IBM Spectrum Protect Plus vs NetApp SnapCenter comparison

IBM and NetApp are both solutions in the Backup and Recovery category. IBM is ranked #49 with an average rating of 7.0, while NetApp is ranked #53 with an average rating of 7.0. IBM holds a 1.0% mindshare in BRS, compared to NetApp’s 0.7% mindshare. Additionally, 88% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of NetApp users who would recommend it.

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

Read 32 IBM Spectrum Protect Plus reviews

1,507 Views
1,462 Comparison Views

88% willing to recommend

NetApp SnapCenter

Read 27 NetApp SnapCenter reviews

1,268 Views
1,192 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

NetApp SnapCenter

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 11, 2024

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus and NetApp SnapCenter are both data protection and recovery solutions. NetApp SnapCenter appears to have the upper hand due to its comprehensive feature set.

Features: Users value IBM Spectrum Protect Plus for scalability, ease of integration, and reliable backup capabilities. NetApp SnapCenter stands out with powerful snapshot and replication features and efficient application-aware backups.

Room for Improvement: IBM Spectrum Protect Plus needs enhancements in reporting, analytics, and compatibility. NetApp SnapCenter requires better compatibility with certain environments and a more intuitive performance monitoring system.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is praised for straightforward deployment and excellent customer service. NetApp SnapCenter has a relatively easy deployment process but mixed reactions about support.

Pricing and ROI: IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is more budget-friendly and offers good ROI due to lower initial setup costs. NetApp SnapCenter, though more expensive, is seen as worth the investment for its advanced features and robust capabilities.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Spectrum Protect Plus vs. NetApp SnapCenter Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus vs. NetApp SnapCenter

September 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 Spectrum Protect Plus

Ranking in Backup and Recovery

49th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

NetApp SnapCenter

Ranking in Backup and Recovery

53rd

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, 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 NetApp SnapCenter is 0.7%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Backup and Recovery Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
IBM Spectrum Protect Plus	1.0%
NetApp SnapCenter	0.7%
Other	98.3%

Backup and Recovery

Featured Reviews

Atif Najam

Chief Information Officer and Program Lead at Gatron Industries Ltd

Enables organizations to make large-scale recoveries easily, but the security must be improved

The security must be improved. We face a lot of cyber threats like ransomware. It impacts data availability and protection. The tool must provide a mechanism to make resilient backups. The tool must ensure that the recent backups have no ransomware. The backup must be immutable. They must be cyber-resilient backups. Finding a good resource person for IBM Spectrum in Pakistan is difficult. We have to rely on the support team. Resource availability is a challenge.

Read full review

MervynMorgan

IT Storage Engineer at Unixque Solutions Pty Ltd

Enables us to save data for data projection but could improve its integration with other backup solutions

NetApp SnapCenter is highly efficient because it allows you to automate the creation of snapshots. Instead of manually creating snapshots using IMS or HMS, you can schedule and automate them, specifying the timing and frequency. This eliminates the need for daily manual intervention and streamlines the process. SnapCenter also enables you to assign specific user roles to manage these tasks, enhancing efficiency. SnapCenter ensures that your LPOs and RTOs are extremely quick. Although it may seem expensive initially, after using it for a while, you'll appreciate the efficiencies and gains it provides. I recommend the solution. Overall, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.

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

"With this product, we now have a reliable backup solution."

"The support from IBM is very good."

"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."

"What I like about IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is its integration, plus it has very good technical support."

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

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

"This is a multi-platform backup solution where you can take a backup from AIX, Windows, or Linux servers and restore from CD, disk, or tape."

"The most valuable feature of IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is its ease of use. Additionally, it does backups of all of the things we need, such as OS, files, and databases."

More IBM Spectrum Protect Plus pros

"The initial setup was straightforward."

"It's integrated with VMware vCenter. You can also see the backups there and you can do a restore completely out of vCenter."

"I like the instant backups and recovery feature that SnapCenter provides within NetApp storage systems."

"The backup process finishes very quickly."

"The Exchange plugin is the most valuable because we have a lot of customers that use SnapManager Exchange and have to migrate to SnapCenter."

"Technical support has been very helpful when we have issues."

"The support from NetApp is very good, and I would rate it as ten points."

"It has greatly improved our DR activity."

More NetApp SnapCenter pros

Cons

"I would like more integration with security. We need to show the value of the product in regards to handling security. For example, how it handles current malware or viruses. IBM should be more proactive in this direction."

"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."

"In the future, I would like to see support for global deduplication."

"The solution should allow for backup of iOS snapshots."

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

"The software's technical support could improve its response time for different time zones."

"The tool needs to increase the number of threats."

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

More IBM Spectrum Protect Plus cons

"The GUI is still so-so. I' don't use the GUI that often anymore because it's really slow, refreshing disks, refreshing hosts, and you have to click a lot."

"The Microsoft environment is its biggest disadvantage due to the central management of all the actions. Because the SnapCenter server is where we deploy everything, it also affects the Microsoft environment, which can cause many difficulties when resolving issues like Windows update problems."

"We tend to have a lot of Hyper-V... so now we have two management consoles and we would ideally like to leverage SnapCenter to include Hyper-V."

"Since the solution's initial setup is complex, it should make training documents available in the public space."

"There is one area that needs improvement and that's in the alerting. When you set up your SMTP alerts, it only has - and I don't understand why - the ability to send an anonymous SMTP. It doesn't do basic authentication, which frustrated me for a while until I figured out that I'm not missing something. It's just not there."

"The UI, the User Interface, needs to be improved. It's not as clean or modern as it could be."

"I'm waiting for SnapCenter for hybrid solutions. Right now, we only have SnapManager for hybrid. I need agents for that. People are looking to install SnapCenter in a SQL environment, but where they're running SQL on Hyper-V and using virtual files. Currently, we don't have support for hybrid."

"The interface usability needs improvement. It should be more user-friendly and easier for customers to use."

More NetApp SnapCenter cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

"There are a few options available for purchasing the solutions. Overall, the price of the is high."

"Unlike some other solutions, such as Veritas NetBackup where you have to pay for different licenses to use different features, there is a single license that allows you to use all of the features."

"The initial cost of the product is perpetual but the support fees are billed annually."

"In addition to the standard licensing fees, we paid for implementation and training."

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

"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."

More IBM Spectrum Protect Plus pricing and cost advice

"It comes free with the amount of equipment we purchase from NetApp. In terms of pricing, zero is my favorite number."

"It's free. The license is included with other NetApp products."

"We have a site license, so it comes with the product."

"The license for SnapCenter was included with the storage array."

"The product is inexpensive."

"Pricing is very good because if you already have NepApp controllers, then it's included."

"The licensing is well-designed because it's already included in some packages with NetApp storage. Therefore, for most customers, it's okay as the SnapCenter license is already included in some NetApp bundles."

"We see a financial value with SnapCenter because we don't have to license Commvault, which is pretty expensive."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

12%

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

12%

Government

Manufacturing Company

17%

Computer Software Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

Educational Organization

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	13
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	17

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	8
Midsize Enterprise	9
Large Enterprise	11

Questions from the Community

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.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM Spectrum Protect Plus?

Technical support could be improved significantly. 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.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetApp SnapCenter?

The product should be free because it is just software to administrate systems purchased from NetApp, which are already expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with NetApp SnapCenter?

The interface usability needs improvement. It should be more user-friendly and easier for customers to use.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for NetApp SnapCenter?

I help my customers to install and integrate NetApp SnapCenter ( /products/netapp-snapcenter-reviews ). The solution is used for central consolidation of NetApp ( /products/netapp-41749-reviews ) d...

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Comparisons

IBM Storage Protect vs IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

Compared 44% of the time

Veeam Data Platform vs IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

Compared 13% of the time

Rubrik vs IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

Compared 10% of the time

Atempo Live Navigator vs IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

Compared 9% of the time

HPE Zerto Software vs IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

Compared 7% of the time

More IBM Spectrum Protect Plus Competitors

Synology DSM vs NetApp SnapCenter

Compared 22% of the time

Veeam Data Platform vs NetApp SnapCenter

Compared 14% of the time

Commvault Cloud vs NetApp SnapCenter

Compared 13% of the time

Veritas NetBackup vs NetApp SnapCenter

Compared 11% of the time

Rubrik vs NetApp SnapCenter

Compared 11% of the time

More NetApp SnapCenter Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

September 2025

Download IBM Spectrum Protect Plus product report

Buyer's Guide

NetApp SnapCenter

September 2025

Download NetApp SnapCenter product report

Also Known As

No data available

SnapCenter

Overview

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

Unified, scalable platform for application-consistent data protection and clone management. This software simplifies backup, restore, and clone lifecycle management with application-integrated workflows.

NetApp

Sample Customers

PT Wings Surya, Tectrade, State of Ohio

All for One Steeb AG, Accenture

Buyer's Guide

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus vs. NetApp SnapCenter

September 2025

Free Report: IBM Spectrum Protect Plus vs. NetApp SnapCenter

Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Spectrum Protect Plus vs. NetApp SnapCenter and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.

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