, including operational costs and the impact on the IT team, Azure Backup is a favorable choice."
"Azure Backup is a product that is priced at a cheap rate, and it is a great tool."
"Azure Backup can be expensive if you are not vigilant about your storage steering."
"This is an expensive solution in the Bangladesh marketplace."
"Support payment works by the level of partnership and the number of shares."
"Considering the fact that our company's enterprise-sized customers use the solution, the product's price is fine and is not on the higher side of the spectrum."
"IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is a little expensive."
"I rate the price of IBM Spectrum Protect Plus a one on a scale of one to ten, where one is extremely expensive, and ten is very cheap."
"We have a perpetual license for the tool since it is deployed on-premise."
"The solution is too expensive."
"Clients prefer to buy a perpetual license, but the majority opt for a yearly subscription."
"The price is lower than that of some competing products."
"The initial cost of the product is perpetual but the support fees are billed annually."
"The price offering from IBM is coming down because it is based on number of VM machines. So, IBM is coming to the market to show the added value of the product."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

How does Azure Backup differ from Veeam Backup & Replication?
Veeam has a version for Azure but there are organizations, like ours, that are considering moving to an Azure environment and wonder if Azure Backup is better than Veeam Backup and Replication (Vee...
What do you like most about Azure Backup?
Azure Backup is easy to configure and restore.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Backup?
Azure Backup is expensive relative to the value we get from it. I do not have specific details about the licensing cost as it falls under another department.
What do you like most about IBM Spectrum Protect Plus?
The most valuable features of the solution stem from the fact that the product works and helps with restoration areas whenever there is a need to restore something.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Spectrum Protect Plus?
It is probably based on the number of CPUs. They are fairly expensive.
What needs improvement with IBM Spectrum Protect Plus?
With ransomware protection and cyber protection, more improvement is possible. IBM provides these through a third party, so enhancement is needed. There's significant room for improvement. They are...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Russell Reynolds Associates, Somerset County Council, Kardem, PCL Construction
PT Wings Surya, Tectrade, State of Ohio
Find out what your peers are saying about Azure Backup vs. IBM Spectrum Protect Plus and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
845,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.