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Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) vs IBM Storage Protect 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

Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA)
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
22nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
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
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) is 0.6%, down from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Storage Protect is 2.3%, up from 2.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery
 

Featured Reviews

SamuelThomas - PeerSpot reviewer
Ensures data safety and effective cloud integration with AI-powered protection
Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) offers a backup, recovery, and management tool that is very easy to use. It provides a flexible protection suite that accommodates scalability and performance needs. Integration with VMware and multi-cloud protection is effective. AI integration enhances backup operations by analyzing data and ensuring malware protection. Customers also benefit from hybrid cloud options and tiers of backup.
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

"The product is integrated with Huawei software and its backup and recovery time is very fast."
"What I find valuable about Dell PowerProtect IDPA is its stability and strong performance."
"The solution is strong."
"The solution's most valuable features are networker and continuous data protection."
"Instead of four or five tools, consisting of backup software, storage where the backup resides, and a separate system for reporting and central monitoring, they all now come in the virtual edition for IDP."
"Dell PowerProtect is stable and scalable."
"We don't need to manage different devices."
"IDPA's best feature is Turbo Boost Technology. The compression and duplication features are excellent, too."
"The platform’s most valuable feature is its ability to verify the recoverability of backups."
"It provides our customers with the comfort of having reliable enterprise data protection."
"One of the main things that I like about IBM is the versioning of the data - meaning that we can have multiple versions of a file or directory of a server."
"Our performance is better."
"Traditional storage works perfectly with it."
"We can freeze and start databases for consistent backups."
"Scalability, performance, mass platform coverage. It's one of the few backup products on the market right now which an organization can bring in and it will serve all of their backup needs. It's a completely centralized solution."
"We can scale. Today, we have an average backup volume of 100TB a day."
 

Cons

"The solution's implementation was very complicated and could be improved."
"The solution should be easier to use."
"After resizing and compression, the system continuously runs out of space. Dell EMC doesn't do automatic cleanup or other things, so we constantly have to manually go in there or work with Dell support on this. The solution has not been working as advertised."
"The two-factor authentication is missing from Dell products."
"Dell PowerProtect DP needs to include more features and improve backup for a continual base."
"There is room for improvement in terms of network connectivity."
"I would like to see integration with Dell EMC's Cloud Tier."
"The only thing that could be improved would be the complexity of the initial setup."
"High availability (HA) is a scalability challenge."
"Customers have migrated off of it because of its lack of virtual environment functions."
"Most customers still struggle with the reporting piece, especially generating reports. I think it needs some improvements in this area."
"I would like to see more technical training online. Sometimes, it is a little bit difficult to find, or that I do not really know what I am looking for as somebody who is starting off finding their learning curve."
"It lacks reporting and an efficient alert mechanism. The GUI could also be improved."
"The software is complex; setup is complex."
"The most important feature which I wish to be added involves the GUI, the user interface."
"IBM Spectrum Protect does have a lot of the features that we need, but I think they need to improve their backup virtualization and backup for container."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We have a perpetual license. It is a capacity-based license."
"Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) has a yearly subscription fee."
"The licensing is billed on a monthly basis. Dell is bundled so that when you order IDPA, you get everything together with the license."
"I would rate the solution's pricing a seven out of ten."
"It is a cost-effective solution."
"We are paying for support and maintenance on a monthly basis."
"Regarding retro-compatibility of the product between versions, your data is always available and the ROI is unquestionable."
"The product is low cost. It is very cool when we design it to using licensing based on post capacity."
"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 licensing fees are between $8,000 and $10,000 per year."
"Licensing can be either complicated or simple depending on what type of licensing you wish to use and what works best for your environment."
"IBM Spectrum Protect has a fixed price and includes no additional costs."
"The pricing of the solution is high in comparison to other products on the market. For example, IBM and Symantec have less costly options."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
University
19%
Government
12%
Computer Software Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA)?
What I find valuable about Dell PowerProtect IDPA is its stability and strong performance.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA)?
Pricing is competitive with other software vendors. The product's features, network, and VMware integration contribute to its value. There are different licensing options available, such as applian...
What needs improvement with Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA)?
Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) requires more updates and innovations in AI-powered cyber resilience. While technical support is generally not poor, there are challenges with expertise in Linux-based c...
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...
 

Also Known As

Dell EMC IDPA, Dell IDPA, EMC IDPA
IBM Spectrum Discover
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Under Armour, Christian Brothers University, Presidio
CEMEX
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) vs. IBM Storage Protect and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.