Azure Stack HCI vs Scale Computing Platform comparison

Microsoft and Scale Computing are both solutions in the HCI category. Microsoft is ranked #13 with an average rating of 7.6, while Scale Computing is ranked #16 with an average rating of 9.5. Microsoft holds a 3.5% mindshare in HCI, compared to Scale Computing’s 2.2% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 83% of Scale Computing users who would recommend it.

Azure Stack HCI

Read 8 Azure Stack HCI reviews

1,477 Views
1,462 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Scale Computing Platform

Read 9 Scale Computing Platform reviews

1,775 Views
1,207 Comparison Views

83% willing to recommend

Azure Stack HCI

Scale Computing Platform

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 31, 2024

Scale Computing Platform and Azure Stack HCI compete in the hyperconverged infrastructure space. Scale Computing Platform often has the upper hand in simplicity and cost-effectiveness, while Azure Stack HCI excels in features and Azure cloud integration.

Features: Scale Computing Platform includes robust edge computing capabilities, streamlined management features, and efficient appliance-type systems that eliminate the need for additional licenses. It maintains operations seamlessly when devices fail and offers a user-friendly GUI. Azure Stack HCI provides software-defined networking, Azure Kubernetes Service for running containerized microservices, and high-performance capabilities with NVMe and the latest processors, offering excellent VM management.

Room for Improvement: Scale Computing Platform may not cater well to enterprises needing extensive hybrid cloud integrations and could improve on advanced cloud features. It might benefit from enhanced scalability options for larger deployments. Additional customization features could also be considered. Azure Stack HCI could improve the simplicity of its deployment process, reducing the technical expertise required. It might need more cost-effective options for smaller businesses and enhance some aspects of its support for non-Windows workloads.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Scale Computing Platform is noted for a straightforward deployment process and strong customer support, offering a hassle-free setup experience. Azure Stack HCI usually requires significant technical expertise during deployment but includes comprehensive support channels to assist users.

Pricing and ROI: Scale Computing Platform features competitive pricing, offering a faster ROI for smaller deployments with efficient setup costs. Azure Stack HCI's initial setup costs are higher due to licensing but align with long-term strategic value for enterprises utilizing Azure cloud services.

To learn more, read our detailed Azure Stack HCI vs. Scale Computing Platform Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Azure Stack HCI vs. Scale Computing Platform

December 2025

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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 Stack HCI

Ranking in HCI

13th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

5.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Scale Computing Platform

Ranking in HCI

16th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Edge Computing Platforms (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2025, in the HCI category, the mindshare of Azure Stack HCI is 3.5%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Scale Computing Platform is 2.2%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

HCI Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Azure Stack HCI	3.5%
Scale Computing Platform	2.2%
Other	94.3%

HCI

Featured Reviews

Martin Coloumbe

IT Solution Architect at a educational organization with 11-50 employees

Experience with seamless cost-saving capacity, though integration and support need refinement

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 has been put on hold for the next release, and Microsoft has decided to discontinue stretched cluster technology completely, which is disappointing. They promise to bring back a significant or similar solution in a future release, but currently, there is no such functionality for stretched clusters between two sites in the latest versions of Azure Stack HCI, which poses a problem as we were looking forward to utilizing it. The integration with Azure Arc provides a unified management experience, but I find it to be fairly clunky. The integration exists, but it is not smooth or very easy to use. While they've started to integrate the two, the integration lacks maturity and makes it difficult to manage effectively. 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. For instance, if I have an Arc-enabled VM and make changes to it outside the Arc interface, those changes may not be registered directly in Azure Arc, leading to issues in fully viewing the status and configuration of VMs depending on the management tool used. You either manage VMs fully through Arc or not at all because mixing the two methods results in incomplete visibility and inconsistencies.

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AbdulSattar

Channel Sales Manager at Softech Microsystems

Extremely easy to learn and use for beginners

Some features go well with other tools like VMware, where making something on the fly or making some changes on the fly in the area of memory or something is possible. On the fly, you cannot do anything on Scale Computing HC3, though it is a very rarely needed area. Being able to make some changes on the fly is very risky, but even then, you see customers saying since it is an area that is not possible with Scale Computing HC3, it is better to go with some other tools. My company convinces our customers that opting for another solution is not required since a tool that allows us to make some changes on the fly can be very risky, and it is also not something that fits in according to certain policies or good practices.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The features of Azure Stack HCI that have proven to be the most beneficial for optimizing our company's data center operations revolve around its performance."

"Some of the best features of Azure Stack HCI are that, as we are primarily a Microsoft Windows Server organization using Microsoft Windows Server on most of our servers, we already own data center licenses for Microsoft operating systems, and the hypervisor, Azure Stack HCI, actually comes with that license, which allows us to switch from VMware to Azure Stack HCI without any additional cost, significantly reducing our operational costs, especially now that Broadcom has purchased VMware, to $0."

"The integration with Azure using Azure Arc is excellent."

"Azure Stack HCI has been very beneficial for disaster recovery operations, though the main data center still has a mix of infrastructure between other products."

"In my hybrid cloud setup, there are three features I've found very efficient. The first is software-defined networking. Similar to Azure where you create virtual networks and software load balancing, Azure Stack HCI lets you configure them with a drag-and-drop experience on the on-premises cluster. That's one of the good feature."

"The solution has the latest processor."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is its ability to manage VMs."

"The scalability is extremely good."

More Azure Stack HCI pros

"I rate Scale Computing support 10 out of 10. They're accessible and responsive."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is the nice GUI."

"I like that Scale Computing HCR is slimmed down and gives me the features I need and not features that I don't need."

"It gives the ease of management for a small IT department."

"The solution is scalable."

"The initial setup is pretty straightforward."

"The most valuable feature of Scale Computing HC3 is if one of the devices fails, you won't even notice, the service maintains operation. The customers don't have to waste two, or three days on delays. Additionally, you do not have to waste time with recovery software, it is a lot easier."

"The product's initial setup phase is too easy."

More Scale Computing Platform pros

Cons

"There are a lot of areas for improvement. Since I've been working very closely with this product, there are many areas, especially in software-defined networking. We had to improve multiple areas because we depended on the service fabric cluster to manage the software-defined network. That means we're already running a hypervisor inside a VM, and we're managing the control plane of the software-defined network. That's another cluster. So, multiple layers make the complexity more. So, from an operational perspective, it's very difficult to manage."

"The product's initial setup phase can be a bit complex, making it an area where improvements are required."

"Hyper V seems to lag behind compared to VMware."

"A little bit of the storage architecture could be improved."

"The biggest challenge with the tool is not being able to manage everything from Microsoft Azure Portal."

"The implementation was very difficult for the operation team at that time, as the necessary skills to implement and integrate this product were not available."

"We faced multiple problems with the product’s stability."

"The snapshot technology takes up 500 times more space compared to other solutions."

"I've had so many issues with the sales team when I was looking to make some improvements, and improve the performance. They would create so many excuses to force me to buy new nodes all the time and not let me add more memory to each node."

"There could be an easier way to see which servers are on each node"

"On the fly, you cannot do anything on Scale Computing HC3, though it is a very rarely needed area."

"Scale Computing HC3 said in an announcement they were going to integrate with a backup service which would be good. If they could do this it would be beneficial."

"The product struggles to cope with bigger workloads. In the next release, I'd like some backup solutions to be added."

"The product could use a better control center."

"I would like bigger clusters with more than eight nodes."

More Scale Computing Platform cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is high compared to other tools."

"The main licenses are the OS licenses, the OEM licenses, and so on. They are very much aligned with the cost of expectations. We never had any challenges with the licensing at all."

"rate HC3's pricing a five out of ten since it is affordable."

"I give the pricing a nine out of ten."

"I pay for Scale Computing HC3 and it includes customer service for one year. We paid for an additional year for customer service but that includes the updates and everything for the software. Additionally, the licensing is for Windows, which is the same for everybody."

"The product is worth the money, but I would not say it's very cheap or very expensive."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

14%

Computer Software Company

12%

Government

Wholesaler/Distributor

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	3

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	1

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Azure Stack HCI?

The solution has the latest processor.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Azure Stack HCI?

There could be improvements with Azure Stack HCI regarding the license and price, as they have significantly higher prices compared to other competitors. The end-to-end encryption provided by Azure...

See all answers

What do you like most about Scale Computing HC3?

The product's initial setup phase is too easy.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Scale Computing HC3?

It fit our budget, so it was great.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Scale Computing HC3?

There could be an easier way to see which servers are on each node. It shows you a small graphical interface, but you have to see them all, and you have to really struggle to figure out which nodes...

See all answers

Comparisons

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) vs Azure Stack HCI

Compared 28% of the time

VMware vSAN vs Azure Stack HCI

Compared 23% of the time

VxRail vs Azure Stack HCI

Compared 8% of the time

Dell PowerFlex vs Azure Stack HCI

Compared 6% of the time

HPE Alletra dHCI vs Azure Stack HCI

Compared 4% of the time

More Azure Stack HCI Competitors

Verge.io vs Scale Computing Platform

Compared 12% of the time

Proxmox VE vs Scale Computing Platform

Compared 10% of the time

VMware vSAN vs Scale Computing Platform

Compared 7% of the time

Dell PowerFlex vs Scale Computing Platform

Compared 6% of the time

StarWind Virtual SAN vs Scale Computing Platform

Compared 3% of the time

More Scale Computing Platform Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Azure Stack HCI

December 2025

Download Azure Stack HCI product report

Buyer's Guide

HCI

December 2025

Download Scale Computing Platform product report

Also Known As

No data available

Scale Computing HC3

Overview

Azure Stack HCI efficiently integrates software-defined networking and Azure Kubernetes Service, offering a streamlined hybrid setup for VM management while maintaining top performance.

Azure Stack HCI enhances data center operations with high-end processors and storage, optimal Kubernetes support, and integration with Azure Arc and Azure Site Recovery. High application density in four-node configurations improves both time and infrastructure efficiency. Despite its strengths, the platform can improve in areas like software-defined networking, operational management, and simplifying deployments, which currently rely on PowerShell. Users often desire better training and integration with Microsoft Azure Portal, along with multi-cluster capabilities and storage architecture enhancements. Improvements in Hyper V virtualization are also needed to match competitors like VMware.

What are the key features of Azure Stack HCI?

Software-defined Networking: Streamlines network management and enhances hybrid setups.
Azure Kubernetes Service: Superior support for container orchestration in hybrid environments.
Azure Arc Integration: Expands management capabilities across hybrid clouds.
Azure Site Recovery: Increases resilience and disaster recovery options.
High-end Processors and Storage: Delivers peak performance for demanding tasks.

What are the potential benefits of Azure Stack HCI?

Performance Efficiency: Reduces server needs while maintaining application performance.
Scalability: Supports high application counts with improved resource utilization.
Time Efficiency: Streamlines infrastructure management for quicker deployments.
Enhanced Operations: Benefits from high IOPS and comprehensive VM management.

In sectors like government, Azure Stack HCI is crucial for running secure on-premise services with selectable Azure features to ensure data privacy. Businesses leverage the platform for VM creation, management, and monitoring through Windows Center, alongside Kubernetes production environments. Connectivity with Azure allows for smoother cloud transitions, appreciated for its dashboard manageability and substantial network capacity.

Microsoft

Scale Computing Platform is renowned for swift setup, stability, and performance. It provides a seamless user experience with integrated licenses and efficient management, catering to small IT departments.

Scale Computing Platform offers a user-friendly GUI and delivers superior performance with exceptional read/write speeds, outperforming competitors like Nutanix. It eliminates the need for additional recovery software and simplifies licensing. Users note its simplicity and efficiency over VMware, Nutanix, and HPE SimpliVity. However, there is a need for improved support, better upgrade processes, and more integration with external backup services. The platform faces challenges with larger workloads, with snapshot technology requiring optimization. Enhancements are needed in dashboard usability and node visibility, and users seek flexibility for on-the-fly changes.

What are the key features of Scale Computing Platform?

Ease of Setup: Simplifies installation, making it accessible for small IT teams.
Fast Performance: Provides superior read/write speeds compared to others.
Built-In Licenses: Integrates necessary licenses, reducing complexity.
User-Friendly GUI: Facilitates efficient management for IT departments.
Scalability: Adapts easily to growing business needs without hassle.

What benefits or ROI should users anticipate?

Stability: Ensures reliable system performance for continuous operations.
Cost Efficiency: Reduces need for additional software, offering a cost-effective solution.
Resource Management: Enhances prioritization and management of virtual machines.
User Satisfaction: Provides an appliance-like experience with minimal hassles.

Implementing Scale Computing Platform in industries supports virtualization needs for organizations operating with fewer than thirty VMs. It's commonly used for hosting internal servers, executing POCs, and running applications like SAGE Computer and QuickBooks. The platform aids businesses in creating private clouds, supporting efficient resource management and enhancing server operations, particularly with Acronis Backup.

Scale Computing

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Resorts World Las Vegas, Stena, Telford Offshore, Goodwill, Sandals, Jerry's Enterprises, Mendard's Royal Farms, Delhaize, Benchmark Electronics, Classic Hotels, Genting Casino, Lindt, Sainsbury's, Landmark Cinemas, Golden Queen Mining, Coca Cola. Holiday Inn, Iron County School District, Sevier County Bank, City of St. Cloud Minnesota, Presbyterian Mo-Ranch Assembly, KIB Electronics, Brake Masters, Lincoln County Hospital, Ohio Summit County Board of Elections

Buyer's Guide

Azure Stack HCI vs. Scale Computing Platform

December 2025

Free Report: Azure Stack HCI vs. Scale Computing Platform

Find out what your peers are saying about Azure Stack HCI vs. Scale Computing Platform and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.

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