IBM Spectrum Protect vs IBM Tivoli CDP for Files comparison

IBM Spectrum Protect and IBM Tivoli CDP for Files are both solutions in the Backup and Recovery category. IBM Spectrum Protect is ranked #16 with an average rating of 7.1, while IBM Tivoli CDP for Files is ranked #76. IBM Spectrum Protect holds a 2.2% mindshare in BRS, compared to IBM Tivoli CDP for Files’s 0.2% mindshare. Additionally, 86% of IBM Spectrum Protect users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of IBM Tivoli CDP for Files users who would recommend it.

IBM Spectrum Protect

Read 149 IBM Spectrum Protect reviews

3,808 Views
2,925 Comparison Views

86% willing to recommend

IBM Tivoli CDP for Files

Read 1 IBM Tivoli CDP for Files review

261 Views
219 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

IBM Spectrum Protect

IBM Tivoli CDP for Files

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between IBM Spectrum Protect and IBM Tivoli CDP for Files based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

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Buyer's Guide

Backup and Recovery

May 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

Ranking in Backup and Recovery

16th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

149

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

IBM Tivoli CDP for Files

Ranking in Backup and Recovery

76th

Average Rating

9.0

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 Spectrum Protect is 2.2%, up from 2.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Tivoli CDP for Files is 0.2%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Backup and Recovery

Featured Reviews

Syed Habib

Head of Infrastructure Security (S.A.V.P) at EXIM Bank Ltd

Manageable and comprehensive and integrates robust backup features for core banking

It's adequate for my core banking, however, I am looking for another solution for all systems. It is not compatible with other operating systems like Windows or Linux, and lacks a consolidated dashboard from Browser Spectrum. This is why I am searching for another solution. The product also lacks any centralized graphical user interface (GUI), such as Jarek Pod, and I am limited to using a console-based text user interface, which my local partner handles completely.

Read full review

reviewer1035033

Sr. Aix Admin at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Restoration and infrastructure are extremely reliable

We are currently using Tivoli to backup 15 terabytes within our Oracle Database using a RMAN backup script. The RMAN's utility and restoration has been perfect, we have yet to experience any issues. It's very reliable The restoration and infrastructure are extremely reliable. We would like to…

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The best part of this solution is that it just works."

"A robust tool which allows us to backup pretty much any environment, virtual or physical."

"The archiving feature is the most valuable aspect of the solution."

"It is very stable. A plus is to use POWERAge for the SNR copy of the Spectrum Protect, then it is more reliable."

"With data deduplication and compression, we are reducing our overall storage footprint for our disk histories. Therefore, we are reducing the actual cost of the disk for our data protection and data backups."

"You can do restores very quickly. You can mount a drive and restore it right from the drive."

"Instead of taking three different backups of your systems, you're taking only one. You're able to crack that open and get what you need. The incident recovery, where it creates the VM and then you're running it, technically you're running it on Spectrum Protect. But then in the background, it's doing the storage motion and moving it off the Spectrum Protect back to your VMware environment. The users don't know the difference."

"It is pretty easy to use and maintain."

More IBM Spectrum Protect pros

"The restoration and infrastructure is extremely reliable."

Cons

"The product should be improved to save more space."

"It's difficult in terms of the configuration at set up. In our case, it required another admin, one person dedicated to the backup."

"The solution needs to work on disaster recovery integration. Basically, VMware applications to the cloud, for example. There needs to be integration with the storage, and integration with VMware."

"There needs to be a bit more automation."

"We would like to see cloud integration."

"It would be helpful if the solution included some sort of ransomware protection."

"Perhaps if they could add replication to a second site or third site from the same console, that would be helpful. Currently, we have to connect to another console."

"I would like to see monitoring within the platform: monitoring for storage pools and monitoring for the server's health (e.g., CPU and memory)."

More IBM Spectrum Protect cons

"We would like to have the opportunity to omit data from being backed up. For example, we have three virtual machines, each with three disks. When running the backup, it will automatically take each disk rather than allowing us to select what data we want backed."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is very scalable, but the downside is that it costs money."

"The different license models can give good benefits to the end customer."

"The license model that they have at IBM, which is due to volume, from a certain volume onward is not the right license model."

"For my company, the tool is affordable and reasonable...I don't think most people know that when a company has large systems in place, the TCO is a lot lower."

"We worked our licensing into a capacity model, which is nice. Now, everything is much simpler to manage from a licensing perspective."

"The solution is not cheap."

"The solution is expensive."

"Licensing IBM Spectrum Protect can be somewhat confusing for new users due to the options available, such as licensing on a capacity or per server basis."

More IBM Spectrum Protect pricing and cost advice

"It's expensive, but it's worth for it due to the volume of critical information within our database. We are currently paying about $22,000 per year."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

17%

Computer Software Company

14%

Government

Educational Organization

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Spectrum Protect?

IBM Spectrum Protect is stable.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Spectrum Protect?

It's expensive. I acknowledge the cost associated with it.

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What needs improvement with IBM Spectrum Protect?

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Comparisons

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus vs IBM Spectrum Protect

Compared 18% of the time

Veeam Data Platform vs IBM Spectrum Protect

Compared 18% of the time

Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) vs IBM Spectrum Protect

Compared 11% of the time

Commvault Cloud vs IBM Spectrum Protect

Compared 11% of the time

Iron Mountain Connect vs IBM Spectrum Protect

Compared 1% of the time

More IBM Spectrum Protect Competitors

Veeam Data Platform vs IBM Tivoli CDP for Files

Compared 39% of the time

OpenText Data Protector vs IBM Tivoli CDP for Files

Compared 25% of the time

More IBM Tivoli CDP for Files Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Spectrum Protect

May 2025

Download IBM Spectrum Protect product report

Buyer's Guide

Backup and Recovery

May 2025

Download IBM Tivoli CDP for Files product report

Also Known As

IBM TSM, IBM Tivoli Storage Manager

Tivoli CDP for Files

Overview

IBM Spectrum Protect (Tivoli Storage Manager) is a data protection platform that gives enterprises a single point of control and administration for backup and recovery. It is the flagship product in the IBM Spectrum Protect (Tivoli Storage Manager) family. It enables reliable, cost effective backups and fast recovery for virtual, physical and cloud environments of all sizes.

IBM

IBM Tivoli Continuous Data Protection for Files is a continuous backup software that protects your most important files. This real-time, continuous data protection solution for file servers and user endpoints automatically backs up your most critical files the moment they are saved.

IBM

Sample Customers

CERN, Einstein Healthcare, Nyherji, Allianz Australia, TZM, ABT Online, NCT, Kindred Healthcare Inc., Cobalt Iron, TransGrid, Baptist Health of Northeast Florida, Cash America, Piedmont Healthcare, RWGV, Arkansas Tech University, British Columbia Institute of Technology

Cyberian Data Protection

Find out what your peers are saying about Veeam Software, Zerto, Commvault and others in Backup and Recovery. Updated: May 2025.

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