DataCore SANsymphony vs IBM Spectrum Accelerate comparison

DataCore and IBM are both solutions in the Software Defined Storage (SDS) category. DataCore is ranked #4 with an average rating of 9.4, while IBM is ranked #24. DataCore holds a 6.9% mindshare in SDS, compared to IBM’s 1.8% mindshare. Additionally, 97% of DataCore users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of IBM users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 5, 2024

DataCore SANsymphony and IBM Spectrum Accelerate compete in the software-defined storage market. DataCore SANsymphony holds an edge in pricing and support, favored for its affordability and flexibility, while IBM Spectrum Accelerate offers a superior feature set appealing to those seeking a robust solution.

Features: DataCore SANsymphony is known for data availability, advanced caching, and enhanced performance. IBM Spectrum Accelerate is distinguished by scalability, integration capabilities, and comprehensive support for diverse workloads.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: DataCore SANsymphony provides straightforward deployment and excellent customer support. IBM Spectrum Accelerate offers intricate deployment with comprehensive integration options, supporting large enterprise customization.

Pricing and ROI: DataCore SANsymphony provides a cost-effective setup with favorable ROI, ideal for budget-conscious businesses. IBM Spectrum Accelerate involves a higher initial investment but yields significant long-term returns through scalability and efficiency.

To learn more, read our detailed DataCore SANsymphony vs. IBM Spectrum Accelerate Report (Updated: May 2025).

Buyer's Guide

DataCore SANsymphony vs. IBM Spectrum Accelerate

May 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

Pure Storage FlashBlade

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Software Defined Storage (SDS) category, the mindshare of Pure Storage FlashBlade is 4.2%, down from 4.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of DataCore SANsymphony is 6.9%, up from 6.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Spectrum Accelerate is 1.8%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Software Defined Storage (SDS)

Featured Reviews

Eric Black

Solutions Architect at Recovery Point Systems

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.

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OliverPalz

Senior Consultant at SJT SOLUTIONS GMBH

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.

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reviewer1154616

IS Auditor at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees

A robust solution with good performance and support

This is a solution that scales well, although I think that we have stabilized in terms of use. With respect to scalability, we have an open question as to whether we will be able to grow into a cloud-based deployment. We don't know in what ways this solution will assist us with the migration, or whether we can still use it for DR. We don't know about the type of backup, be it full, incremental, or otherwise. We are also looking for a cost-savings if we migrate. These are things that we will find out over time. We have about two petabytes of data.

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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 solution is able to handle workloads and is easy to use. It allows us to actually manage the boxes in less time."

"FlashBlade offers low latency, high throughput, and seamless scalability."

"The solution provides many controllers."

"We have seen a reduction in the total cost of ownership by around 20%."

"The initial setup was straightforward. If you know how to plug in power and network you're pretty much qualified. They were on site to configure the network, the box to fit into our network architecture. Other than that, we self-managed from there."

"The product is scalable and easy to expand."

"The initial setup is pretty quick."

"It helps simplify our storage, because the user interface is very simple and the installation is easy."

More Pure Storage FlashBlade pros

"It is a stable solution."

"Storage is always available."

"The documentation repository is really useful and kept updated."

"The dashboard is very intuitive, and there are many counters to diagnose what happens during a short period (like when a backup is in progress)."

"The solution's most valuable feature is its versatility, with there being support for all new hardware technologies and platforms, disc mirroring and very effective auto tiering."

"During the maintenance periods, on any part of the storage or VMware migration, we have had no downtime."

"DataCore's ability to seamlessly move virtual volume data between storage pools as well as their synchronous mirroring has made maintenance and disaster recovery planning achievable."

"The platform's most valuable feature is its synchronous mirroring capability, which ensures bit-identical copies of data and offers excellent failover capacity."

More DataCore SANsymphony pros

"The most valuable feature is the robustness, which is typical of IBM because their software generally just works."

"The ease of use is the solution's most valuable aspect. It's very user-friendly."

Cons

"Compared to, for example, Hitachi NAS, the solution is not mature at all. It's just in its infancy as far as technology goes."

"I want efficiency. FlashBlade doesn't have efficiency now."

"It's on the expensive side, as expected for a niche product."

"Recently, while upgrading the version code, one of the controllers failed. Replacing the controller took between 14 to 20 days."

"I would also like to see better support for CIFS workloads."

"The technical support needs to improve. When we open a case, it is auto assigned to a support tech person. Nine out of ten times, we get an email right back saying that person is off until tomorrow. I cannot handle that. They just did this over the weekend to us, too. I had to call our rep and have them do something about it."

"On our dedupe during our initial buy, we were expecting a number a little higher like 4x. However, we are getting about 3.6. While it is close enough, it doesn't quite hit the numbers. So, this has been a challenge."

"I would like to see better integration."

More Pure Storage FlashBlade cons

"There is no way of quickly matching the exact size of a vDisk to a disk pool."

"If you're dealing with big databases or transactional databases, it might not be the best-suited solution. The design of DataCore's solution isn't oriented towards this type of data."

"NVMeoF should be implemented. This protocol will play a major role in storage infrastructure in the future."

"The cloud reporting interface is quite poor compared to other vendors."

"If it could integrate to a cloud gateway, then we could carry it directly to storage, instead of having middleware in between the storage and the cloud."

"The main problem is there is no DataCore OS."

"Having an enterprise "Storage Dashboard" that can show capacity, usage, performance, and any issues would be very beneficial."

"Management could be improved. The management console sometimes reacts very slowly."

More DataCore SANsymphony cons

"he interface is not user-friendly so the ease of use could be improved."

"The reporting mechanisms need improvement."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"In my opinion, we have paid the right price for the product. I don't think that it is too much or too little."

"It is within reason for what you get. From what we have found comparing it to other vendors, it is in the same range as others. Given the choice, we would definitely redeploy it based on the cost."

"The price is a little high."

"We used a reseller for the purchase."

"The price could be cheaper."

"The pricing is relatively expensive due to the FlashBlade technology. However, for companies needing quick and reliable data access, the cost is justified."

"Support is a separate line item. Support is a different cost, but whatever your support is now, that's what you're going to pay forever. If your support's $100 today, six years from now it's $100. It doesn't fluctuate unless you upgrade it, or change it, etc."

"I feel that the price could always be lowered."

More Pure Storage FlashBlade pricing and cost advice

"It is relatively expensive, and the additional costs for hardware and storage can make it a significant investment for customers."

"In my case, the licensing per terabytes is very high and it must be licensed for each extra functionality."

"The solution is cost effective."

"This solution allows the use of off-the-shelf hardware and charges by the TB of storage."

"The cost is at the same level as other storage solutions and it is easy to understand the licensing."

"Make sure you are made aware of the annual subscription cost when purchasing."

"This product has a good ratio between quality and price. In many cases, it's less expensive to work with DataCore than other storage systems."

"DataCore SANsymphony's pricing is very high and should be much cheaper."

More DataCore SANsymphony pricing and cost advice

"For a database, on a yearly basis, we pay approximately $3,500 for licensing fees. The solution is sold as a subscription on a yearly basis so there are no other ancillary costs."

"If you are cost-sensitive then this solution is not for you."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Educational Organization

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

17%

Manufacturing Company

13%

Comms Service Provider

Government

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

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 out...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Pure Storage FlashBlade?

The pricing for FlashBlade is between cheap and moderate. FlashBlade is worth the money due to the experience and per...

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What needs improvement with Pure Storage FlashBlade?

Its configuration should be easier. There should be easier language for the configuration.

See all answers

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 ...

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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...

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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 becau...

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Compared 52% of the time

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Compared 48% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Pure Storage FlashBlade

June 2025

Download Pure Storage FlashBlade product report

Buyer's Guide

DataCore SANsymphony

July 2025

Download DataCore SANsymphony product report

Buyer's Guide

Software Defined Storage (SDS)

July 2025

Download IBM Spectrum Accelerate product report

Also Known As

No data available

DataCore Virtual SAN

IBM XIV

Overview

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

Experience peace of mind with DataCore SANsymphony, the ultimate software-defined storage solution alleviating storage management challenges. Say goodbye to the complexities of managing different storage tiers and disruptions with SANsymphony's block-level storage virtualization technology, empowering you to automate capacity provisioning and data placement across diverse storage environments including SAN, DAS, HCI, and JBOD. Break down silos, control data placement, meet business continuity objectives, boost performance, and seamlessly expand or refresh hardware with SANsymphony. Benefit from features like asynchronous replication for disaster recovery, minimizing data loss, accelerating application responsiveness, and integrating new technology non-disruptively. Trusted by industry leaders like NASA, Thorntons, Inc., and TUI Cruises, DataCore SANsymphony guarantees unparalleled flexibility, scalability, and reliability, ensuring uninterrupted data access and application availability while reducing storage costs and inefficiencies.

DataCore

IBM Spectrum Accelerate is a software-defined block storage solution designed for rapid deployment across heterogeneous infrastructure for hybrid cloud and delivering consistent service levels to a dynamic workload mix. It is based on proven grid-architecture, enterprise-scale IBM XIV technology. IBM Spectrum Accelerate can be deployed, including as hyper-converged infrastructure, on any x86 server, on pre-installed third-party appliances or on public cloud infrastructure, and is available as a service on IBM Cloud infrastructure.

IBM

Sample Customers

ServiceNow, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, Dominos, Man AHL

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.

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Buyer's Guide

DataCore SANsymphony vs. IBM Spectrum Accelerate

May 2025

Free Report: DataCore SANsymphony vs. IBM Spectrum Accelerate

Find out what your peers are saying about DataCore SANsymphony vs. IBM Spectrum Accelerate and other solutions. Updated: May 2025.

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See our DataCore SANsymphony vs. IBM Spectrum Accelerate report.

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