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Azure Data Lake Storage vs Panzura CloudFS comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on May 18, 2025

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

Azure Data Lake Storage
Ranking in Cloud Storage
12th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
24
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Panzura CloudFS
Ranking in Cloud Storage
6th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
File System Software (2nd), NAS (6th), Cloud Storage Gateways (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Cloud Storage category, the mindshare of Azure Data Lake Storage is 1.4%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Panzura CloudFS is 5.2%, down from 5.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cloud Storage
 

Featured Reviews

Chetan Jayatheertha - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides valuable features such as access keys, container strings, lifecycle management, audit logs, and the soft delete option
Data Lake Storage provides valuable features such as access keys, container strings, lifecycle management, audit logs, and the soft delete option. These features help in cost-saving and provide an excellent mechanism for backing up data. Furthermore, Data Lake Storage can interact with any other Azure resources, providing seamless integration and connectivity.
Roger Clark - PeerSpot reviewer
Handles file locks effectively enabling seamless remote collaboration in global teams
It has not reduced the data storage cost. We have been trying to come up with a plan internally to archive project data at a certain time frame. However, our data continues to grow, so at the point of 25 terabytes, we had to buy another 25 terabytes license to exceed that threshold. It would have been nice if they had offered them in increments, of 5, 10, 15, or 20 terabytes than having to get a whole chunk of 25 terabytes again for licensing purposes, which is a little costly. It would be nice if Panzura offered data in increments instead of 25 terabytes per license. They have done a pretty good job of development from the point of offering new products. Pricing seems to be high for certain things, such as the audit feature of Panzura Data Services. It would be nice to see who deleted that 100 gig of data out there. They should make the pricing plan more attractive for a company of our size. We have almost 700 employees over the southeast from Texas to Florida and up to Tennessee, so we are a pretty big region.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"I would recommend Azure Data Lake Storage because it is straightforward to set up and versatile for various projects, especially AI solutions requiring document storage."
"Azure Data Lake Storage is user-friendly and easy to use."
"The most valuable feature of Azure Data Lake Storage is the ability to partition data into various datasets using a directory hierarchy. This folder structure is key for any delivery. Currently, we're not doing much with the data in the tool, but when Databricks comes along, we'll convert it to Parquet format. It's a two-step process: raw data is moved to Parquet, which Databricks can manipulate easily."
"The solution's most valuable feature is its simplicity of configuration and setup."
"It's a cloud-based tool within the Microsoft ecosystem, offering many benefits for data handling."
"The tool is very safe to use. It is impossible to hack the product."
"The tool's best feature is that it can store different types of data - structured, unstructured, and semi-structured—in one lake. We can use the required data for analytics and dashboard design."
"The tool offers a big storage layer. The security aspect is quite good. In Azure, there's an option for soft deletes and policy management. This allows us to store only the most up-to-date data while everything else can be policy-managed. This makes handling and management easier."
"It is a very solid product. We keep all of our older files on their system. It is easy to restore if a file gets deleted. We have good disaster recovery. It is very reliable and very quick, and we do not have files that get overwritten because it locks the file."
"Panzura has not increased its data storage costs."
"The best features of the Panzura CloudFS solution include collaboration, which is my top priority and top feature. No one else provides this as effectively."
"What I appreciate most about Panzura CloudFS is that it really solves the problem we had when we moved all our server workloads to Azure, reducing our on-prem data center footprint sizably. We don't have to maintain a huge on-prem storage array, which is nice. It just works, and we haven't had any issues this whole time."
"What I appreciate most about Panzura CloudFS is that it really solves the problem we had when we moved all our server workloads to Azure, reducing our on-prem data center footprint sizably."
"The main thing in Panzura is that there are three key components: PanFS, NAS, and collaboration. These are strong features, and a big benefit is that you can access everything from anywhere."
"For instance, if I'm in India but need to access data in China or Spain, it simplifies the process and enhances collaboration."
"The staff went above and beyond to make sure our experience was perfect, even surprising us with a special dessert for our anniversary."
 

Cons

"The scalability is limited. However, it's easy to set up."
"Improvement is needed in the migration process from Lakehouse to Enterprise Data Lake (EDL)."
"Version control would be a great improvement."
"If tools like Azure Data Lake Storage are enabled within the tool named Azure Storage Explorer, then it would be of tremendous help, but it can be really tricky."
"The version was a bit outdated compared to the newer Microsoft Data Fabric offerings."
"When you store your files manually, you can't ensure complete data integrity, which can impact data security."
"It would be beneficial if some AI features were added."
"The solution needs to improve APIs and make them more accessible."
"There are a few file types that do not work well with Panzura CloudFS. Specifically, the GIS data formats, such as a geo database, have been found better kept outside of Panzura CloudFS."
"One area for improvement regarding Panzura CloudFS is moving away from on-prem or local Active Directory. We're exploring a transition to Azure AD or Entra ID, aiming to keep the product functional without heavy reliance on the local Active Directory."
"It has not reduced the data storage cost."
"There could be a slightly better dashboard or a better pane of glass. When something goes wrong somewhere, there should be a little bit better alerting with issues before they become a big problem."
"It is a little costly. The NFS service needs development. While Windows and SMB are effective, the NFS service shows some lag, making it a pain point for our many clients who use Linux devices."
"One area for improvement regarding Panzura CloudFS is moving away from on-prem or local Active Directory. We're exploring a transition to Azure AD or Entra ID, aiming to keep the product functional without heavy reliance on the local Active Directory."
"It is a little costly. The NFS service needs development."
"Master Snapshot feature is the only exceptional feature, but the rest of the features are similar to other storage solutions."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It costs just a few dollars per terabyte per month."
"Compared to other options we've explored, I would rate the pricing a seven out of ten, with ten being expensive."
"I rate the product price as two or three, where one is high, and ten is low. The product's price is really high."
"One of the most affordable products from the vendor"
"From one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the product price as five."
"Pricing is tricky because it depends on the solution you're building and the type of Data Lake storage you use—hot or cold."
"The tool is cheap, depending on the services and requirements you need."
"It's a pay-as-you-go model. Your charges are based on the amount of data you store."
"The solution's pricing is on the expensive side."
"It's competitive. I don't know what competitors are charging, but they have been very transparent, which is nice, and we've negotiated to avoid percentage increases."
"Overall, it is quite costly compared to NetApp and similar solutions."
"It is not bad. It is like everything else. Pricing has gone up quite over the last couple of years, but everybody's pricing has gone up. For what they deliver, it is right in line with what everybody else has."
"The pricing seems high on certain products and features, such as the audit feature of Panzura Data Services. They should consider more attractive pricing for companies of our size. The renewals are yearly, but the pricing is a little high for us."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Construction Company
15%
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Azure Data Lake Storage?
The tool's most valuable feature is security access policies.
What needs improvement with Azure Data Lake Storage?
The speed of support response needs to improve, especially for critical, high-priority issues. Having a quick SLA response time is crucial.
What are the products that Panzura provides?
Panzura offers four main products: CloudFS, data services, smart apps, and global services. They call this "all-in-one solution" and it's for end-to-end cloud data management. Why is it called that...
What kind of industries does Panzura serve?
Hello, I think businesses from all industries that have their data on a cloud can benefit from Panzura. Especially if you have offices in various locations or your employees are working from home a...
Why was Panzura acquired? Is the acquisition going to cause a change?
I think Panzura may change in a positive direction now that it's been bought by Profile Capital. That's a very big investment company for technology businesses and I think it's an opportunity for ...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Panzura Freedom
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Petrofac, Komatsu, HCA Healthcare, Vanguard, Disney, Pokemon, US Department of Justice, Gensler, Fluor, AFRY, Milwaukee Tool, Navy Federal Credit Union, TechTarget
Find out what your peers are saying about Azure Data Lake Storage vs. Panzura CloudFS and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,484 professionals have used our research since 2012.