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IBM Storage Protect vs SEP sesam comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 22, 2026

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 Storage Protect
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
19th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SEP sesam
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
112th
Average Rating
0.0
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of IBM Storage Protect is 1.7%, down from 2.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SEP sesam is 0.3%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
IBM Storage Protect1.7%
SEP sesam0.3%
Other98.0%
Backup and Recovery
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2787573 - PeerSpot reviewer
Interim Head of Infrastructure at a real estate/law firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Backup coverage has supported immutable protection and now needs a more modern, intuitive interface
IBM Storage Protect is from a previous generation of backup software. In those days, backup software was complex in setting up and complex to manage. The new software, such as Rubrik, is very easy to use and more relatable to younger engineers because its interface design is more similar to Office 365 and the newer controls and labels that we are accustomed to. The difficulty that we now have with IBM Storage Protect is that for this day and age, compared to other products that are out there, it seems complex. If we look back 15 years ago, all enterprise class backup software was complex, so IBM was not any different. However, many of these older systems, such as Commvault, still have the same complaint that they are very complex because they have tried to keep that same interface and the same way it works. This suits them, but it probably needed a complete overhaul to bring it into the ease of use that we have with modern software. However, that upgrade has not been done. IBM Storage Protect has not been upgraded into a modern platform. It still looks a legacy platform.
TC
Manager, Distribution at NETCB
A comprehensive and well-built solution for disaster recovery and backup
We use SEP sesam for disaster recovery and backup.  We need a solution to handle on-premise and cloud backup, particularly the Microsoft 0ffice365 server.  SEP sesam needs to work on stability.  I have been using the solution for a year.  We have not encountered any downtime while using the…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Since the technology is reliable, it simplifies the backup process significantly. Now, our focus can primarily be on managing full backups and creating some offline copies."
"The product is very stable."
"The product has been there ever since I have been there; the enterprise system along with the hierarchical system, and it is pretty easy to use and maintain."
"The feature we have found most valuable is when you want to integrate it with a Tape Library and then do the DRM life cycle. That is when it works the best."
"Space efficient data reduction, using progressive incremental forever in combination with deduplication and compression."
"It is a very stable product and the cost is similar to that of other enterprise solutions."
"It is a very reliable, consistent, unhackable product."
"The MN backup for a cluster is most valuable because it has made backing up the GSF as a zero-file system easier. I like its stability a lot. Over the years, I very rarely had a problem with it."
"We need a solution to handle on-premise and cloud backup, particularly the Microsoft 0ffice365 server."
 

Cons

"In terms of technical support, we had some troubles when we reached out to them, especially with IBM Europe."
"There were scalability issues only in the brand new features which were recently released."
"They need to reduce the complexity and make the learning curve easier."
"The entire product is a little bit clumsy because they have co-joined two different products, so it's complex."
"They should introduce more features for virtualization platforms and backing up IBMs. Backup speeds should also be improved."
"The solution must protect against ransomware attacks better."
"The technical support is general. If you need more than that, you need to know someone within IBM on the technical in-depth side."
"The features should be a little bit closer together."
"SEP sesam needs to work on stability."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"That's no longer my department, but I have some past experience with licensing. It is not cheap. I would rate it a three out of five in terms of licensing. In terms of additional costs, there is management overhead. It is a complex solution and a lot of work goes into managing clients. It has gotten better over the years, but compared to its competitor, it is still heavy on management overhead."
"We have been at our size for a few years. We are not really looking to battle the licensing costs, as this is our primary system."
"The solution has a capacity based licensing, front and back-end license."
"Licensing can be either complicated or simple depending on what type of licensing you wish to use and what works best for your environment."
"It can be perceived as expensive since it is designed for enterprise use."
"Technical support is pretty good. It is doing fine, but you pay for it."
"We have capacity licensing. We use the front end. The capacity licensing is pretty okay on the licensing price. I used to use the old PVU-based licensing in the early environment, but now we use capacity-based licensing."
"The license model that they have at IBM, which is due to volume, from a certain volume onward is not the right license model."
"SEP sesam offers a perpetual licensing option, which means you don't have to renew your license at a new price every time. I rate the solution's pricing a six and a half out of ten."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Outsourcing Company
13%
Construction Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business54
Midsize Enterprise24
Large Enterprise95
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Storage Protect?
I do not know the current licensing cost for IBM Storage Protect and how we get our support because our licensing model is not quite standard. We do not buy IBM Storage Protect direct from IBM. We ...
What needs improvement with IBM Storage Protect?
IBM Storage Protect is from a previous generation of backup software. In those days, backup software was complex in setting up and complex to manage. The new software, such as Rubrik, is very easy ...
What is your primary use case for IBM Storage Protect?
IBM Storage Protect is my primary tool for backup and recovery. We also use it for immutable backups to protect against ransomware. We use IBM Storage Protect for everything on-premises. The benefi...
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Also Known As

IBM Spectrum Discover
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Overview

 

Sample Customers

CEMEX
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Find out what your peers are saying about Veeam Software, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Rubrik and others in Backup and Recovery. Updated: September 2026.
914,938 professionals have used our research since 2012.