IBM ProtectTIER vs IBM Spectrum Protect Plus comparison

IBM ProtectTIER and IBM Spectrum Protect Plus are both solutions in the Backup and Recovery category. IBM ProtectTIER is ranked #84, while IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is ranked #23 with an average rating of 7.8. IBM ProtectTIER holds a 0.1% mindshare in BRS, compared to IBM Spectrum Protect Plus’s 1.0% mindshare. Additionally, 60% of IBM ProtectTIER users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 88% of IBM Spectrum Protect Plus users who would recommend it.

IBM ProtectTIER

Read 7 IBM ProtectTIER reviews

202 Views
154 Comparison Views

60% willing to recommend

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

Read 30 IBM Spectrum Protect Plus reviews

1,727 Views
1,247 Comparison Views

88% willing to recommend

IBM ProtectTIER

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 11, 2024

IBM ProtectTIER and IBM Spectrum Protect Plus are data protection solutions that cater to enterprises. Spectrum Protect Plus seems to have the upper hand in flexibility and adaptability, though it is more complex.

Features: ProtectTIER offers efficient data reduction, fast recovery times, and reliable performance. Spectrum Protect Plus provides integration capabilities, broad platform support, and versatile functionalities.

Room for Improvement: ProtectTIER could enhance scalability, user-friendliness, and streamline processes. Spectrum Protect Plus needs simplified management, quicker issue resolution, and reduced complexity.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: ProtectTIER is noted for straightforward setup with fewer deployment issues. Spectrum Protect Plus has complicated deployment but superior customer support.

Pricing and ROI: ProtectTIER is known for competitive pricing and faster ROI. Spectrum Protect Plus requires a higher initial investment but offers greater long-term benefits.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM ProtectTIER vs. IBM Spectrum Protect Plus Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM ProtectTIER vs. IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

April 2025

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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

IBM ProtectTIER

Ranking in Backup and Recovery

84th

Average Rating

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Deduplication Software (13th)

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

Ranking in Backup and Recovery

23rd

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of IBM ProtectTIER is 0.1%, down from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is 1.0%, down from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Backup and Recovery

Featured Reviews

ValereFEUGWANG

Information System Consultant at CFAO Technologies

Protects data in hybrid infrastructures, but it is an expensive product with poor support

The main challenge for our customers is to replicate the virtual environment upon restart, without using any additional solutions such as VMware SLM. I would like the possibility to back up the infrastructure and then replicate it upon on restart, without having to orchestrate the starting of the VM. It would be much better for us. This solution can be made easier to use. Technical support is very frustrating and we are considering other solutions because of it. Stability is something that should be improved. The product is expensive and the licensing should be changed.

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Atif Najam

Chief Information Officer and Program Lead at Gatron Industries Ltd

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.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"In terms of stability, I've found it to be very stable. I've walked into the server room when it was at 60 degrees Celcius, and it was still running fine."

"The cataloging is the best feature. It takes millions of frames for the backup. It's incremental, so it takes less time to complete."

"The command-line interface is good."

"Overall IBM ProtectTIER is a great solution. It is easy to use."

"The solution is highly stable."

"The most valuable features are the Self-Service, and the ability to search the data."

"The most valuable feature is the ease of use."

"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 tool has enough documentation; you don't need to contact the support team."

"Reliability, recovery features, and stability are valuable to me."

"The initial setup of IBM Protect Plus is simple and not complex."

"A full-featured data protection solution that is reliable and stable."

"Using this tool, we can easily backup and restore or recover the data for PCs and mobiles in case of system crashes."

More IBM Spectrum Protect Plus pros

Cons

"The backup for a large amount of data is slow."

"I would like the possibility to back up the infrastructure and then replicate it upon on restart, without having to orchestrate the starting of the VM."

"The configuration wizards are still complex and hard to navigate. These should be easier to manage."

"Setting up the system to work with legacy equipment is a bit complex at times."

"IBM ProtectTIER could improve by being more user-friendly."

"The one issue we are facing is related to file restores."

"The solution only supports HyperV and VMware but doesn't support Nutanix."

"IBM Spectrum Protect Plus could improve by adding SAP Rena."

"IBM Spectrum Protect Plus could improve the IBM Spectrum Protect environment. It can be difficult to administer. The initial configuration can be difficult for entry-level teams or deployment teams, and it might be difficult to integrate. There's just too much content involved in the solution. The documentation is way too large."

"The administration needs to be improved and made simpler to use."

"IBM Spectrum Protect Plus could improve security."

"Instead of using the command prompt for troubleshooting and administering the backup, there should be an easy-to-use graphical user interface."

"The user experience is very bad and the interface needs to be improved."

More IBM Spectrum Protect Plus cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The customer can decide how they want to purchase a license. However, the price of the solution is expensive."

"This solution is very expensive."

"We have a capacity-based license, which is managed centrally for all the sites of my company."

"IBM ProtectTIER is an expensive solution."

"The price is perpetual, but the maintenance cost is annual. That is, we pay once for the product and pay annually for the maintenance and support. The price was much cheaper than what we would have had to pay for EMC or Veritas. The pricing is competitive, and I would rate it at four out of five."

"The licensing model of Spectrum Protect Plus is more efficient and cheaper compared to the original."

"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."

"IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is a little expensive."

"The price is lower than that of some competing products."

"We have a perpetual license for the tool since it is deployed on-premise."

"The solution is too expensive."

"There is an annual license required to use IBM Spectrum Protect Plus. The cost of the license could improve, it is expensive."

More IBM Spectrum Protect Plus pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

29%

Computer Software Company

24%

Real Estate/Law Firm

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

17%

Financial Services Firm

15%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

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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.

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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.

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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...

See all answers

Comparisons

Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) vs IBM ProtectTIER

Compared 100% of the time

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IBM Spectrum Protect vs IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

Compared 61% of the time

Veeam Data Platform vs IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

Compared 11% of the time

Rubrik vs IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

Compared 10% of the time

IBM Storage Protect vs IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

Compared 8% of the time

Zerto vs IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

Compared 5% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Deduplication Software

May 2025

Download IBM ProtectTIER product report

Buyer's Guide

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

May 2025

Download IBM Spectrum Protect Plus product report

Overview

IBM TS7650G ProtecTIER Deduplication Gateway is designed to meet the disk-based data protection needs of the enterprise data center while enabling significant infrastructure cost reductions. The solution offers industry-leading inline deduplication performance and scalability up to 1 petabyte (PB) of physical storage capacity per system, and can provide up to 25 PB or more backup storage capacity. Combined with IBM or third-party storage, TS7650G ProtecTIER Deduplication Gateway provides a powerful disk-based repository to improve the performance, retention and availability of backup and archive data in a small footprint for energy and cost efficiency.

IBM

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is a data protection and availability solution for virtual environments that can be deployed in minutes and protect your environment within an hour. It simplifies data protection, whether data is hosted in physical, virtual, software-defined or cloud environments. It can be implemented as a stand-alone solution or integrate with your IBM Spectrum Protect environment to off-load copies for long term storage and data governance with scale and efficiency.

IBM

Sample Customers

Durham Police Department, Re-Store LLC, CenterGrid, pixx.io GmbH, Australian Government Department of Defence, QD, Refresco Gerber

PT Wings Surya, Tectrade, State of Ohio

Buyer's Guide

IBM ProtectTIER vs. IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

April 2025

Free Report: IBM ProtectTIER vs. IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

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