IBM Spectrum Protect vs Veeam Data Platform comparison

IBM and Veeam Software are both solutions in the Backup and Recovery category. IBM is ranked #17 with an average rating of 7.2, while Veeam Software is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.4. IBM holds a 2.2% mindshare in BRS, compared to Veeam Software’s 16.4% mindshare. Additionally, 86% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 94% of Veeam Software users who would recommend it.

IBM Spectrum Protect

Read 149 IBM Spectrum Protect reviews

4,073 Views
3,133 Comparison Views

86% willing to recommend

Veeam Data Platform

Read 423 Veeam Data Platform reviews

31,622 Views
26,194 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

IBM Spectrum Protect

Veeam Data Platform

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 23, 2025

IBM Spectrum Protect and Veeam Data Platform compete in the data protection sector, each offering unique strengths. Veeam Data Platform stands out in virtualization environments due to its instant recovery and ease of use.

Features:IBM Spectrum Protect is known for its scalability, supporting various platforms through features like incremental-forever backup, deduplication, and Disaster Recovery Manager. Veeam Data Platform excels with instant VM recovery, VMware and Hyper-V integration, and features like SureBackup for data verification.

Room for Improvement:IBM Spectrum Protect needs a more user-friendly interface, enhanced reporting capabilities, and better cloud integration. Veeam Data Platform should enhance tape management, expand support for physical servers, and refine its cloud environment and database integrations.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service:IBM Spectrum Protect users face challenges with setup complexity and receive mixed technical support feedback. Veeam Data Platform offers easy deployment and an intuitive interface, with highly rated customer service emphasizing responsiveness.

Pricing and ROI:IBM Spectrum Protect's complex licensing can lead to higher costs but offers value for scalability and long-term data retention. Veeam Data Platform provides a more predictable per-socket licensing model, making it cost-effective for small to medium businesses seeking competitive pricing and strong ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Spectrum Protect vs. Veeam Data Platform Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Spectrum Protect vs. Veeam Data Platform

March 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

17th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

149

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Veeam Data Platform

Ranking in Backup and Recovery

1st

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

423

Ranking in other categories

Cloud Backup (1st), Virtualization Management Tools (5th), Disaster Recovery (DR) Software (1st), Cloud Monitoring Software (11th)

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of IBM Spectrum Protect is 2.2%, down from 2.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Veeam Data Platform is 16.4%, down from 20.4% 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

Edward Hore

L3 Infrastructure Engineer at Specsavers

Reliable with good support but needs a better navigation menu

We use Veeam Data to back up our VMware infrastructure Veeam Data Platform is valuable for its stability and the ability to easily contact support for assistance. The support team provides answers whenever we need them. It is also one of the most scalable backup solutions I've worked with. The…

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

"The most valuable features are the stability and also how it's seamlessly integrated with other IBM offerings."

"It has increased our security, scalability, and high availability."

"Disk-based implementation of a data protection solution for multiple sites is a better fit for my complex data protection needs."

"IBM Spectrum Protect is a scalable solution."

"The platform has valuable stability."

"Our performance is better."

"It's very robust and has been on the market for a long time."

"The addition of the retention set feature provides a reduction in storage costs. It also reduces RTO and RPO so that you can respond quickly to your clients and services in case of data loss."

More IBM Spectrum Protect pros

"Veeam is highly scalable. In one scenario, we started with 2,000 users and scaled up to 24,000."

"Provides lots of reporting and visualization of how much data has been transferred."

"The backup features are valuable."

"The user interface is good and it is very easy to use."

"The solution is simple to use."

"The replication is the most valuable feature for us."

"I think that the scalability is very good. We can't compare it."

"The whole replication aspect of the solution is excellent because it compresses the data so well."

More Veeam Data Platform pros

Cons

"The solution should have better integration with VMware and with IBM Spectrum Protect Plus."

"They need to do a better job on Windows, because if you are running Windows, the scalability is more limited than AIX and Linux."

"They do not have a unified GUI, they only work on CLI and operations center, which is really complicated for the installation and configuration."

"There were scalability issues only in the brand new features which were recently released."

"The previous GUI that they had was slow, and it did not have enough information on it."

"I want to see better compression than what it currently does."

"Better integration with other tools and databases is needed."

"I think Spectrum Protect's interface is not so user-friendly, but the interface is not so friendly. Some of the functions are too complicated. I prefer a simpler solution."

More IBM Spectrum Protect cons

"The cost needs to be considered."

"The price can be better."

"The tech support could be better."

"Although the solution offers documentation, it has it only in English, which doesn't help us much in Belarus."

"It would be ideal if users could know that their data is backed up and have some security functionality where you can actually use the backup to spin up a new cluster and take it from there."

"They fixed everything that I was hoping for. It is pretty good. There were a few things in 9.x that I was wishing for, and they came true in version 10. We were looking for retention without having to make a copy job. We're getting ready to migrate m365 to the cloud. I haven't dived into it to make sure, but I wish the m365 backup would integrate into the current console so that we don't have to use two different consoles."

"One common customer complaint is that Veeam, not just Veeam ONE, has become increasingly complex over time. This means that it is now very feature-rich, which can be challenging for some users to navigate and understand. There is a need for more education on how to use the GUI and all of the available features. Even regular users of Veeam may struggle to utilize the new features, which makes it more challenging for backup administrators to manage their backups. The platform is not becoming simpler, but rather, it is becoming more complicated over time."

"The automation could be better."

More Veeam Data Platform cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution has a capacity based licensing, front and back-end license."

"I rate the pricing a four on a scale of one to ten, where one is not cost-effective, and ten is cost-effective."

"It is expensive."

"Customers need to pay for licensing in order to use IBM Spectrum Protect. The customers that have been using it for a long time are okay and happy with it. From a cost point of view, it's better for them to renew their licenses than to go through the difficult process of changing a backup product in their environment, and migrate from one product to another."

"One can go with either a PVU licensing model or a capacity based licensing model. Either solution does not block the usage, if over used."

"The solution's pricing is fair. Price-wise, I rate the solution an eight out of ten."

"Technical support is pretty good. It is doing fine, but you pay for it."

"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

"My understanding is that it is a fairly small price point."

"There is a license required for this solution and the price is a bit expensive but it depends on the environment that you have on how much it will cost."

"The licensing is the worst part of Veeam Backup Replication because for the more complex situations and it's quite difficult and complex. In particular, when mixing different requirements the licensing model is complex. For example, mixing a virtual machine backup and a file server backup in the same installation can be somewhat difficult and is expensive."

"We spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on Veeam each year, although it is not expensive for what we get."

"Since our Veeam license is perpetual, we only pay for annual maintenance."

"The price of Veeam Backup Replication has been increasing their price and my customers are asking why. They have CPU-based licenses and a Universal License, the prices should be reduced."

"It's the market price. It isn't expensive, nor is it cheap."

"It is not expensive and I would rate it five out of ten."

More Veeam Data Platform pricing and cost advice

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Comparison Review

it_user159711

Architect at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

Nov 9, 2014

VMware SRM vs. Veeam vs. Zerto

Disaster recovery planning is something that seems challenging for all businesses. Virtualization in addition to its operational flexibility, and cost reduction benefits, has helped companies improve their DR posture. Virtualization has made it easier to move machines from production to…

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

16%

Computer Software Company

13%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

15%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Spectrum Protect?

IBM Spectrum Protect is stable.

See all answers

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

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

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM Spectrum Protect?

See all answers

Major Differences Between These 4 Backup and Disaster Recovery Solutions?

Comparing the features of the four is not the right approach. You need to develop a list of requirements for backup and DR that are specific to your organization and then compare each of the four ...

See all answers

How do the backup solutions of Veeam and Veritas compare?

Technically, Veeam is best for hyper-v & VMWare replications, snapshots, HA failover, also support for file system backups inside VMs., support for tape library & FC too. But Veritas Netbac...

See all answers

How does Nakivo compare with Veeam Backup & Replication?

Nakivo is my favorite backup software. Below are the main benefits of Nakivo compared to Veeam 1. Low cost. 2. Backup storage with global deduplication (this is the main requirement of a backup sol...

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Comparisons

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus 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

Rubrik vs IBM Spectrum Protect

Compared 6% of the time

IBM Storage Protect vs IBM Spectrum Protect

Compared 6% of the time

More IBM Spectrum Protect Competitors

Commvault Cloud vs Veeam Data Platform

Compared 6% of the time

Rubrik vs Veeam Data Platform

Compared 6% of the time

Acronis Cyber Protect vs Veeam Data Platform

Compared 5% of the time

Azure Backup vs Veeam Data Platform

Compared 4% of the time

VMware Live Recovery vs Veeam Data Platform

Compared 3% of the time

More Veeam Data Platform Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Spectrum Protect

March 2025

Download IBM Spectrum Protect product report

Buyer's Guide

Veeam Data Platform

March 2025

Download Veeam Data Platform product report

Also Known As

IBM TSM, IBM Tivoli Storage Manager

Veeam Backup & Replication, Veeam ONE

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

Veeam Data Platform ensures comprehensive data resilience by offering secure backups and intelligent data insights, catering to the complexities of modern data management.

Veeam Data Platform empowers businesses with reliable data protection, orchestrated recovery, and streamlined management. Providing peace of mind, it guarantees data is secure, available, and effortlessly recoverable. Organizations benefit from features such as instant recovery, simplified management, and compatibility with virtual environments. While it shines in backup and restore capabilities, it calls for improvements in integration with physical servers and enhanced cyber security features.

What are the key features of Veeam Data Platform?

Instant Recovery: Allows immediate data restoration with minimal downtime.
Simplified Management: Intuitive interfaces for managing data with ease.
Efficient Replication: Supports reliable duplication for high availability.
Seamless VM Backups: Integrates well with virtual environments like VMware and Hyper-V.
Comprehensive Monitoring: Offers robust alerting for proactive data management.

What are the notable benefits of using Veeam Data Platform?

Reliability: Trustworthy backup and restore functionalities.
Scalability: Supports cloud integration for expanding data needs.
Time Efficiency: Fast recovery processes minimizing business impact.
Flexibility: Adapts to diverse data management requirements.
Peace of Mind: Assures persistent data availability and protection.

Organizations in industries like finance, healthcare, and manufacturing utilize Veeam Data Platform for critical data management, ensuring business continuity and disaster recovery. Employed in securing both virtual and physical workloads, Veeam integrates cloud storage for enhanced scalability and efficiency.

Veeam Software

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

Business & Legal Resources Inc., Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities, Alliance Healthcare, Poulin Grain Inc., Linear Technology, Northwestern University, ARKEMA, Sogegross, City of Lynchburg

Buyer's Guide

IBM Spectrum Protect vs. Veeam Data Platform

March 2025

Free Report: IBM Spectrum Protect vs. Veeam Data Platform

Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Spectrum Protect vs. Veeam Data Platform and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.

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