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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

"You can protect your data and keep it for long durations, without it spending too much time on the local disk."
"Performance and recoveries are better. Our clients and customers are happier with the performance of it."
"In general, the solution is quite user-friendly. The GUI is very nice."
"The product may look difficult to manage, but if you need enterprise backup software which supports cross platform and you have good design and skills transfer, this product will help reduce costs."
"You can scale the product."
"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."
"IBM Spectrum Protect is a robust tool which allows us to backup pretty much any environment, virtual or physical, and create offsite copies of all our data for security and recovery purposes."
"The ability to use S3 Data Store as a repository."
"We need a solution to handle on-premise and cloud backup, particularly the Microsoft 0ffice365 server."
 

Cons

"The installation process could be simplified."
"It's difficult in terms of the configuration at set up. In our case, it required another admin, one person dedicated to the backup."
"Probably educating the virtual group who are not as used to the product. Most of our expertise is with AIX servers and virtual server backups."
"It needs BMR (bare machine recovery) solutions for both Windows and Linux systems."
"I would like a little more ease with the virtual platforms, because it is a huge thing that is coming up."
"I would like to see better cloud integration."
"It needs better connectivity with other non-IBM application hardware and non-IBM platforms."
"The initial setup is complex."
"SEP sesam needs to work on stability."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"IBM Spectrum Protect has a fixed price and includes no additional costs."
"Regarding retro-compatibility of the product between versions, your data is always available and the ROI is unquestionable."
"Spectrum Protect is not expensive, and it is simple to use."
"We worked our licensing into a capacity model, which is nice. Now, everything is much simpler to manage from a licensing perspective."
"The product is low cost. It is very cool when we design it to using licensing based on post capacity."
"The solution's pricing is fair. Price-wise, I rate the solution an eight out of ten."
"It is fairly reasonable as compared to other solutions in the market."
"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
12%
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
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Veeam Software, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Rubrik and others in Backup and Recovery. Updated: September 2026.
917,433 professionals have used our research since 2012.