Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Azure Stack HCI vs DataCore SANsymphony comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 31, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
4.5
Azure Stack HCI delivers substantial ROI via cost savings, Azure Arc benefits, and reduced licensing costs compared to VMware.
Sentiment score
6.8
DataCore SANsymphony offers quick ROI through improved security, reduced costs, high availability, and flexible hardware management.
There has been some return on investment in terms of just time usability and reduction of footprint.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
3.8
Azure Stack HCI support is mixed; expertise and resolution times vary, with Premier support recommended for better assistance.
Sentiment score
6.3
DataCore SANsymphony's exemplary customer service is praised for fast, knowledgeable support and proactive assistance via multiple channels.
Not every support team member is very knowledgeable about Azure Stack HCI, creating delays in resolution.
They always help me quickly and with great knowledge, which is essential for central storage.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.0
Azure Stack HCI provides scalable, reliable cloud integration, handling numerous virtual machines, with performance comparable to VMware.
Sentiment score
8.5
DataCore SANsymphony is praised for its scalability and flexibility, though some mention concerns for large-scale deployments.
There are no limits to scalability, which is essential for central storage.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
6.0
Azure Stack HCI is stable and scalable, praised for performance but needs more features and better integration.
Sentiment score
8.3
DataCore SANsymphony offers robust stability and reliability, with continuous availability and effective handling of power surges and maintenance.
It does not feel like a well-oiled machine yet, with too many idiosyncrasies and insufficient documentation and integration, feeling more like software that is still in beta.
 

Room For Improvement

Azure Stack HCI needs improvements in networking, deployment, and stability; it faces integration challenges and limited multi-cluster management.
DataCore SANsymphony needs better iSCSI connectivity, intuitive interface, Veeam integration, clearer pricing, and enhanced non-Windows support.
There are discrepancies between managing VMs through Azure Arc versus managing them directly, as changes made not using the Azure Arc integration are not easily reflected in Azure Arc.
Hyper V seems to lag behind compared to VMware.
there should be improvements in how to get and filter logs
 

Setup Cost

Azure Stack HCI's pricing includes OS and OEM licenses, is competitive, significant, and €10 per core monthly.
DataCore SANsymphony offers good price-performance, but high licensing costs and additional hardware impact overall cost-efficiency.
The licensing is quite expensive because it's per call.
The cost changed from a perpetual license to a subscription model.
 

Valuable Features

Azure Stack HCI enhances VM management, networking, and cost-efficiency with Microsoft licensing, supporting infrastructure and seamless analytics.
DataCore SANsymphony enhances storage management with high availability, seamless migration, and versatile integration for superior data handling.
The integration with Azure using Azure Arc is excellent.
Customers can extend storage with flexibility, as one is not obligated to purchase hard disks or controllers from the same storage vendor.
 

Categories and Ranking

Azure Stack HCI
Ranking in HCI
13th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.0
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
DataCore SANsymphony
Ranking in HCI
7th
Average Rating
9.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
Storage Software (2nd), Software Defined Storage (SDS) (4th), Storage Performance (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the HCI category, the mindshare of Azure Stack HCI is 3.5%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of DataCore SANsymphony is 2.2%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
HCI
 

Featured Reviews

Nicholas Diesel - PeerSpot reviewer
The storage for local usage is very efficient for an HCI product but virtualization needs improvement
Azure Site Recovery is brilliant. The integration with Azure using Azure Arc is excellent. Additionally, Azure storage for local usage is very efficient for an HCI product. There has been some return on investment in terms of time usability and reduction of footprint, and obviously, HCI two emissions and other factors.
OliverPalz - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides efficient synchronous mirroring capability and dynamic data management functionality
The initial setup is relatively easy but requires a certified DataCore implementation engineer to deploy the solution in a production environment. The deployment following the qualified procedure, typically takes about a week, depending on the amount of storage and the specific environment. With my experience, I can set up the system within two to four hours; however, the qualification process, which includes detailed planning and testing, adds additional time. It involves gathering the customer's requirements, preparing comprehensive documentation for validation, and conducting tests in collaboration with the customer. This documentation includes a site planning checklist, a pre-installation checklist, and a functional test plan to ensure everything is in order before deployment. Overall, I rate the process an eight.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which HCI solutions are best for your needs.
865,140 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
17%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Stack HCI?
This solution costs €10 per core per month. The whole stack is free if you are renting Windows Server Datacenter.
What needs improvement with Azure Stack HCI?
An area that could be possibly improved with Azure Stack HCI is the stretched cluster functionality, which was included in version 23H2 for disaster recovery purposes. However, this functionality h...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for DataCore SANsymphony SDS?
The cost changed from a perpetual license to a subscription model, and it seems reasonable. I am technical personnel and not deeply involved in sales, but the pricing appears fine.
What do you like most about DataCore SANsymphony?
The dashboard is very intuitive, and there are a lot of counters to diagnose what happens during a short period (like when a backup is in progress).
What needs improvement with DataCore SANsymphony?
In my opinion, there should be improvements in how to get and filter logs. However, this is not a frequent need because they have great support that offers quick and knowledgeable assistance. Other...
 

Also Known As

No data available
DataCore Virtual SAN
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Volkswagen , Maimonides Medical Center, NASA, Thorntons, Inc., TUI, ISCO Industries, Pee Dee Electric Cooperative, United Financial Credit Union, Derby Supply Chain Solutions, Mission Community Hospital, Bellarmine College Preparatory, Colby-Sawyer College, Mount Sinai Health System, The Royal Institute of International Affairs, Quorn Foods, Bitburger, University of Birmingham, Stadtverwaltung Heidelberg, NetEnt to name a few.
Find out what your peers are saying about Azure Stack HCI vs. DataCore SANsymphony and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,140 professionals have used our research since 2012.