IBM Spectrum Protect is proven at enterprise scale. Native agents exist for Oracle, Db2, SAP HANA. They do not exist for the open-source and SAP IQ/ASE databases in production. Teams improvise: dump locally, then back up the file system. That sequence fails quietly.

Corrupt copies look successful

If the dump is still running when the Spectrum Protect file job starts, the copy stored in Spectrum Protect is incomplete. The job still reports OK.

The window gets longer, not safer

Wait for the dump to finish, then run the file backup, and the window stretches across two sequential jobs. Applications stay exposed longer than permitted under the agreed SLA.

Restore is a manual assembly

Files are restored from Spectrum Protect. Then someone rebuilds the database. Then transaction logs. Then recovery. Each hand-off adds downtime.

US context. PostgreSQL, MySQL, and MongoDB are now standard in application portfolios. Spectrum Protect remains the system of record in a large share of those estates. Data Protector is the connector between the database and IBM Spectrum Protect.

Without a native connector, open-source backups never reach IBM Spectrum Protect as application data. They arrive as files — with no guarantee they are consistent.

THE PRODUCT

A database agent that speaks IBM Spectrum Protect — not another backup silo.

Data Protector sits beside the database and connects it to IBM Spectrum Protect. No local dump disk. No second product to operate. Your existing Spectrum Protect skills, policies, tape, object storage, and retention keep working.

TYPICAL WORKAROUND

Asynchronous, two jobs

1 · Database dump to local disk

waiting / still writing

2 · Spectrum Protect file-system backup

may capture a partial dump

Result · Uncertain copy, long window

DATA PROTECTOR

Synchronous, one stream

1 · Online backup starts on the database

full, incremental, snapshot, point-in-time

2 · Connected to IBM Spectrum Protect

stored in Spectrum Protect, no local dump

Result · Shorter window, guaranteed store

Online, not offline

Backups run while the database stays up. Critical applications keep serving traffic.

Incremental after the first full

Only changed data moves. Storage, bandwidth, and backup windows drop together.

DBA self-service. Backup-team control.

Database teams restore without needing Spectrum Protect specialists on the call. Backup teams keep the platform, policy, and off-site copy.

WHAT CHANGES IN PRODUCTION

Less to store. Less to lose. Less time needed to come back.

The business case is not a new backup product. It is a cheaper, safer use of the IBM Spectrum Protect environment you already pay for — measured the way US infrastructure teams already measure it.

43×

Storage avoided

Weekly fulls plus incrementals, with Spectrum Protect deduplication and compression, versus daily full dumps. Modeled on a 10 GB database, 30-day retention.

1 hr

Recoverable point Smaller incrementals make hourly backups practical. Maximum data loss can be held to a one-hour RPO instead of a nightly dump.

N-way

Parallel restore

Multiple databases restore in parallel from Spectrum Protect. Recovery is not a serial file restore plus a separate rebuild.

When restore is a first-class operation — not a pile of dump files — backup and database teams can meet the agreed SLA.

IN PRODUCTION

Used where restore is a billing event, not a drill.

Distributor conversations go faster with named environments. These are live deployments, not lab slides.

GERMANY · AUTOMOTIVE

Daimler

Mission: move databases off Oracle and run PostgreSQL as the cost-effective standard for new work. More than 200 PostgreSQL databases in production. Repostor for PostgreSQL has been part of Daimler’s standard service portfolio since 2018 — savings without giving up backup function.

UNITED KINGDOM · ENERGY

Western Power

MySQL collects household electricity usage that feeds invoicing. 7.8 million customers, mostly residential. The backup path has to be consistent every night; a corrupt dump is not an IT inconvenience, it is a revenue-system failure.

IBM

Partner since 2009. Data Protector is verified by IBM and listed for use with IBM Spectrum Protect — which shortens support when both vendors are on the ticket.

EDB

Partner since 2021. Data Protector for PostgreSQL is documented with EDB Postgres Advanced Server connecting to IBM Spectrum Protect, including WAL shipping.

CHANNEL

About 80% of revenue through partners. Sold via distributors and 50–60 resellers worldwide, including the United States.

ONE LICENSE MODEL·SIX ENGINES

Cover the databases Spectrum Protect does not include an agent for.

Each client speaks the native backup language of its engine, then connects to the same IBM Spectrum Protect servers. One volume contract. One skill set.

PostgreSQL

Instance and database-level backup. WAL archive into Spectrum Protect. EDB Postgres Advanced Server supported.

MySQL

Online full and log. Direct connector — no dump-file race with the file-system job.

MariaDB

Online full and log. Direct connector into Spectrum Protect — no dump-file race with the filesystem job.

MongoDB

Protect document estates inside the same Spectrum Protect repository used for the rest of the data center.

SAP ASE

Sybase ASE full, incremental, and parallel restore into the Spectrum Protect catalog you already operate.

SAP IQ

Analytic stores protected with the same RPO/RTO model as the OLTP engines.

OPERATIONS INCLUDED

Full backup of all or selected databases
Full and incremental restore, selected or entire instance
Restore to a new host, database, or instance
Restore an older version on demand
Incremental backup of all or selected databases
Point-in-time restore
Query Spectrum Protect for available backup versions
Parallel backup and restore, with tunable parallelism

DEPLOY·LICENCE·SUPPORT

Built for distributors who already sell IBM Spectrum Protect.

Data Protector is not a rip-and-replace. It is an attach product: wherever IBM Spectrum Protect is installed and PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, MongoDB, ASE, or IQ has shown up, there is a business use case.

Install the agent

On the database host, beside the Spectrum Protect client. Runs on the common enterprise OS platforms.

Connect to Spectrum Protect

Same Spectrum Protect servers, policies, and off-site copies.

Let DBAs restore

Backup teams keep the platform.Database teams can run backup and restore without waiting for a backup specialist.

Hosting providers can bill monthly on usage; enterprises typically prepay an annual volume band.

How it is sold

Subscription, volume-based, yearly renewal. Maintenance is included. A 30-day evaluation unlocks from the website; production is keyed to hostname or to a Spectrum Protect server for unlimited clients.

Enterprises: volume band, prepay, annual true-up
Hosting / MSPs: pay-as-you-go, self-service deploy
Same license file can follow any Spectrum Protect server

NEXT STEP

Give the Spectrum Protect team a 30-day proof on the database that actually worries them.

Do not sell a platform war. Sell the missing connector. Pick MySQL, PostgreSQL, or MongoDB in their estate, connect one backup to IBM Spectrum Protect, and restore it in front of the DBA.

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