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Barracuda Backup vs IBM Spectrum Protect 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

Barracuda Backup
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
51st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Backup (41st)
IBM Spectrum Protect
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
14th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
149
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of Barracuda Backup is 0.4%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Spectrum Protect is 2.2%, up from 2.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery
 

Featured Reviews

Ferrianto Suryanto - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers cost-effective data backup with room for user interface improvements
I work with various Barracuda products based on customer requests, including Barracuda Backup and Barracuda WAF. In the past, I also worked with Barracuda Web Security Gateway, but it has been phased out One valuable feature of Barracuda Backup is that it can be used as thin VMware storage. If…
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Barracuda Backup is cost-effective because there is no licensing cost per server or VM."
"The solution’s scalability is good because its space is unlimited. We can start in Office365 with one terabyte bit of information and leverage through an enterprise solution of 1000 users."
"The most valuable feature of Barracuda Backup is that it's on the cloud, so there is no need for hardware."
"One valuable feature of Barracuda Backup is that it can be used as thin VMware storage."
"Forever incremental - allows TSM to optimize storage needs."
"We are able to run it in an enterprise quite easily with one or two resources."
"Regarding stability, it's been rock solid."
"We've found the product to be quite stable and the performance is very good."
"It scales well for the amount of clients that we use with it."
"You can scale the product."
"The licensing isn't very clear. They should work to simply or clarify the cost structure."
"The customization and the ability to backup across all platforms are the most valuable features."
 

Cons

"Barracuda Backup's support could be improved because sometimes the support team is situated outside the country, leading to time zone issues."
"Barracuda Backup's user interface needs to be renewed as it appears outdated."
"In using Barracuda Backup, sometimes the VM has issues and becomes non-functional, requiring support tickets to resolve."
"An improvement is required in reports and backups for sharing on Linux and Unix."
"It seems like they are a little behind on the integration to Azure Cloud as well as Amazon."
"I want a better user interface, support, and integrations."
"Software-wise, IBM Spectrum Protect didn't handle virtual machines that well. The license cost is mainly the area for improvement in IBM Spectrum Protect."
"It could use single store. The ability to mark an archive from my backup for long-term retention."
"We are still using TSM Manager for many of our projects to administer our platform because the gap was not resolved with the new Operations Center."
"There needs to be a bit more automation."
"The product should be improved to save more space."
"Better integration with other tools and databases is needed."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The pricing model of this solution is another difficult area, it's very sophisticated in the way they charge. It's based on PBU, which is a type of processor, how, many processors, and you need to put everything into an equation. However, they have different ways of charging or licensing. One way is a back-end volume or front-end volume, which is quite complicated."
"Its licensing is complicated. It goes by CPUs, and it is pretty expensive as well."
"Its licensing is complex, and its price is not really reasonable. It is on the expensive side. IBM, in general, is slightly expensive, but with IBM Spectrum for the virtual environment, they are looking into the aspect of helping customers with the cost and providing a cost-effective solution."
"Spectrum Protect is not expensive, and it is simple to use."
"When compared to the cost of other enterprise products, it seems to be in the same range. However, compared to the cost of non-enterprise products, it is really high."
"It is fairly reasonable as compared to other solutions in the market."
"At scale, the consumption license (per TB) is very expensive."
"IBM provides an open license policy, which is more like a gentlemen's agreement."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Legal Firm
9%
Financial Services Firm
17%
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
9%
Educational Organization
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Barracuda Backup?
The pricing is very competitive. Licensing is on a yearly basis, and Barracuda even provides replacements after three years if a device reaches end of life, without any extra charges.
What needs improvement with Barracuda Backup?
Barracuda Backup's support could be improved because sometimes the support team is situated outside the country, leading to time zone issues. Adding AI features for security would also be beneficia...
What is your primary use case for Barracuda Backup?
I am not using Barracuda Backup ( /vendors/barracuda-networks ); I am selling it. The primary use case for my clients is to take the backup. It is used by a range of clients from small to enterpris...
What needs improvement with IBM Spectrum 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...
 

Also Known As

LiveVault
IBM TSM, IBM Tivoli Storage Manager
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Ochsner Health System
CERN, Einstein Healthcare, Nyherji, Allianz Australia, TZM, ABT Online, NCT, Kindred Healthcare Inc., Cobalt Iron, TransGrid, Baptist Health of Northeast Florida, Cash America, Piedmont Healthcare, RWGV, Arkansas Tech University, British Columbia Institute of Technology
Find out what your peers are saying about Barracuda Backup vs. IBM Spectrum Protect and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.