IBM Storage Protect vs Synology DSM comparison

IBM and Synology are both solutions in the Backup and Recovery category. IBM is ranked #13 with an average rating of 7.0, while Synology is ranked #22 with an average rating of 10.0. IBM holds a 1.8% mindshare in BRS, compared to Synology’s 1.4% mindshare. Additionally, 87% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Synology users who would recommend it.

IBM Storage Protect

Read 4 IBM Storage Protect reviews

5,105 Views
4,288 Comparison Views

87% willing to recommend

Synology DSM

Read 10 Synology DSM reviews

2,683 Views
2,656 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

IBM Storage Protect

Synology DSM

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 16, 2025

Synology DSM and IBM Storage Protect compete in data management and protection. Synology DSM is often favored for affordability and support, while IBM Storage Protect is recognized for its comprehensive feature set, which offers notable investment returns.

Features: Synology DSM stands out for its versatile NAS solutions, ease of cloud integration, and cross-platform functionality, making it well-suited for small to medium-sized enterprises. IBM Storage Protect excels with advanced data protection features such as encryption, disaster recovery options, and scalability, which fulfill the complex needs of larger organizations.

Room for Improvement: Synology DSM could benefit from enhanced scalability for larger enterprise needs, improved automation tools, and greater integration capabilities with third-party applications. IBM Storage Protect may improve by simplifying its user interface, streamlining deployment processes, and providing more extensive training resources to lower the learning curve for new users.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Synology DSM is celebrated for its straightforward deployment and strong customer support that enables fast implementation, appealing to those who value simplicity. In contrast, IBM Storage Protect, while having a steep learning curve due to its numerous features, provides robust support for successful enterprise-grade deployment.

Pricing and ROI: Synology DSM is cost-effective, offering competitive initial costs and long-term return on investment, ideal for cost-conscious users. IBM Storage Protect, although it involves higher upfront expenses, delivers significant ROI with its superior feature set and long-term data management efficiencies.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Storage Protect vs. Synology DSM Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Storage Protect vs. Synology DSM

December 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 Storage Protect

Ranking in Backup and Recovery

13th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.3

Number of Reviews

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

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of IBM Storage Protect is 1.8%, down from 2.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Synology DSM is 1.4%, down from 1.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Backup and Recovery Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
IBM Storage Protect	1.8%
Synology DSM	1.4%
Other	96.8%

Backup and Recovery

Featured Reviews

reviewer2787573

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.

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Michael Adejoh

Solutions Manager at Excel Connect Ventures

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.

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

"In general, the solution is quite user-friendly. The GUI is very nice."

"The platform has valuable stability."

"Our customers have come to trust IBM."

"It is a very mature product."

"The solution is mostly stable."

"We've found the product to be quite stable and the performance is very good."

"The ability to migrate between media over a long period of time. My customers are long-time users, and they have benefited from being able to move between tiers. They have been able to do this within the product."

"It's a very stable product, and we've never had any downtime with it."

More IBM Storage Protect pros

"It offers a variety of software options through its package center, allowing users to customize their NAS device to serve multiple purposes."

"Because of its simplicity and the wide array of features it offers, I would recommend DSM for both tech-savvy individuals and those who prefer a straightforward file-serving solution."

"Synology DSM is very easy to work and operate."

"The solution's most valuable feature stems from its ease of use, making it the tool's most interesting part."

"The most valuable features of Synology DSM are its security and connectivity."

"The most valuable features are the basic storage, file management, Btrfs file system, and built-in backups that come with the solution."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it serves as a backup for our company's virtual machine."

"The most valuable aspect is its ability to handle multiple disks."

More Synology DSM pros

Cons

"The interface could be more user-friendly."

"RTO is a huge gap for us. If we had a disaster scenario and had to recover a bunch of stuff from tape, the RTO would be too long for us."

"We have run into some periods where we have found some tape issues which were causing us problems, but we resolved them. For some reason, we had a bunch of drives go offline on our disk storage (our virtual library)."

"We are still using TSM Manager for many of our projects to administer our platform because the gap was not resolved with the new Operations Center."

"It needs better connectivity with other non-IBM application hardware and non-IBM platforms."

"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."

"We need better protection from ransomware or the ability to identify ways we can protect ourselves from ransomware. Having backups is one thing, but specifically, we need methods to recover if we have a ransomware attack."

"They should have a proper technical support team serving the customers and get issues resolved earlier."

More IBM Storage Protect cons

"Users may lose their data if they don't configure the solution properly."

"The only bothersome aspect is that the device is aging."

"One area where Synology DSM could improve is in enhancing its ability to detect and respond to security threats during backups and replication."

"Even though Synology provides a backup solution, it does not recognize the VM movement across cluster hosts."

"The platform could be much more cost-effective and flexible for integrating third-party products."

"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."

"The product's only shortcoming is pricing, as it is an expensive solution."

"Synology DSM's user interface is not quite intuitive."

More Synology DSM cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

"Going to IBM Tech University Conference saved me from making a major purchase of the wrong thing, which was very helpful."

"It is expensive."

"I don't have an idea about the pricing. They send that over to someone else, but I know that one of the issues they had was the licensing costs. I don't think they were happy with how they were charged."

"That's a hard estimate. It depends on the licensing, the hardware, and other stuff, but it is fairly expensive. It is generally more expensive than other solutions."

"The most important feature which I wish to be added involves the GUI, the user interface."

"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."

"Its licensing is complex, and its price is not really reasonable. It is on the expensive side. IBM, in general, is slightly expensive, but with IBM Spectrum for the virtual environment, they are looking into the aspect of helping customers with the cost and providing a cost-effective solution."

More IBM Storage Protect pricing and cost advice

"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."

"The solution’s pricing is neither cheap nor expensive."

"It is quite an affordable solution."

"Synology DSM is a cheap solution."

"The pricing varies widely, catering to a broad range of needs."

"The price of the solution is very good."

"Synology DSM is a free tool."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

14%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Educational Organization

Computer Software Company

14%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	53
Midsize Enterprise	25
Large Enterprise	95

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	8
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	1

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.

See all answers

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 ...

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM Storage Protect?

See all answers

What do you like most about Synology DSM?

The most valuable features of Synology DSM are its security and connectivity.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Synology DSM?

The solution’s pricing is neither cheap nor expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Synology DSM?

Users may lose their data if they don't configure the solution properly.

See all answers

Comparisons

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus vs IBM Storage Protect

Compared 9% of the time

Dell PowerProtect Data Domain vs IBM Storage Protect

Compared 9% of the time

Veeam Data Platform vs IBM Storage Protect

Compared 7% of the time

HPE StoreOnce vs IBM Storage Protect

Compared 7% of the time

Commvault Cloud vs IBM Storage Protect

Compared 6% of the time

More IBM Storage Protect Competitors

Veeam Data Platform vs Synology DSM

Compared 7% of the time

UrBackup vs Synology DSM

Compared 6% of the time

NetApp SnapCenter vs Synology DSM

Compared 6% of the time

GoodSync For Business vs Synology DSM

Compared 6% of the time

NAKIVO Backup & Replication vs Synology DSM

Compared 4% of the time

More Synology DSM Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Storage Protect

January 2026

Download IBM Storage Protect product report

Buyer's Guide

Synology DSM

January 2026

Download Synology DSM product report

Also Known As

IBM Spectrum Discover

Synology DiskStation Manager (DSM)

Overview

IBM Storage Protect offers data protection and management to secure critical business information efficiently. It's designed to be a scalable and flexible solution for data backup, recovery, and archive needs in complex IT environments.

IBM Storage Protect delivers comprehensive data protection by integrating backup, recovery, and archiving functionalities. It supports a range of workloads and infrastructures, from on-premises to cloud environments, facilitating efficient data management. Its platform provides seamless scalability to meet evolving business needs, underpinned by reliable security measures. Organizations leverage its capabilities to ensure business continuity and minimize data loss risks, making it vital in a data-driven world.

What are the key features of IBM Storage Protect?

Advanced Data Protection: Offers robust encryption and data integrity for secure backup processes.
Scalability: Grows with your data demands, supporting large data volumes without compromising performance.
Cloud Integration: Seamlessly integrates with cloud platforms, enhancing backup strategies with hybrid options.
Automated Operations: Simplifies management tasks with automation, reducing manual intervention and errors.

What benefits should users expect when evaluating IBM Storage Protect?

Cost Efficiency: Reduces storage costs by optimizing backup processes and data retention strategies.
Data Safety: Ensures data accessibility and integrity during recovery efforts, building trust in data protection strategies.
Operational Efficiency: Boosts productivity through streamlined and automated backup management workflows.
Compliance Readiness: Helps maintain compliance with data protection regulations by providing thorough reporting and audit trails.

Industries like finance and healthcare implement IBM Storage Protect to safeguard sensitive information against threats. In financial services, it's crucial for maintaining client data confidentiality, while healthcare institutions use it to protect patient records, ensuring both accessibility and compliance with regulations.

IBM

Synology DSM (DiskStation Manager) is a comprehensive software platform designed for Synology NAS (Network Attached Storage) devices. It serves as the operating system for these devices, providing a wide range of features and functionalities.

The primary use case of Synology DSM is to centralize and manage data storage for organizations. It allows businesses to store, access, and share files securely across multiple devices and platforms. With its intuitive user interface, DSM simplifies the management of data, making it easy to create shared folders, set access permissions, and monitor storage usage.

One of the most valuable functionalities of Synology DSM is its robust data protection capabilities. It offers various RAID configurations, including SHR (Synology Hybrid RAID), which ensures data redundancy and safeguards against drive failures. DSM also supports advanced backup and disaster recovery solutions, such as Snapshot Replication and Hyper Backup, enabling organizations to protect their critical data effectively.

Furthermore, Synology DSM provides a wide range of productivity and collaboration tools. It offers applications like Synology Drive, which allows seamless file synchronization across devices, and Synology Office, a web-based suite for document editing and collaboration. DSM also supports various third-party applications, including popular cloud services like Dropbox and Google Drive, enabling organizations to integrate their existing workflows seamlessly.

Synology

Sample Customers

CEMEX

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

IBM Storage Protect vs. Synology DSM

December 2025

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