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Azure Files vs HPE GreenLake for File Storage comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

Everpure FlashArray
Sponsored
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
231
Ranking in other categories
All-Flash Storage (3rd)
Azure Files
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Storage (17th), File and Object Storage (24th)
HPE GreenLake for File Storage
Average Rating
9.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
File and Object Storage (7th)
 

Featured Reviews

Sowjanya MV - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Lead at Wipro Limited
Has improved performance for mission-critical workloads and enabled seamless non-disruptive upgrades
The availability is 99.99%, which is the main factor any customer would need because their data should be available whenever they want to access it. This is one main critical thing. It is very easy to upgrade since Pure Storage FlashArray handles it well. Everything is non-disruptive now; previously, there were forklift shifts, but now that is not the case. Pure Storage FlashArray says no to forklift upgrades. Usually hardware requires downtime, but Pure Storage FlashArray has improved their footprint so that they are not asking for downtime; everything is just a non-disruptive activity, which is why customers are more inclined towards Pure Storage FlashArray. Customers want more of the models in their environment due to the performance they are giving, and everything is in one Pure1 Array console where we can view all the models on one page or just an orchestration tool. You don't miss anything; you have replication, notifications about replication, and details about which host groups replication is happening in and if that replication is successful or failed. On a daily basis, our purpose is to create volumes for infrastructure; our daily activities include creating volumes and mapping them to the host, doing any migrations from a VM, clearing the data stores, and carving the volumes to those VMs. One key factor is the data compression with a ratio of 5:1, focusing on space efficiency, inline deduplication, and the compression Pure Storage FlashArray works on; that is a major factor we can suggest to any customer. Analytical capabilities are crucial. Daily, we check the throughput and consumption, and Pure Storage FlashArray provides predictions for one year regarding usage. This prediction helps plan updates well ahead. For support, we just raise a case, and they follow up and get it done. There is also AI readiness, but with the model R2, we don't have much of that AI readiness. For others, we do have AI readiness that predicts capacity based on daily or monthly trends, enabling us to analyze how much space we need or if we need to expand the disk shelf. From an operational point of view, a good feature is that if you accidentally delete a volume, it will be retained in the destroyed state for the next twenty-four hours, which is not the same with any other vendor. I have worked in this storage domain for the past fifteen years, and this option is remarkable, benefiting any L1 or L2 engineer. Additionally, from a compliance perspective, Pure Storage FlashArray has REST APIs enabled. I have not explored automation much, but from a security standpoint, it is strong with encryption data. If you want to automate, you can easily integrate with all clouds and explore Pure Cloud for scheduling workloads, including volume creation. Customers find benefit in Pure Storage FlashArray's single management pane of glass due to the dual controller and active-active setup. If one of the controllers goes down, all workloads automatically shift to the other controller, ensuring their data is safe and accessible at all times. This is a highlighted feature that any customer desires because their data should always be accessible. For SAN workloads, we use Pure Storage FlashArray because for SAN FC fiber channel, we don't use it; we use NetApp for NAS activities. We have clearly split this, so SAN is for mission-critical applications, while network-attached storage handles file systems. This architecture helps us maximize the benefit from Pure Storage FlashArray due to the significant workloads from this giant retail client. From a footprint and energy consumption perspective, you can see energy consumption from the Pure1 storage portal on a daily basis, and it is very compact. The three models we use consume only three units, which is quite low. From a footprint and data center perspective, it doesn't occupy much space. As everything moves to cloud, there are requirements to avoid excess spending on data centers, and Pure Storage FlashArray is efficient in energy consumption and is environmentally friendly.
Yogesh Autade - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Security Engineer at Softcell Technologies Limited
Centralized file sharing has improved security and compliance but still needs better analytics
From our experience, Azure Files could be improved with more granular performance visibility, simpler troubleshooting tools, and enhanced reporting around file shares, uses, and access patterns. We would also prefer more streamlined management for large-scale development deployments, better monitoring of SMB and NFS performance issues, and deeper integration of storage analytics to help identify bottlenecks and optimize cost efficiency. Another area where Azure Files could improve is the administrative experience for hybrid environments. More intuitive troubleshooting for authentication, SMB connectivity, and synchronization-related issues would help reduce operational efforts. Enhanced reporting, proactive recommendations, and clearer root cause analysis and diagnostics would also be valuable for storage and infrastructure teams managing large deployments.
NemiGeorge - PeerSpot reviewer
VP CISO at PDS Health
Exceptional service and hands-off infrastructure management enhance data handling and AI workloads
The features of HPE GreenLake for File Storage that I value the most include compute, storage, and managed service, and monitoring managed service. I appreciate the fact that my team doesn't have to manage all the infrastructure every day, handle patches, security updates, and similar tasks. Time saving is an example of how these features have benefited my organization. My team can focus on supporting our core businesses and not worry about infrastructure management. Also, expertise plays a role; we're a first-time HPE GreenLake customer, so having them manage that gives my team the opportunity to upskill without breaking anything.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The amount of data that I have moved to it from legacy storage has enabled us to retire units that are three or four times the physical size."
"We like the data reduction rates. That has been really helpful. You get 4U of Pure storage replacing something like two racks of spinning disks. One of the things that has contributed to that are the data reduction rates."
"We saw a vast improvement when we switched over to using the Pure Storage model over the XtremIO."
"We only have storage provisioning, so the provisioning feature is good. The compression and deduplication are good."
"The snapshot feature is valuable. It protects data based on the policy."
"Overall, Pure Storage FlashArray has never let us down in front of customers so far."
"The product cheaper compared to other solutions concerning the technology that they are using."
"It has made working with storage as easy and simple as it should be."
"If we need to migrate data, Azure Files allows a seamless data migration."
"We see a clear return on investment with Azure Files, primarily through reduced infrastructure management effort and improved operational efficiency."
"What I really appreciate about HPE GreenLake for File Storage is its well-organized, packaged platform for running enterprise workloads on the cloud."
"The features of HPE GreenLake for File Storage that I appreciate most are its extensibility and ease of use."
"The features I appreciate the most about the HPE GreenLake for File Storage are that it serves as the central hub of everything."
"The feature of HPE GreenLake for File Storage that I appreciate most is that we don't have to do much with it; we stood up our environment a long time ago, and we've got HA redundancy with our controllers, which means we don't have to touch it."
"The biggest impact is that we doubled our data center capacity from six racks to 12 racks while still using the same team to manage this infrastructure."
"The feature I have found most valuable is its glove service capabilities."
"The file system is very stable and it rarely goes down."
"I find the speed and the resiliency of the HPE GreenLake for File Storage to be the most valuable features."
 

Cons

"I would like to see them lower the costs."
"Pure Storage support could be a little better."
"They should work on their upgrades, they're not smooth."
"During heavy load situations with 100K IOPS on one specific port, it requires more granularity level for distribution."
"We would like to see better troubleshooting aspects. It helps us if we can find out where the problem is. Right now, it's difficult. Sometimes it's difficult to pinpoint the issue. If they had more visibility and more troubleshooting feature built into the tool that would really help."
"Pure Storage FlashArray could improve in the area of cryptographic information in the consoles. The user-friendliness could improve. The Pure Storage FlashArray team should come and log into the system with their maintenance credentials and then pull out the information as evidence of cryptography."
"I wish they could add more of a monitor on the machine itself so you don't have to rely on a KVM or something to look at the display, such as an onboard diagnostic display."
"I have been primarily working with storage and have not fully explored other areas, but there is some room for improvement when it comes to performance reporting."
"I think if Azure Files could integrate migration using Storage Mover, that would be an improvement."
"From our experience, Azure Files could be improved with more granular performance visibility, simpler troubleshooting tools, and enhanced reporting around file shares, uses, and access patterns."
"In Argentina, the cost to implement different solutions is very challenging."
"I would suggest an improvement for the next release to provide another way to connect people who want to use this system."
"One of the issues is that sometimes it crashes frequently and experiences slowness."
"Regarding HPE GreenLake for File Storage, it can be improved. Additional features should be included in the next release, though I cannot decide which ones."
"Sometimes it's a black cloud. We don't know what to expect. We often find out we cannot use certain products or features due to not having a license, despite the seller saying at the beginning that it's good and usable."
"The file system arrays have multiple nodes, so one node automatically comes up if another goes down. The system should allow the primary node to remain the master node and the secondary node to function as a non-master node. HP has already deployed AI in GreenLake's cloud features, but they should also integrate them into the flash array."
"There were instances where the system went down due to heavy IO or intense data flow."
"HPE GreenLake for File Storage can be improved by streamlining the quote process to implementation, as it is still a bit clunky."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cost of Pure Storage is subjective and determined by your environment. Pure Storage tends to be more expensive than NetApp, but it is cheaper than EMC. Performance varies with data workload, making cost considerations complex."
"There should be quite a bit of reduction of TCO with just licensing (and stuff) because we run the VM environment off it."
"Because of the SSD, it is cheaper because I am not purchasing so many disks."
"There is an annual or perpetual license required for this solution."
"I have had a couple of customers who have complained about the cost. It can be a little more expensive than some of the other platforms. After it has been installed, I have never had a customer say, "I wish we wouldn't have spent all that extra money." They have always been happy with the product after it has been installed. They might be on the fence about it because of the price, but everybody who I have ever seen install it, they are always happy with it."
"The cost has room for improvement."
"I don't know the exact cost but it's around $1,000."
"There are no licensing fees or other costs."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Construction Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
7%
No data available
Media Company
14%
Construction Company
8%
Logistics Company
8%
Outsourcing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business71
Midsize Enterprise38
Large Enterprise159
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business2
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise14
 

Questions from the Community

Which should I choose: HPE 3PAR StoreServ or Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform F Series?
Both are great platforms, but if you are considering all flash solutions, I would recommend you to consider Pure Stor...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Pure Storage FlashArray?
I find the pricing of Everpure FlashArray to be quite high compared to other storage solutions; however, the reliabil...
What needs improvement with Pure Storage FlashArray?
I believe we have covered the most important features; the architecture of Pure Storage is essential, and features su...
What needs improvement with Azure Files?
From our experience, Azure Files could be improved with more granular performance visibility, simpler troubleshooting...
What is your primary use case for Azure Files?
Our primary use case for Azure Files is centralized file sharing, application data storage, and replacing traditional...
What advice do you have for others considering Azure Files?
I would recommend this product without hesitation. I would also recommend starting with a pilot workload to validate ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HPE GreenLake for File Storage?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing in our last journey with HPE GreenLake for File Storage was gre...
What needs improvement with HPE GreenLake for File Storage?
One area for improvement would be a unified management console that brings Infosight analytics and GreenLake provisio...
What is your primary use case for HPE GreenLake for File Storage?
Our current use cases for HPE GreenLake for File Storage include being our main backup storage and main server storage.
 

Also Known As

Pure Storage FlashArray
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Overview

 

Sample Customers

Nielsen, Lamar Advertising, LinkedIn, Betfair, UT-Dallas
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Find out what your peers are saying about Azure Files vs. HPE GreenLake for File Storage and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.