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IBM ProtectTIER vs Rubrik comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

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
62nd
Average Rating
7.2
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
Deduplication Software (13th)
Rubrik
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
3rd
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
96
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Backup (6th), Disaster Recovery (DR) Software (8th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of IBM ProtectTIER is 0.7%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Rubrik is 3.0%, down from 6.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Rubrik3.0%
IBM ProtectTIER0.7%
Other96.3%
Backup and Recovery
 

Featured Reviews

AG
Technical Lead at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Provides a short-term backup, archive, and cataloging for 20,000 people in our organization
The backup for a large amount of data is slow. When there's a large amount of data, sometimes the backup isn't completed in time. I have a 24 hour cycle, so it doesn't get completed in 24 hours with the large amount of data. With Veritas NetBackup, I can take 20 terabytes of backup in a day.
reviewer2588997 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Technical Support Engineer at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Reliable automated backups have protected critical databases and simplified recoveries for our operations
Portal identity management should improve. We end up losing people's identity, which was not sufficient enough to read the events. That was the only place I could see for improvement. They keep changing the layouts and descriptions, giving the user confusion if they have not used it for maybe three months. When they come back, the interface is changed. They lost the legacy support, and it is not consistent. Some of the options for the restore give a very hard time for the engineer if they come back after three months to use it because the phrases have changed completely. That is why they were not able to select whether they should select this option or should select another option. Where it comes from, the documentation we gave them does not match anymore. That was a challenge.My consultation part was about how to integrate the technology with each other for the platform or storage or database. I did not deal with any price metrics or scaling the storage. I have no idea about the pricing part. I never joined any meetings or any documents to disclose the pricing. It was quite good in general. Recently, in March 2025, they did a new update which enabled them to update their agents remotely and built in, in-place mode. That is bringing the cybersecurity perspective. That was a big challenge. I said it is a challenge, but I do not know because I left the company, so I am not sure if cybersecurity addressed the solution. Rubrik support is usually very accommodating and very flexible. I am not sure, but the last challenge I saw was that.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The cataloging is the best feature, as it takes millions of frames for the backup and, because it's incremental, it takes less time to complete."
"If you are looking for a reliable and scalable enterprise-class solution, you should consider this solution."
"The command-line interface is good."
"In terms of stability, I've found it to be very stable."
"Overall IBM ProtectTIER is a great solution. It is easy to use."
"I will highly recommend this product for excellent and quick backup solution in small and large IBM I Series environment."
"The most valuable features are the self-service features and the ability to search the data."
"The most valuable feature is the incremental backup."
"The product's protection against ransomware is a significant benefit."
"We are protecting more than 3 petabytes of data daily, and we have more than 3,000 plus servers."
"Drives the back-end through a powerful, well-documented API."
"Replaces legacy tapes and disk backups which are unreliable, expensive and space consuming."
"Rubrik has automation capabilities that help streamline my workflows."
"The Live Mount feature is excellent; it's useful for the backup administrator and end user."
"We like this product because of its simplicity, pricing and reliability."
"Intelligent agent technology."
 

Cons

"It is unmanageable. Support would be good."
"IBM ProtectTIER could improve by being more user-friendly."
"The backup for a large amount of data is slow. When there's a large amount of data, sometimes the backup isn't completed in time."
"The configuration wizards are still complex and hard to navigate. These should be easier to manage."
"My advice to anybody who is considering this solution is to conduct a proof of concept first because everybody's needs are different, and this product is not suitable for every kind of backup."
"Setting up the system to work with legacy equipment is a bit complex at times."
"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."
"These days, we are thinking about pushing another solution because of the poor support from IBM."
"The solution needs to be more secure and needs to better protect against ransomware."
"The solution could improve by having fewer VM Stuns."
"They need to find a solution for SMBs. It is currently only suitable for enterprises or big customers. They need to find a solution that suits SMBs."
"I don't like Rubrik's user interface because it's not intuitive, and I find it hard to get the information I need."
"Rubrik could improve in customization options for dashboards."
"The licensing cost is quite high. That is something that needs to be worked out, because so many times it happens that the team does not have the budget or there are other issues at that time. Cost has become an important factor in deciding whether to continue with the Rubrik solution."
"I would love to be able to just get from the dashboard to a file that I need, or a system that I need."
"Collecting logs in Rubrik is very difficult compared to other tools."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"IBM ProtectTIER is an expensive solution."
"We have a capacity-based license, which is managed centrally for all the sites of my company."
"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 do perpetual licensing... It was all based on the amount of storage we needed to use. We did a cost analysis compared to Tivoli and it was in line with other solutions."
"The pricing and licensing of Rubrik is better than products that we've had in the past. It was quite a bit cheaper than Commvault and NetBackup."
"There is a license requirement for the solution. If you expand or if the maintenance period expires, there's a license renewal as well."
"There are additional costs for add-ons, and they recently upgraded a new cluster, which also carries a price."
"You pay a premium for Rubrik, but you're getting a premium service that comes with immutable backups, instant recovery, and world-class support."
"Rubrik is expensive, but due to its data management capabilities, customers can save a lot by reducing hardware and storage."
"Rubrik is a little bit expensive, but it's worth the price."
"Rubrik is not cheap. Hopefully, you can archive your data on cheap storage to keep the investment minimal."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
20%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Healthcare Company
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise3
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business23
Midsize Enterprise21
Large Enterprise56
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
Which would you choose - Rubrik or Veeam Backup & Replication?
Veeam Backup & Replication provides an easy-to-set-up solution to the issue of data storage and recovery. Setting it up is a relatively simple affair. For the most part it prompts you from scre...
What do you like most about Rubrik?
It's easy to manage and has an innovated solution.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Rubrik?
Regarding pricing, Rubrik is a costly solution, and I would rate it an eight.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Durham Police Department, Re-Store LLC, CenterGrid, pixx.io GmbH, Australian Government Department of Defence, QD, Refresco Gerber
Driscoll's, Red Hawk Casino, Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, Wabash National, Chateau Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, Galliker Transport & Logistics
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM ProtectTIER vs. Rubrik and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
913,806 professionals have used our research since 2012.