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

Cisco UCS B-Series vs Pure Storage FlashBlade comparison

The compared Cisco and Pure Storage solutions aren't in the same category. Cisco is ranked #3 in Blade Servers , with an average rating of 8.4, and holds a 7.6% mindshare in the category. Pure Storage is ranked #8 in FaOS , with an average rating of 8.8, and holds a 5.7% mindshare. Additionally, 98% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 94% of Pure Storage users who would recommend it.
Cisco UCS B-Series
Read 74 Cisco UCS B-Series reviews
  • 1,130 Views
  • 1,107 Comparison Views
98% willing to recommend
Pure Storage FlashBlade
Read 38 Pure Storage FlashBlade reviews
  • 5,131 Views
  • 3,489 Comparison Views
94% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report
Executive Summary
We performed a comparison between Cisco UCS B-Series and Pure Storage FlashBlade based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Cisco, Dell Technologies and others in Blade Servers.

DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE REPORT
To learn more, read our detailed Blade Servers Report (Updated: August 2025).
Buyer's Guide
Blade Servers
August 2025
Download the complete report
Helped 867,676 peers since 2012

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
7.6
Cisco UCS B-Series improved performance, reduced costs by 40%, and enabled management of 1600 servers with just two people.
Sentiment score
8.5
Pure Storage FlashBlade boosts ROI by reducing costs, enhancing efficiencies, increasing VM density, and saving 20%-85% in time.
Additionally, we achieved server consolidation, running multiple services on fewer servers without purchasing new ones, resulting in significant financial benefits.
For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco UCS B-Series report
It does not require much management once you set up correctly, so it saves time, allowing an admin to focus on other work.
For more quotes and insights, download the Pure Storage FlashBlade report
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.1
Cisco UCS B-Series support is praised for efficient, proactive service, though improvements are suggested for response times.
Sentiment score
7.0
Pure Storage FlashBlade support is praised for responsiveness and knowledge but criticized for slower responses and occasional language barriers.
Cisco's technical support is highly helpful and responsive.
For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco UCS B-Series report
The support is done through email and is not that great, making it a very problematic area I've been dealing with for over four years.
I would rate them an eight out of ten.
For more quotes and insights, download the Pure Storage FlashBlade report
MB
PP
RE
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Cisco UCS B-Series excels in seamless scalability and integration, efficiently supporting thousands of servers for diverse industry needs.
Sentiment score
8.8
Pure Storage FlashBlade is praised for scalability, ease of expansion, and support, despite some areas needing improvement.
No quotes available
For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco UCS B-Series report
Pure Storage FlashBlade is scalable.
For more quotes and insights, download the Pure Storage FlashBlade report
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Cisco UCS B-Series is praised for its stability, reliability, and strong performance, with swift resolutions to occasional issues.
Sentiment score
8.8
Pure Storage FlashBlade is praised for its impressive stability and reliability, with minimal disruptions and consistent uptime even during upgrades.
The stability of Cisco UCS B-Series is impeccable, as it has been running smoothly without any need for maintenance.
For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco UCS B-Series report
In case there is any issue with any blade, the data is moved to another.
For more quotes and insights, download the Pure Storage FlashBlade report
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco UCS B-Series requires improved user-friendliness, integration, pricing, storage management, and software update processes per user feedback.
Users seek better cloud integration, enhanced deduplication, improved support, protocol enhancements, simpler configuration, and a more intuitive interface.
Last year, we faced challenges with firmware upgrades, but they were quickly resolved with assistance from Cisco TAC.
For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco UCS B-Series report
Technical support definitely needs significant improvement.
Its configuration should be easier.
For more quotes and insights, download the Pure Storage FlashBlade report
MB
PP
RE
 

Setup Cost

Cisco UCS B-Series has high pricing, complex licensing, but offers discounts and long-term value through reliability and integration.
Pure Storage FlashBlade offers high performance and features, justifying its cost with no extra software fees and fixed support costs.
The management software, Cisco One, is priced a bit high but still considered reasonable.
For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco UCS B-Series report
The pricing of Pure Storage FlashBlade is expensive compared to other products I used from other companies in the past, but one benefit is that they have built-in ransomware protection.
For more quotes and insights, download the Pure Storage FlashBlade report
 

Valuable Features

Cisco UCS B-Series provides centralized management, scalability, high memory, virtualization support, and reduced costs, enhancing efficiency and performance.
Pure Storage FlashBlade offers fast, scalable, and user-friendly storage with efficient integration, analytics, and versatility for diverse needs.
Its administration capabilities provide easy access to performance reports, logs, and utilization data, which are essential for effective server management.
For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco UCS B-Series report
The best features of Pure Storage FlashBlade include better throughput and better performance.
We can plug in many blades, and we can have data up to one terabyte.
For more quotes and insights, download the Pure Storage FlashBlade report
MB
PP
RE
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco UCS B-Series
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
74
Ranking in other categories
Blade Servers (3rd)
Pure Storage FlashBlade
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
38
Ranking in other categories
All-Flash Storage (16th), Software Defined Storage (SDS) (8th), File and Object Storage (8th)
 

Mindshare comparison

Cisco UCS B-Series and Pure Storage FlashBlade aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Cisco UCS B-Series is designed for Blade Servers and holds a mindshare of 7.6%, down 9.5% compared to last year.
Pure Storage FlashBlade, on the other hand, focuses on File and Object Storage, holds 5.7% mindshare, down 6.2% since last year.
Blade Servers Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cisco UCS B-Series7.6%
HPE Synergy19.5%
HPE BladeSystem14.0%
Other58.9%
Blade Servers
File and Object Storage Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Pure Storage FlashBlade5.7%
MinIO18.4%
Red Hat Ceph Storage17.8%
Other58.1%
File and Object Storage
 

Featured Reviews

DavidMbugua - PeerSpot reviewer
Reliable product with efficient automation capabilities
Cisco UCS B-Series manages various processes, including handling payments for over 650,000 growers, running group financials, managing human resources, and operating our main ERP system, SAP. The servers' resilience was particularly impactful. Even during power outages, the servers resumed operations from the last saved point without human intervention. The enhanced processing speed also allowed us to complete tasks that took two days in just one hour. The automation capabilities enhanced efficiency and facilitated integration with our networking components, particularly since we also used Cisco switches. The servers' security was reliable, and formal training on Cisco products made management easier. I rate the product an eight.
Read full review
Eric Black - PeerSpot reviewer
The ability to leverage multi-tenancy along with immutability is a huge benefit for us
The only thing I feel FlashBlade is missing is the SOS API. If it had SOS API, that would put it well over the top. Veeam Backup specifically has started to streamline their API, and they are doing that with SOS API. They have optimized it. Any of the S3 devices out there that support this SOS API can have far more API calls at once. On our side, that translates to better restoration. With SOS API, it can leverage far more restorations at a single given time or read from the device in simple terms. That results in maximizing the output and throughput from the device itself.
Read full review
report
See which vendors are best for you
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Blade Servers solutions are best for your needs.
See recommendations
867,676 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Performing Arts
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business20
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise41
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise11
Large Enterprise20
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco UCS B-Series?
The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that it is easily scalable.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco UCS B-Series?
Comparing Cisco UCS B-Series with traditional servers, while its initial cost may be slightly higher, it is not as expensive as Oracle Exadata, making it a worthwhile investment. It pays off in the...
See all answers
What needs improvement with Cisco UCS B-Series?
There is a need for Cisco UCS B-Series to evolve and scale vertically, particularly with the increasing data demands and the integration of AI, ensuring the solution remains certified and capable u...
See all answers
What do you like most about Pure Storage FlashBlade?
The tool's most valuable feature is its fast performance, especially in handling snapshots. It helps during power outages when we need to quickly move data between different data centers. It ensure...
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Pure Storage FlashBlade?
The pricing of Pure Storage FlashBlade is expensive compared to other products I used from other companies in the past, but one benefit is that they have built-in ransomware protection. Approximate...
See all answers
What needs improvement with Pure Storage FlashBlade?
I believe there is not much improvement needed because they have everything we need, but the interface is a little bit complex to understand. You have to understand it more deeply because it's hard...
See all answers
 

Comparisons

HPE Synergy vs Cisco UCS B-Series Logo
HPE Synergy vs Cisco UCS B-Series
Compared 34% of the time
Cisco UCS E-Series Servers vs Cisco UCS B-Series Logo
Cisco UCS E-Series Servers vs Cisco UCS B-Series
Compared 19% of the time
Dell PowerEdge MX- Series vs Cisco UCS B-Series Logo
Dell PowerEdge MX- Series vs Cisco UCS B-Series
Compared 19% of the time
HPE BladeSystem vs Cisco UCS B-Series Logo
HPE BladeSystem vs Cisco UCS B-Series
Compared 14% of the time
Supermicro SuperBlade vs Cisco UCS B-Series Logo
Supermicro SuperBlade vs Cisco UCS B-Series
Compared 13% of the time
More Cisco UCS B-Series Competitors
Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs Pure Storage FlashBlade Logo
Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs Pure Storage FlashBlade
Compared 20% of the time
MinIO vs Pure Storage FlashBlade Logo
MinIO vs Pure Storage FlashBlade
Compared 11% of the time
Pure Storage FlashArray vs Pure Storage FlashBlade Logo
Pure Storage FlashArray vs Pure Storage FlashBlade
Compared 10% of the time
Red Hat Ceph Storage vs Pure Storage FlashBlade Logo
Red Hat Ceph Storage vs Pure Storage FlashBlade
Compared 10% of the time
VAST Data vs Pure Storage FlashBlade Logo
VAST Data vs Pure Storage FlashBlade
Compared 8% of the time
More Pure Storage FlashBlade Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Cisco UCS B-Series
September 2025
Cisco UCS B-Series reportDownload Cisco UCS B-Series product report
Buyer's Guide
Pure Storage FlashBlade
August 2025
Pure Storage FlashBlade reportDownload Pure Storage FlashBlade product report
 

Also Known As

UCS B-Series, Unified Computing System B-Series
No data available
 

Overview

Based on Intel Xeon processor E7 and E5 product families, Cisco UCS B-Series Blade Servers work with virtualized and non-virtualized applications to increase: Performance, Energy efficiency, Flexibility and Administrator productivity.
Cisco

FlashBlade is the industry’s most advanced scale-out storage for unstructured data, powered by a modern, massively parallel architecture to consolidate complex data silos (like backup appliances and data lakes) and accelerate tomorrow’s discoveries and insights.

Pure Storage
 

Sample Customers

Aegean Motorway, Anilana Hotels and Resorts, Anonymous Banking Group, Artoni Transporti, Bellevue, BH Telecom, Bowling Green State University, Children's Hospital Colorado, City of Biel, Dimension Data, Dualtec Cloud Builders, Hertz, Houston Methodist, Kuwait Petroleum Italia, Lufthansa Systems GmbH & Co.KG, Outscale, Sony Corporation, Talbots
ServiceNow, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, Dominos, Man AHL
Buyer's Guide
Blade Servers
August 2025
Download Free Report
Find out what your peers are saying about Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Cisco, Dell Technologies and others in Blade Servers. Updated: August 2025.
DOWNLOAD NOW
867,676 professionals have used our research since 2012.

We monitor all Blade Servers reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.