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IBM Spectrum Protect vs Veritas Backup Exec comparison

 

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:
 

Categories and Ranking

IBM Spectrum Protect
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
14th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
149
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Veritas Backup Exec
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
18th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
76
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of IBM Spectrum Protect is 2.2%, up from 2.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Veritas Backup Exec is 1.7%, down from 2.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery
 

Featured Reviews

Syed Habib - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Pawel Augustyn - PeerSpot reviewer
Simplified interface with good performance but needs monitoring
I need to use PowerStore and Veritas Backup Exec. It is a direct backup to types, and it is supported by my backup. It offers good performance and stability, and it works properly. I am happy with this program. It is still working on aligning with security requirements and data encryption for Amazon or ATAC. It has a lot of functions and security measures, which ensure our backups are secure.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"IBM Spectrum Protect is stable."
"The D2D2T archive of my PACS data improved after I put Spectrum Protect 8.1.4 into production."
"The feature that I have found the most valuable is that IBM Spectrum Protect is highly integrated with IBM ESS. In addition, it allows us to back up our virtual servers directly to take VM snapshots. It runs on Linux as well."
"It is an IBM product. With SAP, you are using IBM software to protect it. DB2 and AIX servers are both IBM. Therefore, it is a total IBM solution, which helps."
"The solution is really scalable."
"Regarding technical support, if one has the entire enterprise support, I would rate it a nine out of ten...Stability-wise, I rate the solution an eight out of ten."
"It integrates well with Spectrum Scale."
"When I have to do disaster recoveries, I can do it with this tool."
"The most important feature is the variety of backup applications it supports, including ERP systems and most other programs, such as Microsoft."
"This solution works well and has good integration with technologies such as VMware and Hyper-V."
"The one thing for the last 12 months which has been very good for Veritas was the instance-based license. This means that you're able to license per instance, not only per physical server."
"It gives us the ability to locate and restore critical files which users may have intentionally or unknowing deleted a while ago."
"The product provides automated and faster data backup and recovery compared to other vendors."
"The solution is stable."
"It's quite stable, and so far, we have had no technical issues with Veritas Backup Exec."
"Veritas helps me manage business-critical backups effectively and has been pretty useful in keeping the functions comfortable."
 

Cons

"I find the Level 1 and Level 2 support spend 80% of the time communicating the same information that I have already provided."
"I am looking forward to new features in the next release. One of the main features is the cloud storage integration, which was one of my main required features. I've had more difficult experiences with other platforms than with this one."
"We are having a balance issue between the reclamation and the backup function. It has to take the space back from the tapes before it can record to those tapes, but sometimes those two processes are overlapping."
"Although I am not a technical user, I would say the cloud integration features could be improved."
"Ease of use. That has got to be the one thing that I routinely hear from clients and customers, that it's a little bit more difficult than it should be. What I'm finding is that IBM has heard that and they're responding with updated interfaces and things like that."
"Our customers would like to see metadata replication, tearing to tape, and more cloud capabilities."
"It would be helpful if the solution included some sort of ransomware protection."
"It is not compatible with other operating systems like Windows or Linux, and lacks a consolidated dashboard from Browser Spectrum."
"The solution is too heavy and complex with 1,000 menus and options that make it messy rather than lightweight."
"More stable environment in a WAN infrastructure."
"Some improvements are needed to enhance flexibility."
"The image backup functionality needs to be examined, because I know a few customers who are using Veritas Backup Exec find it difficult to take a proper image backup and perform image restoration in case of a hardware failure of the client."
"The scalability could be improved even though the solution is targeted to small customers."
"The deduplication feature can be improved."
"The pricing is an area of improvement and the mode of marketing it."
"They can work on the issue of the job timing out when it is unable to reach a selection item. It sometimes hangs up on the selection item, thus preventing the job from continuing."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The different license models can give good benefits to the end customer."
"When compared to the cost of other enterprise products, it seems to be in the same range. However, compared to the cost of non-enterprise products, it is really high."
"We worked our licensing into a capacity model, which is nice. Now, everything is much simpler to manage from a licensing perspective.​"
"Regarding retro-compatibility of the product between versions, your data is always available and the ROI is unquestionable."
"The solution's pricing is fair. Price-wise, I rate the solution an eight out of ten."
"It is fairly reasonable as compared to other solutions in the market."
"It is expensive."
"We worked our licensing into a capacity model, which is nice. Now, everything is much simpler to manage from a licensing perspective."
"The pricing can be improved."
"It is not an expensive product."
"I would like to see a better licensing model. They changed it and it's just horrendous."
"I think, at least for the price I've seen, it could be lower compared to other products."
"The pricing is good."
"Pricing is similar, but they don´t offer the same options/technology."
"I rate the price of Veritas Backup Exec a four out of five."
"The price is reasonable for the features it offers."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
9%
Educational Organization
8%
Computer Software Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with IBM Spectrum Protect?
One point for improvement for IBM Spectrum Protect is security, as IBM has not been investing as much as in the past. There is a need for additional layers of security to fill the gaps, which is wh...
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...
What do you like most about Veritas Backup Exec?
The most important feature is the variety of backup applications it supports, including ERP systems and most other programs, such as Microsoft.
 

Also Known As

IBM TSM, IBM Tivoli Storage Manager
Backup Exec, Symantec Backup Exec
 

Overview

 

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
Beta Offshore
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Spectrum Protect vs. Veritas Backup Exec and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.