No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus vs N-able Cove Data Protection comparison

Why PeerSpot?
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 11, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
5.4
IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is valued for integration, compatibility, and competitive pricing, with some users seeing quick ROI.
Sentiment score
7.9
N-able Cove Data Protection enhances profitability with cost savings, efficient backups, fixed pricing, automation, and increased client satisfaction.
Our return on investment, as far as using N-able Cove Data Protection is concerned, revolves around the time spent on tasks; we have managed to reduce our time to fill roles, which is vital and has also improved our customer satisfaction rates to 98%.
HR Consultant
I have experienced time savings and money savings.
Senior Product Owner at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
We think the ROI is very good; we are very satisfied with our return on investment, even though I don't sit and calculate what would be better.
Senior consultant at Azend A/S
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
4.6
IBM Spectrum Protect Plus support is generally praised for responsiveness, despite concerns about initial delays and technical complexity issues.
Sentiment score
7.6
N-able Cove Data Protection offers fast, 24/7 support with knowledgeable engineers and helpful resources, ensuring a positive customer experience.
We do not have a good experience with this product.
Architecte Solutions at Novahe
Their documentation, runbooks, troubleshooting articles, and support people are good.
Senior System Engineer at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
if it gets complicated, the backend support comes in quickly
Senior consultant at Azend A/S
If I raise a ticket, they get back to me.
Senior Product Owner at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
5.7
IBM Spectrum Protect Plus scales efficiently from small to large enterprises, though optimal planning enhances its scalability potential.
Sentiment score
7.9
N-able Cove Data Protection offers scalable, adaptable solutions, seamlessly integrating into infrastructures with minimal scaling challenges.
IBM Data Protect is the scalable solution, not IBM Spectrum Protect Plus.
IT Specialist at Saudi Business Machines - SBM
The solution does not provide horizontal and vertical scaling.
Senior System Engineer at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
There are some limitations, such as storage, where I cannot support a large number of employees who need to back up their data.
Senior Product Owner at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
N-able Cove Data Protection is scalable because we have brought on board two more people to handle different aspects of our clients' work as we got more clients, and we have not experienced any problems.
HR Consultant
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
6.4
IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is praised for stability and reliability, though some report recovery issues and version-related instability.
Sentiment score
8.1
N-able Cove Data Protection is highly reliable, offering consistent performance and quick resolutions to minor issues, earning user trust.
I cannot determine what benefit IBM Spectrum Protect Plus brings to the organization because we deployed this solution with one customer, and that customer changed the product after one or two years because the product is not stable and it changes with every version.
Architecte Solutions at Novahe
N-able Cove Data Protection has been relatively stable.
HR Consultant
 

Room For Improvement

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus needs a user-friendly interface, improved security, better integration, efficient backup, and enhanced technical support.
N-able Cove Data Protection users want faster uploads, customizable dashboards, easier restores, and improved Linux, Microsoft 365, and hybrid cloud support.
It does not offer horizontal and vertical scaling.
Senior System Engineer at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
I used IBM Spectrum Protect Plus, but IBM is now replacing it with IBM Data Protect, which is a giant product now in common development with a well-known company in backup solutions.
IT Specialist at Saudi Business Machines - SBM
IBM Spectrum Protect Plus could be made more lightweight and user-friendly in terms of GUI features to make it closer to a perfect score.
Manager - Storage & Backup at a pharma/biotech company with 10,001+ employees
There should be the ability to take out data from Microsoft 365 in a portable format.
Senior consultant at Azend A/S
N-able Cove Data Protection does not provide a lot of SaaS backup products, which is an area they can improve.
Senior Product Owner at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
For now, I do not have anything else to add about the features apart from the confidentiality aspect; it helps me ensure that HR documents are personal, so someone who does not have access to them does not have access to them.
HR Consultant
 

Setup Cost

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is costly but offers flexible licensing and is valued for scalability and automation benefits.
N-able Cove offers flexible, competitive pricing with customizable contracts, predictable expenses, and cost-effective storage options for enterprises.
They are fairly expensive.
Senior System Engineer at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Pricing is good; it is reasonable and more reasonable than any other vendors.
Manager - Storage & Backup at a pharma/biotech company with 10,001+ employees
In terms of pricing, N-able Cove Data Protection is neither cheap nor expensive compared to other competitors.
Senior Product Owner at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
 

Valuable Features

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus offers seamless integration, user-friendly features, and comprehensive data protection across multiple platforms and applications.
N-able Cove Data Protection provides comprehensive, user-friendly cloud-based features like Virtual Disaster Recovery, automation, and efficient data management.
The biggest benefit of IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is that it's an agentless backup product which is very easy to configure and use.
IT Specialist at Saudi Business Machines - SBM
IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is the software we work with, and the new name is IBM Storage Protect.
Architecte Solutions at Novahe
The integration of N-able Cove Data Protection into our existing infrastructure is easy.
Senior consultant at Azend A/S
The access settings are important for me too, and the fact that HR documents are personal means I do not want everyone seeing everything, especially because in HR we talk mostly about confidentiality.
HR Consultant
The most valuable feature of N-able Cove Data Protection is its ease of use.
Senior Product Owner at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
 

Categories and Ranking

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
46th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
33
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
N-able Cove Data Protection
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
32nd
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
24
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Backup (20th), SaaS Backup (10th), MSP Backup (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is 1.0%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of N-able Cove Data Protection is 1.5%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
N-able Cove Data Protection1.5%
IBM Spectrum Protect Plus1.0%
Other97.5%
Backup and Recovery
 

Featured Reviews

Christophe LAMAMY - PeerSpot reviewer
Architecte Solutions at Novahe
Complex deployment has limited adoption but has provided structured backup management
IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is very simple to deploy for us, but for more clients or competitors, the solution is hard to deploy and to integrate. For our team, deployment of IBM Spectrum Protect Plus may take a couple of days and longer if you have a complex customer solution. The deployment itself is not very lengthy, but the integration in production is more complicated. I assess the efficiency of IBM Spectrum Protect Plus's Advanced Snapshot Technology as not good because they change a lot of things. During multiple versions, we have experienced many changes in the product, and from the customer's view, it is not a good product because with each evolution, we encounter problems. We do not sell this product or advise this product. For SLA management features with IBM Spectrum Protect Plus, I utilize file level. SLA management is a good solution and a good idea, but the product does not work well, and customers do not adopt this product. I cannot assess the integration capability of IBM Spectrum Protect Plus using RESTful API. I cannot determine what benefit IBM Spectrum Protect Plus brings to the organization because we deployed this solution with one customer, and that customer changed the product after one or two years because the product is not stable and it changes with every version. The customer wanted to move away from this solution. The price of the product is good, but the solution does not adapt to the market. The market in France does not adopt IBM Spectrum Protect Plus.
Grace Myna - PeerSpot reviewer
HR Consultant
Secure reminders have improved HR document control and support better client deadline management
I really love the reminders feature of N-able Cove Data Protection because I have many dates to keep in mind while working with multiple clients. The access settings are important for me too, and the fact that HR documents are personal means I do not want everyone seeing everything, especially because in HR we talk mostly about confidentiality. It is important that not everyone gets to see everything unless they have access, and I also appreciate being able to tell which copy is the final one. The reminders feature stands out for me the most because I deal with many dates and deadlines. The reminders work well for me in practice because they make it easy for me; I do not have to keep checking my calendar, even though I also use other calendars such as Calendly. The reminders come in handy because I do not have to keep going back to that, helping me ensure that I meet deadlines and do not miss client meetings, making it easier for me to stay organized.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Backup and Recovery solutions are best for your needs.
913,924 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
14%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Construction Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Outsourcing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business14
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise17
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise1
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Spectrum Protect Plus?
Pricing is good; it is reasonable and more reasonable than any other vendors.
What needs improvement with IBM Spectrum Protect Plus?
IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is very simple to deploy for us, but for more clients or competitors, the solution is hard to deploy and to integrate. For our team, deployment of IBM Spectrum Protect Plu...
What is your primary use case for IBM Spectrum Protect Plus?
We are an IT integrator and we need to have a good vision of all recovery and backup recovery solutions. Most frequently, we use Veeam Backup. We use Cohesity. For some old workloads, we use IBM TS...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for N-able Backup?
In terms of pricing, N-able Cove Data Protection is neither cheap nor expensive compared to other competitors.
What needs improvement with N-able Backup?
The challenges I face especially are those I've mentioned, that finding some specific data in N-able Cove Data Protection is not as easy as it is in some other systems. You cannot just search for s...
What is your primary use case for N-able Backup?
Our main use cases for enabling N-able Cove Data Protection include backing up our customers' data on servers hosted in data centers and servers hosted in our own data center, as well as a few onsi...
 

Also Known As

No data available
N-able Backup, SolarWinds Backup, SolarWinds MSP Backup & Recovery, SolarWinds MSP Backup
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

PT Wings Surya, Tectrade, State of Ohio
Computer Depot, Leading Edge Computers, IT Logic Australia
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Spectrum Protect Plus vs. N-able Cove Data Protection and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
913,924 professionals have used our research since 2012.