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Dell Technologies DataIQ [EOL] vs IBM Storage Protect comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 16, 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 Technologies DataIQ [EOL]
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
IBM Storage Protect
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
Backup and Recovery (13th)
 

Featured Reviews

Jan Zentgraf - PeerSpot reviewer
Consultant at IXPACK GmbH
A stable and scalable tool that can be used to monitor and analyze data
The product is used to analyze data. It was purchased as part of a package including Isilon installation The product can be used to analyze data usage. I have a big confusion between InsightIQ and DataIQ. I do not know which product is going to be retired. There are many rumors, but we have no…
reviewer2787573 - PeerSpot reviewer
Interim Head of Infrastructure at a real estate/law firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Backup coverage has supported immutable protection and now needs a more modern, intuitive interface
IBM Storage Protect is from a previous generation of backup software. In those days, backup software was complex in setting up and complex to manage. The new software, such as Rubrik, is very easy to use and more relatable to younger engineers because its interface design is more similar to Office 365 and the newer controls and labels that we are accustomed to. The difficulty that we now have with IBM Storage Protect is that for this day and age, compared to other products that are out there, it seems complex. If we look back 15 years ago, all enterprise class backup software was complex, so IBM was not any different. However, many of these older systems, such as Commvault, still have the same complaint that they are very complex because they have tried to keep that same interface and the same way it works. This suits them, but it probably needed a complete overhaul to bring it into the ease of use that we have with modern software. However, that upgrade has not been done. IBM Storage Protect has not been upgraded into a modern platform. It still looks a legacy platform.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The product can be used to analyze data usage."
"The smallest entry level sized installation can easily grow to large enterprise usages and be migrated across platforms."
"The way it covers backup and archive needs. The flexibility of backup copy group always allows me to cover the customer's requests."
"Our performance is better."
"It is an IBM product. With SAP, you are using IBM software to protect it. DB2 and AIX servers are both IBM. Therefore, it is a total IBM solution, which helps."
"It provides our customers with the comfort of having reliable enterprise data protection."
"The product is always getting better, and it is still the most reliable backup product in the market."
"The technical support for Spectrum Protect is very mature. It is very committed to giving a top-notch support experience."
"Good user interface."
 

Cons

"The solution’s GUI is a little bit confusing."
"It seems like they are a little behind on the integration to Azure Cloud as well as Amazon."
"The technical support is general. If you need more than that, you need to know someone within IBM on the technical in-depth side."
"This product should be more user-friendly for newcomers."
"The GUI has long been a problem for TSM/Spectrum Protect."
"With a big installation, we don't have the performance characteristics that we maybe should have."
"It needs BMR (bare machine recovery) solutions for both Windows and Linux systems."
"Reporting via Operation Center."
"I think Spectrum Protect's interface is not so user-friendly, but the interface is not so friendly. Some of the functions are too complicated. I prefer a simpler solution."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The platform is neither highly priced nor inexpensive. I rate the pricing a seven out of ten."
"The solution's pricing is fair. Price-wise, I rate the solution an eight out of ten."
"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."
"At scale, the consumption license (per TB) is very expensive."
"It's very complicated. Licensing is a pain."
"We have spec'd out our build, and the cost of it can work quite easily today for our future needs."
"IBM Storage Protect is not expensive and fits the needs of all business types. The licensing is based on a capacity-based model. You can take a license for one, two, or three terabytes."
"We worked our licensing into a capacity model, which is nice. Now, everything is much simpler to manage from a licensing perspective.​"
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
University
12%
Educational Organization
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Marketing Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business53
Midsize Enterprise25
Large Enterprise95
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
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?
I do not know the current licensing cost for IBM Storage Protect and how we get our support because our licensing model is not quite standard. We do not buy IBM Storage Protect direct from IBM. We ...
What needs improvement with IBM Storage Protect?
IBM Storage Protect is from a previous generation of backup software. In those days, backup software was complex in setting up and complex to manage. The new software, such as Rubrik, is very easy ...
 

Also Known As

Dell EMC DataIQ
IBM Spectrum Discover
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
CEMEX
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