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IBM Storage Protect vs Synology DSM comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 12, 2025

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
13th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Synology DSM
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
22nd
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.0
Number of Reviews
10
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 Storage Protect is 2.1%, down from 2.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Synology DSM is 1.7%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
IBM Storage Protect2.1%
Synology DSM1.7%
Other96.2%
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.
Michael Adejoh - PeerSpot reviewer
Reliable and cost-effective
One area where Synology DSM could improve is in enhancing its ability to detect and respond to security threats during backups and replication. Currently, it lacks the capability to automatically stop backups if it detects a virus or suspicious network activity, as some third-party solutions can. Having AI-driven analytics to identify anomalies and halt backups during potential attacks, along with notifications to administrators, would be valuable. Additionally, providing a dashboard for monitoring the backup environment's security would be a beneficial feature. These improvements would help address security concerns and make Synology more competitive in this aspect.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is a very mature product."
"It integrates well with Spectrum Scale."
"The ability to use S3 Data Store as a repository."
"The solution is really scalable."
"The most valuable features are compression and de-duplication."
"Support of the IBM X platform and the backup data replication to DR are the most valuable features."
"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."
"Technical support is okay. We have not had many issues with them."
"The product performs well. It is easy to use and implement."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it serves as a backup for our company's virtual machine."
"It offers a variety of software options through its package center, allowing users to customize their NAS device to serve multiple purposes."
"The most valuable features of Synology DSM are its security and connectivity."
"Synology DSM is very easy to work and operate."
"The most valuable features are the basic storage, file management, Btrfs file system, and built-in backups that come with the solution."
"The solution's most valuable feature stems from its ease of use, making it the tool's most interesting part."
"The most valuable aspect is its ability to handle multiple disks."
 

Cons

"We need everything cloud. Strong support for cloud services. S3 connectivity, which is mandatory for us in the future along with this integration of Spectrum Copy Data Management or Spectrum Protect services together with these Spectrum Protect Plus functionalities, e.g., hardware, snapshots, and Copy Data Management. They should come together in one solution."
"They need to reduce the complexity and make the learning curve easier."
"We should be talking about the capacity of the tape drives. That's the only problem."
"It should have the ability to break down the data that's being backed up. It should have better reporting."
"I would like to see the operations center be a lot more functional. It was nowhere near as functional as the admin center, and I'm doing a lot of command line with it."
"We recently had a situation where we quickly got code, and the number of tapes exceeded the library capacity so we were waiting a while to change. We got a fix for this right away."
"I need two separate solutions for virtual and physical systems. I need IBM Spectrum Protect Plus for virtual systems and Spectrum Protect for physical systems and that's a pain. It would be an improvement if they were combined."
"They took some of the funding off of it for a while. Therefore, instead of being a market leader, they took their position for granted. Then some competitors developed new bells and whistles that they advertise, and due to that lag a few years ago, there are not the resources to explain the differences."
"Synology DSM is a good enough solution for small and medium companies, but I have not seen a big configuration of the solution for a big organization."
"Even though Synology provides a backup solution, it does not recognize the VM movement across cluster hosts."
"One area where Synology DSM could improve is in enhancing its ability to detect and respond to security threats during backups and replication."
"Users may lose their data if they don't configure the solution properly."
"The platform could be much more cost-effective and flexible for integrating third-party products."
"Synology DSM's user interface is not quite intuitive."
"The product's only shortcoming is pricing, as it is an expensive solution."
"There's a surveillance application that allows you to connect IP cameras and stream footage to Synology and it is a great feature, but it's not always clear that adding more cameras may require purchasing additional licenses."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The most important feature which I wish to be added involves the GUI, the user interface."
"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."
"The different license models can give good benefits to the end customer."
"At scale, the consumption license (per TB) is very expensive."
"Regarding retro-compatibility of the product between versions, your data is always available and the ROI is unquestionable."
"The product is not cheap."
"IBM Spectrum Protect has a fixed price and includes no additional costs."
"I rate the pricing a four on a scale of one to ten, where one is not cost-effective, and ten is cost-effective."
"The pricing varies widely, catering to a broad range of needs."
"The licensing part of the solution is free. The hardware is more expensive than the other solutions in the market, but it's okay in the long run."
"Synology DSM is a free tool."
"The solution’s pricing is neither cheap nor expensive."
"The price of the solution is very good."
"Synology DSM is a cheap solution."
"It is quite an affordable solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
14%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business53
Midsize Enterprise25
Large Enterprise94
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise1
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Storage Protect?
The best point about IBM Storage Protect is that it can use IBM tape environments, which we still use and will continue to use in the future.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Storage Protect?
IBM Storage Protect is generally an expensive tool. However, with good contracts with IBM or its partners, the cost might not be so high. New customers can expect very high prices.
What needs improvement with IBM Storage 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...
What do you like most about Synology DSM?
The most valuable features of Synology DSM are its security and connectivity.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Synology DSM?
The solution’s pricing is neither cheap nor expensive.
What needs improvement with Synology DSM?
Users may lose their data if they don't configure the solution properly.
 

Also Known As

IBM Spectrum Discover
Synology DiskStation Manager (DSM)
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

CEMEX
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Storage Protect vs. Synology DSM and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
868,787 professionals have used our research since 2012.