IBM Spectrum Protect vs Veeam Backup & Replication comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary
Updated on Sep 7, 2022

We performed a comparison between IBM Spectrum Protect and Veeam Backup & Replication based on our users’ reviews in five categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.

  • Ease of Deployment: IBM Spectrum Protect users mostly feel that its setup is moderately complex to very complex. Veeam Backup & Replication users mostly feel its setup is straightforward and easy.
  • Features: Users of both products are generally happy with their stability and scalability, with a few mentioning that Veeam could be more scalable.

    IBM Spectrum Protect users note being particularly satisfied with its retention set feature, which provides a reduction in storage costs. Some note that they could improve their GUI to be more user friendly and offer better migration from other technologies.

    Veeam users say they’re impressed with the solution's robust backup, replication, and adaptability features. Some users mention that the product could work faster.
  • Pricing: IBM Spectrum Protect users mostly feel the solution is expensive. Some say that the price is reasonable when compared to other solutions in the market. Veeam users mostly say that, while pricey, it is a cost-effective solution.
  • ROI: Users of both solutions mention significant ROI.
  • Service and Support: IBM Spectrum Protect users report below average to good support, many noting that support is slow in response. Veeam users mostly report responsive, very good support.

Comparison Results: Veeam Backup & Replication has the winning edge in this comparison because it received higher marks in the ease of deployment, pricing, and service and support categories.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Spectrum Protect vs. Veeam Backup & Replication Report (Updated: March 2024).
763,955 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"The most valuable feature is the backup speed.""The tool proves invaluable in scenarios where systems need recovery, such as restoring damaged data.""One of the main things that I like about IBM is the versioning of the data - meaning that we can have multiple versions of a file or directory of a server.""Our performance is better.""With data deduplication and compression, we are reducing our overall storage footprint for our disk histories. Therefore, we are reducing the actual cost of the disk for our data protection and data backups.""It has increased our security, scalability, and high availability.""Our customers have come to trust IBM.""It seems very scalable and robust. It can do what we require it to do."

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"It has helped us to protect our IP address and critical information.""Recovery of backup data is the most valuable feature.""We have evaluated other solutions but Veeam is the best for virtualization.""The most valuable feature is the continuous backup.""It's simply very good software for backup purposes.""One of the most valuable features is the simplicity of the solution's administration.""The main feature for Veeam is that it's built primarily for virtualization, such as VMware or Hyper-V.""It's streamlined the backup and recovery for my customers in the sense that it has an easy management console that's easy to set up any type of instant recovery."

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Cons
"We have had some problems about using storage agents on the X6 environment. It is not quite stable, but it is also not supported in a virtualized environment.""I should be able to backup Linux. I would like SUSE for Linux on POWER. Right now, we have to use Storex, which is a pain to use.""The reporting could be better.""The administration tools for GI need improvement, as the current assessment suggests shortcomings in the back-end system.""It could use single store. The ability to mark an archive from my backup for long-term retention.""The user interface needs to be improved.""I need to have more than two instances working together. I need a worldwide grid able to have replication between three, four, or five instances.""The main admin console from the UI cannot do anything in the product. It just allows us to maintain, maybe, 30% to 40%. For the rest, we have to use the command line."

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"Restoration takes about two to four hours with Veeam. Zerto can restore in about 10 seconds. That's the restoration speed I'm looking for now that we're dealing with ransomware.""I would want them to improve some technical features that are still missing because we are working with NetApp NVMe and they're not fully supporting it yet. But both NetApp and Veeam know about it and they're working on it.""The web interface could be more visual.""Margins should not be distinct; instead, they should seamlessly integrate with the Veeam Backup and Replication tools, requiring minimal separation.""We try to compare Veeam with other solutions because we are the operations. Then we can give the answers for improvement which is the specific additional system features that other solutions provide.""Occasionally, in the course of upgrading one's virtualization platform, the backup can be ruined.""The Veeam portal should be better integrated with all the parts of the new release. But there's always a workaround to replicate the new solution. I'd like to have better integration with other solutions like SAP.""The replication functionality only works for VMware environments. Veeam has a backup agent for AIX operating systems, and we will like to see the replication functionality available for the AIX operating system. Additionally, if the backup functionality for AIX to be included in the Veeam console would be an advantage."

More Veeam Backup & Replication Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "Technical support is pretty good. It is doing fine, but you pay for it."
  • "Licensing can be either complicated or simple depending on what type of licensing you wish to use and what works best for your environment."
  • "At scale, the consumption license (per TB) is very expensive."
  • "Use capacity licensing. It's easier and cheaper."
  • "We worked our licensing into a capacity model, which is nice. Now, everything is much simpler to manage from a licensing perspective.​"
  • "We chose IBM Spectrum Protect, because they actually have something called MSP pricing, which means managed services provider pricing. The pricing was attractive, and it seems to be a platform that IBM is totally investing on in terms of new functions and new capabilities."
  • "Spectrum Protect is not expensive, and it is simple to use."
  • "It is very scalable, but the downside is that it costs money."
  • More IBM Spectrum Protect Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "If you have Exchange, Oracle, SQL, or a supported SAN, then I suggest getting at least an Enterprise edition. It’ll pay for itself in no time."
  • "The pricing and licensing is better than the competitors, but it could be better."
  • "Room for improvement is actually more in the way of licensing. The really good and useful features are in the Enterprise plus edition, and that one is really expensive."
  • "Since pricing is per socket, it is not expensive to add capacity as you go along."
  • "The licensing is based on the number of cores you have in your ESX or Hyper-V environment."
  • "The price is a bit high. Licensing type is VMware friendly, so it is easy."
  • "I think the price is good when you choose the Essentials Suite, but when you buy a full featured version (for instance the Enterprise Plus) the price is a little bit expensive."
  • "Setup cost and licensing of Veeam are nothing to complain about when compared to similar products for enterprise backup recovery solutions."
  • More Veeam Backup & Replication Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:The platform’s most valuable feature is its ability to verify the recoverability of backups.
    Top Answer:The platform is neither highly priced nor inexpensive. I rate the pricing a seven out of ten.
    Top Answer:The product’s recovery process in terms of agent installation needs improvement. There could be an agent-less backup and recovery mechanism. In the next release, I would recommend the inclusion of a… more »
    Top Answer:Comparing the features of the four is not the right approach. You need to develop a list of requirements for backup and DR that are specific to your organization and then compare each of the four… more »
    Top Answer: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 Netbackup is a… more »
    Top Answer:Nakivo is my favorite backup software. Below are the main benefits of Nakivo compared to Veeam 1. Low cost. 2. Backup storage with global deduplication (this is the main requirement of a backup… more »
    Ranking
    17th
    out of 131 in Backup and Recovery
    Views
    7,719
    Comparisons
    5,477
    Reviews
    13
    Average Words per Review
    522
    Rating
    7.3
    1st
    out of 131 in Backup and Recovery
    Views
    51,929
    Comparisons
    44,347
    Reviews
    19
    Average Words per Review
    446
    Rating
    8.7
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    IBM TSM, IBM Tivoli Storage Manager
    Veeam Backup and Replication, Veeam Availability Suite
    Learn More
    Overview
    IBM Spectrum Protect (Tivoli Storage Manager) is a data protection platform that gives enterprises a single point of control and administration for backup and recovery. It is the flagship product in the IBM Spectrum Protect (Tivoli Storage Manager) family. It enables reliable, cost effective backups and fast recovery for virtual, physical and cloud environments of all sizes.

    Veeam Backup & Replication is a comprehensive backup and disaster recovery solution designed primarily for virtual environments. Veeam Backup & Replication offers a blend of simplicity and efficiency, making it a go-to solution for businesses seeking to protect their data. It supports a wide range of virtual platforms, including VMware vSphere and Microsoft Hyper-V. According to the reviews, what sets Veeam apart is its ability to provide high-speed recovery, data loss avoidance, verified recoverability, leveraged data, and complete visibility. 

    Veeam Backup & Replication delivers availability for cloud, virtual, Kubernetes and physical workloads. Through a simple-by-design management console, users are offered what is presented as fast, flexible, reliable backup, archival, recovery and replication functionality.

    Backup capabilities

    • Continuous Data Protection
    • Fast, reliable application-aware, image-based backups
    • Unlimited capacity and cost savings for long-term data retention on object storage with new Veeam Cloud Tier
    • Enterprise application support for Veeam Plug-ins for SAP HANA and Oracle RMAN

    Replication capabilities

    • Instant recovery for NAS, Microsoft SQL and Oracle
    • Recover individual files easily with Instant VM and File-level Recovery
    • Easy portability and recovery to AWS, Azure and Azure Stack with NEW Veeam Cloud Mobility

    Recovery capabilities

    • Recover individual files with Instant VM and File-level Recovery
    • Portability and recovery to AWS, Azure and Azure Stack with NEW Veeam Cloud Mobility
    • Fast, item-level and application recovery for Microsoft Exchange, SharePoint, Active Directory, and SQL Server and Oracle

    Reviews from Real Users

    Veeam Backup & Replication is a solution that stands out when compared to many of its competitors. Some of its major advantages are its ease of set up, the fact that it is agentless, and that it has an intuitive dashboard. 

    A Network Operations Manager at an educational organization says, "Integration with VMware is excellent with very granular recovery."

    An Inside Solutions Architect at a tech services company mentions, “I like that it's agent-less, easy to set up, and hardware-agnostic.”

    An Account Manager at a tech services company states, “The dashboard is very, very easy to understand. We do demonstrations all the time with customers just to show them. If they've lost particular files because of a server going down, we can retrieve those files for them and quickly bring those files back up.”

    Kerem C., Director of Professional Services/Senior Solution Architect/Trainer at a tech services company, explains, “It's good for backup performance management and backup window management.”

    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
    Vodafone, American Standard Brands, Welch’s, University of Florida, Tata Global Beverages Limited, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Hirslanden Private Hospital Group, MacLean-Fogg Company
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Healthcare Company13%
    Computer Software Company12%
    Financial Services Firm12%
    Insurance Company7%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company14%
    Financial Services Firm14%
    Retailer8%
    Government8%
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm14%
    Computer Software Company12%
    Government7%
    Comms Service Provider6%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company17%
    Government8%
    Manufacturing Company8%
    Comms Service Provider7%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business31%
    Midsize Enterprise14%
    Large Enterprise55%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business22%
    Midsize Enterprise13%
    Large Enterprise65%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business45%
    Midsize Enterprise24%
    Large Enterprise31%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business29%
    Midsize Enterprise18%
    Large Enterprise53%
    Buyer's Guide
    IBM Spectrum Protect vs. Veeam Backup & Replication
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Spectrum Protect vs. Veeam Backup & Replication and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
    763,955 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    IBM Spectrum Protect is ranked 17th in Backup and Recovery with 18 reviews while Veeam Backup & Replication is ranked 1st in Backup and Recovery with 17 reviews. IBM Spectrum Protect is rated 8.0, while Veeam Backup & Replication is rated 8.6. The top reviewer of IBM Spectrum Protect writes "Works with a multitude of platforms and databases, not limited to Windows or Linux and enterprise-class, reliable, and fast". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Veeam Backup & Replication writes "Simple deployment, exceptional restore capability, and seamlessly data recovery". IBM Spectrum Protect is most compared with IBM Spectrum Protect Plus, Commvault Cloud, Cohesity DataProtect, Rubrik and Veritas NetBackup, whereas Veeam Backup & Replication is most compared with Acronis Cyber Protect, Azure Backup, Rubrik, Veritas NetBackup and NAKIVO Backup & Replication. See our IBM Spectrum Protect vs. Veeam Backup & Replication report.

    See our list of best Backup and Recovery vendors.

    We monitor all Backup and Recovery reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.