IBM ProtectTIER vs IBM Spectrum Protect Plus comparison

IBM ProtectTIER and IBM Spectrum Protect Plus are both solutions in the Backup and Recovery category. IBM ProtectTIER is ranked #87, while IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is ranked #23 with an average rating of 7.8. IBM ProtectTIER holds a 0.1% mindshare in BRS, compared to IBM Spectrum Protect Plus’s 0.9% mindshare. Additionally, 60% of IBM ProtectTIER users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 88% of IBM Spectrum Protect Plus users who would recommend it.

IBM ProtectTIER

Read 7 IBM ProtectTIER reviews

207 Views
128 Comparison Views

60% willing to recommend

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

Read 31 IBM Spectrum Protect Plus reviews

1,646 Views
1,095 Comparison Views

88% willing to recommend

IBM ProtectTIER

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 11, 2024

IBM ProtectTIER and IBM Spectrum Protect Plus are data protection solutions that cater to enterprises. Spectrum Protect Plus seems to have the upper hand in flexibility and adaptability, though it is more complex.

Features: ProtectTIER offers efficient data reduction, fast recovery times, and reliable performance. Spectrum Protect Plus provides integration capabilities, broad platform support, and versatile functionalities.

Room for Improvement: ProtectTIER could enhance scalability, user-friendliness, and streamline processes. Spectrum Protect Plus needs simplified management, quicker issue resolution, and reduced complexity.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: ProtectTIER is noted for straightforward setup with fewer deployment issues. Spectrum Protect Plus has complicated deployment but superior customer support.

Pricing and ROI: ProtectTIER is known for competitive pricing and faster ROI. Spectrum Protect Plus requires a higher initial investment but offers greater long-term benefits.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM ProtectTIER vs. IBM Spectrum Protect Plus Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM ProtectTIER vs. IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

June 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 ProtectTIER

Ranking in Backup and Recovery

87th

Average Rating

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Deduplication Software (13th)

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

Ranking in Backup and Recovery

23rd

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of IBM ProtectTIER is 0.1%, down from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is 0.9%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Backup and Recovery

Featured Reviews

ValereFEUGWANG

Information System Consultant at CFAO Technologies

Protects data in hybrid infrastructures, but it is an expensive product with poor support

The main challenge for our customers is to replicate the virtual environment upon restart, without using any additional solutions such as VMware SLM. I would like the possibility to back up the infrastructure and then replicate it upon on restart, without having to orchestrate the starting of the VM. It would be much better for us. This solution can be made easier to use. Technical support is very frustrating and we are considering other solutions because of it. Stability is something that should be improved. The product is expensive and the licensing should be changed.

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Atif Najam

Chief Information Officer and Program Lead at Gatron Industries Ltd

Enables organizations to make large-scale recoveries easily, but the security must be improved

The security must be improved. We face a lot of cyber threats like ransomware. It impacts data availability and protection. The tool must provide a mechanism to make resilient backups. The tool must ensure that the recent backups have no ransomware. The backup must be immutable. They must be cyber-resilient backups. Finding a good resource person for IBM Spectrum in Pakistan is difficult. We have to rely on the support team. Resource availability is a challenge.

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 solution is highly stable."

"The command-line interface is good."

"Overall IBM ProtectTIER is a great solution. It is easy to use."

"In terms of stability, I've found it to be very stable. I've walked into the server room when it was at 60 degrees Celcius, and it was still running fine."

"The most valuable features are the Self-Service, and the ability to search the data."

"The cataloging is the best feature. It takes millions of frames for the backup. It's incremental, so it takes less time to complete."

"The most valuable feature is the ease of use."

"There is protection against disasters with good, fast, reliable recovery options."

"If the system were to go down, we needed to make sure that the system could be recovered and available as soon as possible. Spectrum Protect provides you access to directly bind the backup volume to the server and make the system available instead of restoring it and copying the system."

"The most valuable feature is how we can easily power speed up the VM even though the VM resides in remote storage."

"The most valuable feature of IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is the deduplication functionality. The clients moved to this solution originally because of this feature."

"The feature I find most valuable is the offload to Spectrum Protect for long-term retention. I think the deduplication and replication are quite nice on Plus."

"With this product, we now have a reliable backup solution."

"The most valuable feature of IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is its ease of use. Additionally, it does backups of all of the things we need, such as OS, files, and databases."

More IBM Spectrum Protect Plus pros

Cons

"IBM ProtectTIER could improve by being more user-friendly."

"The backup for a large amount of data is slow."

"Setting up the system to work with legacy equipment is a bit complex at times."

"The configuration wizards are still complex and hard to navigate. These should be easier to manage."

"I would like the possibility to back up the infrastructure and then replicate it upon on restart, without having to orchestrate the starting of the VM."

"It still needs to grow and add new features. IBM Spectrum Protect Plus, I believe, requires time to become competitive due to a weakness in the other software products."

"IBM Spectrum Protect Plus could improve by adding SAP Rena."

"IBM Spectrum Protect Plus could improve security."

"The solution only supports HyperV and VMware but doesn't support Nutanix."

"Not particularly user friendly."

"In the future, I would like to see support for global deduplication."

"I would like more integration with security. We need to show the value of the product in regards to handling security. For example, how it handles current malware or viruses. IBM should be more proactive in this direction."

"The replication feature is not available."

More IBM Spectrum Protect Plus cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"IBM ProtectTIER is an expensive solution."

"The customer can decide how they want to purchase a license. However, the price of the solution is expensive."

"We have a capacity-based license, which is managed centrally for all the sites of my company."

"This solution is very expensive."

"The solution is too expensive."

"The licensing model of Spectrum Protect Plus is more efficient and cheaper compared to the original."

"IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is a little expensive."

"There are a few options available for purchasing the solutions. Overall, the price of the is high."

"In addition to the standard licensing fees, we paid for implementation and training."

"We have a perpetual license for the tool since it is deployed on-premise."

"Clients prefer to buy a perpetual license, but the majority opt for a yearly subscription."

"Depends on the licensing options that you choose."

More IBM Spectrum Protect Plus pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

28%

Computer Software Company

25%

Real Estate/Law Firm

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

16%

Computer Software Company

15%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

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What do you like most about IBM Spectrum Protect Plus?

The most valuable features of the solution stem from the fact that the product works and helps with restoration areas whenever there is a need to restore something.

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

It is probably based on the number of CPUs. They are fairly expensive.

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What needs improvement with IBM Spectrum Protect Plus?

I used IBM Spectrum Protect Plus, but IBM is now replacing it with IBM Data Protect, which is a giant product now in common development with a well-known company in backup solutions.

See all answers

Comparisons

Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) vs IBM ProtectTIER

Compared 77% of the time

HPE StoreOnce vs IBM ProtectTIER

Compared 23% of the time

More IBM ProtectTIER Competitors

IBM Spectrum Protect vs IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

Compared 54% of the time

Rubrik vs IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

Compared 10% of the time

Veeam Data Platform vs IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

Compared 10% of the time

IBM Storage Protect vs IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

Compared 8% of the time

HPE Zerto Software vs IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

Compared 6% of the time

More IBM Spectrum Protect Plus Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Deduplication Software

June 2025

Download IBM ProtectTIER product report

Buyer's Guide

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

June 2025

Download IBM Spectrum Protect Plus product report

Overview

IBM TS7650G ProtecTIER Deduplication Gateway is designed to meet the disk-based data protection needs of the enterprise data center while enabling significant infrastructure cost reductions. The solution offers industry-leading inline deduplication performance and scalability up to 1 petabyte (PB) of physical storage capacity per system, and can provide up to 25 PB or more backup storage capacity. Combined with IBM or third-party storage, TS7650G ProtecTIER Deduplication Gateway provides a powerful disk-based repository to improve the performance, retention and availability of backup and archive data in a small footprint for energy and cost efficiency.

IBM

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is a data protection and availability solution for virtual environments that can be deployed in minutes and protect your environment within an hour. It simplifies data protection, whether data is hosted in physical, virtual, software-defined or cloud environments. It can be implemented as a stand-alone solution or integrate with your IBM Spectrum Protect environment to off-load copies for long term storage and data governance with scale and efficiency.

IBM

Sample Customers

Durham Police Department, Re-Store LLC, CenterGrid, pixx.io GmbH, Australian Government Department of Defence, QD, Refresco Gerber

PT Wings Surya, Tectrade, State of Ohio

Buyer's Guide

IBM ProtectTIER vs. IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

June 2025

Free Report: IBM ProtectTIER vs. IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

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