Dell Data Protection Advisor vs IBM Spectrum Protect comparison

Dell Data Protection Advisor vs. IBM Spectrum Protect

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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

Dell Data Protection Advisor

Ranking in Backup and Recovery

28th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

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 Dell Data Protection Advisor is 0.5%, down from 0.5% 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

AnkurGupta1

Lead Consultan at HCL Technologies

Offers seamless integration with robust data privacy features

I am currently working with other companies on data center solutions. In our data center, we work with HP, Dell, and Nutanix on data center build-up and migrations. I work with Dell Data Protection Advisor for cloud, though not extensively, and we provided that solution to one customer and are awaiting their approval. I am a reseller and service provider. We implemented Dell Data Protection Advisor for data privacy, and another team handles data protection and related issues. I did not work extensively on specific features, so nothing particularly stands out. From my reseller and end customer perspective, I would rate Dell Data Protection Advisor an eight out of ten as it is a good solution.

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Syed Habib

Head of Infrastructure Security (S.A.V.P) at EXIM Bank Ltd

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.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The reporting feature and the Dell's continuous improvement of the solution are the most valuable features. The solution not only supports Dell Power Products but also other products."

"It supports our chargeback process by identifying resource users, which helps ensure that departments are billed accurately for data protection services rather than receiving them for free."

"The product's ability to give predictions and advice on how to protect data is incredible."

"The platform's most valuable features are data protection and retention."

"The most valuable aspects of the solution are the compression and the duplication."

"The initial setup is very straightforward. Deployment typically takes about one hour. You just need one person to handle the deployment process."

"I have never found any glitch in any Dell solution to date."

"The deduplication is probably the most valuable feature of that requirement."

More Dell Data Protection Advisor pros

"It is a very stable product. The cost is similar to that of other enterprise solutions."

"The product is always stable and reliable."

"One way they have improved our organization is through the stability of the solution and the availability of the product."

"The main thing is to keep the data safe and in files, keep it on tape ready for a request from a bank, and it is working perfectly with all our hardware."

"The most valuable features of Spectrum Protect would be the compression and the deduplication."

"The licensing isn't very clear. They should work to simply or clarify the cost structure."

"It helps our customers protect their data, keep it long-term, and feel pretty secure about it, basically sleeping well at night."

"Regarding stability, it's been rock solid."

More IBM Spectrum Protect pros

Cons

"From a service perspective, improvements are needed at Dell because when customers call, it takes a long time to get a response for calls or emails. Response time is the main problem that needs addressing."

"They should empower their customers with the ability to upgrade this solution as long as it's in the same major release."

"The stability of the solution needs improvement for stand alone users."

"The functionality of the Data Protection Advisor is limited and is something that is lacking in this solution. Other solutions like CloudIQ and DDMC provide a much better outlook on how data protection should be done."

"Some minor adjustments could be made regarding the graphical interface and customization options."

"It is difficult to manage the solution with the available tools. You need to know exactly what are you are doing."

"It's a bit difficult for first-time users."

"There is a steep learning curve to use the interface and to create new reports, this could be made easier. If the solution could provide more drag and drop functionality to build more advanced reports that would be very helpful."

More Dell Data Protection Advisor cons

"They can include more cloud-enriching features. I would like IBM Spectrum Protect to have the functionality for backing up a VM directly in Azure. I would like to be able to back up a VM directly in Azure without spinning up a Hyper-V cluster and backing up the virtual server."

"I find the solution somewhat difficult to use with virtual environments or VMware."

"Needs more support for non-mainstream databases, in particular PostgreSQL, SQL, and MySQL."

"This product comes up against other products available that are marketed better but the other products that it's in competition with are a single product and this is one of IBM products. If it could be marketed as more for competitors I think that's where it comes short."

"The user interface needs to be improved."

"We cannot take VMware backups for our banking data center environment."

"We would like to see cloud integration."

"I would like to see the operations center be a lot more functional. It was nowhere near as functional as the admin center, and I'm doing a lot of command line with it."

More IBM Spectrum Protect cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"You have to procure the license when you are ordering or quoting for Dell Data Protection Suite (DPS). DPS is bundled with the suite and comes with a license. However, if you purchase NetWorker separately then you will have to procure the license for DPS separately."

"If the customer has huge lineup of Dell Products then they receive discount on the pricing."

"You need to make an upfront payment for three, five, or seven years and renew the licenses for support. We can do an annual maintenance contract with Dell. I would rate the product's pricing a six out of ten."

"The product pricing has been satisfactory, particularly with the economy of scale in our agreement."

"It's not very expensive — I think the price is fair."

"For pricing, I would rate Dell 2 out of 5. It's affordable."

"The product is affordable."

"It can be perceived as expensive since it is designed for enterprise use."

"It's very complicated. Licensing is a pain."

"That's no longer my department, but I have some past experience with licensing. It is not cheap. I would rate it a three out of five in terms of licensing. In terms of additional costs, there is management overhead. It is a complex solution and a lot of work goes into managing clients. It has gotten better over the years, but compared to its competitor, it is still heavy on management overhead."

"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."

"IBM Spectrum Protect can be considered an averagely-priced product."

"Some of the new advanced features are definitely more into cost savings, e.g., dedupe compression, so doing more with less."

"The product is not cheap."

"One can go with either a PVU licensing model or a capacity based licensing model. Either solution does not block the usage, if over used."

More IBM Spectrum Protect pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Government

11%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

17%

Computer Software Company

13%

Government

Educational Organization

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Dell Data Protection Advisor?

The platform's most valuable features are data protection and retention.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell Data Protection Advisor?

The product is satisfactory regarding pricing, setup cost, and licensing.

What needs improvement with Dell Data Protection Advisor?

From a service perspective, improvements are needed at Dell because when customers call, it takes a long time to get a response for calls or emails. Response time is the main problem that needs add...

What do you like most about IBM Spectrum Protect?

IBM Spectrum Protect is stable.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Spectrum Protect?

It's expensive. I acknowledge the cost associated with it.

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...

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Compared 18% of the time

Veritas NetBackup vs Dell Data Protection Advisor

Compared 17% of the time

Rubrik vs Dell Data Protection Advisor

Compared 14% of the time

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Compared 15% of the time

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus vs IBM Spectrum Protect

Compared 15% of the time

Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) vs IBM Spectrum Protect

Compared 12% of the time

Commvault Cloud vs IBM Spectrum Protect

Compared 10% of the time

IBM Storage Protect vs IBM Spectrum Protect

Compared 7% of the time

More IBM Spectrum Protect Competitors

Product Reports

Dell Data Protection Advisor

Download Dell Data Protection Advisor product report

IBM Spectrum Protect

Download IBM Spectrum Protect product report

Also Known As

DPA

IBM TSM, IBM Tivoli Storage Manager

Overview

Effectively managing your data protection environment can be labor intensive and complex. It requires knowledge of backup applications, replication technologies, and the entire supporting infrastructure, yet it is critical in keeping your data secure.

With Dell Data Protection Advisor, you can automate and centralize the collection, monitoring and reporting of this data and get a single, comprehensive view of your environment, no matter where your data resides. This includes monitoring data on AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud.

With clear visibility, you can gain actionable insight and effectively manage service levels while reducing costs and complexity. You can also collect and report on that data to help other stakeholders make the best decisions for your organization.

Data Protection Advisor is available as part of Dell Data Protection Suite.

Dell Technologies

IBM Spectrum Protect (Tivoli Storage Manager) is a data protection platform that gives enterprises a single point of control and administration for backup and recovery. It is the flagship product in the IBM Spectrum Protect (Tivoli Storage Manager) family. It enables reliable, cost effective backups and fast recovery for virtual, physical and cloud environments of all sizes.

IBM

Sample Customers

Nielsen, Trek Bicycle, Cal-Israel Credit Cards

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

Dell Data Protection Advisor vs. IBM Spectrum Protect