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DataCore SANsymphony vs NetApp ONTAP comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

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
6.5
DataCore SANsymphony offers cost-effectiveness, high availability, and long-term benefits, with reuse, stability, and security contributing to financial advantages.
Sentiment score
7.3
NetApp ONTAP boosts ROI with cost savings, operational efficiency, improved performance, and enhanced reliability, satisfying users and partners.
In the long run, we can see a 10% to 20% return on investment.
Systems and Network Administrator at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
This needs to be evaluated by the business, especially considering that NetApp phases out technology after some years and introduces newer technology.
Senior Storage Engineer at Shell
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.5
DataCore SANsymphony is praised for industry-leading, efficient technical support with quick responses and effective problem-solving capabilities.
Sentiment score
6.0
NetApp ONTAP customer support is praised for expertise but criticized for slow response times and inconsistent service experiences.
They always help me quickly and with great knowledge, which is essential for central storage.
System Engineer at Bechtle
I rate their technical support a 10.
Founder at EKIUM
I would rate technical support from DataCore SANsymphony a 10.
CEO at Arsium
This includes disk replacement, firmware upgrades, and NetApp ONTAP upgrades, which we handle locally in Nigeria.
Senior Storage Engineer at Shell
The support is top-notch.
Systems and Network Administrator at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
For technical support, I would rate NetApp ONTAP a nine out of ten.
Manager, System at a media company with 10,001+ employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
8.3
DataCore SANsymphony offers scalable storage expansion, accommodating diverse hardware and supporting substantial data management with high user satisfaction.
Sentiment score
7.6
NetApp ONTAP offers scalable "scale up" and "scale out" options, enhancing enterprise flexibility despite some SAN limitations.
There are no limits to scalability, which is essential for central storage.
System Engineer at Bechtle
For expansion, we can easily add multiple nodes to the existing cluster on both SAN and NAS.
Storage Administrator at a logistics company with 10,001+ employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.3
Users praise DataCore SANsymphony's stability, citing reliability and minimal downtime when properly configured, with few user error issues.
Sentiment score
8.2
NetApp ONTAP is highly stable and reliable, earning high ratings despite occasional minor bugs and system glitches.
The implementation process is easy for DataCore SANsymphony.
Founder at EKIUM
Both stability and scalability are a 10 out of 10.
Systems and Network Administrator at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
In terms of stability, I would rate NetApp ONTAP a ten out of ten because I have experienced nearly zero downtime over the complete year.
Manager, System at a media company with 10,001+ employees
Sometimes there are system panics, but we have overcome that issue in the latest NetApp ONTAP version.
Senior Storage Engineer at Shell
 

Room For Improvement

DataCore SANsymphony improves disaster recovery and availability, but needs better integration, tools, and simplified pricing for enhanced user experience.
NetApp ONTAP users seek enhancements in data management, cloud integration, security, pricing, documentation, and support for improved efficiency.
I would like to see the stabilization of the Veeam implementation in the future, and perhaps the integration or officialization of compatibility with Proxmox and XCP-ng.
Founder at EKIUM
there should be improvements in how to get and filter logs
System Engineer at Bechtle
The area of DataCore SANsymphony that has room for improvement is the support.
CEO at Arsium
The support response needs improvement, especially for P1 cases. When critical cases are raised, they should ensure they call the customer and follow up properly.
Senior Storage Engineer at Shell
NetApp ONTAP provides volume level restore, but file level restore is somewhat difficult to execute.
Manager, System at a media company with 10,001+ employees
The interface is very intuitive, and the solution is robust.
Systems and Network Administrator at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Setup Cost

DataCore SANsymphony offers a flexible, cost-effective solution, yet requires careful assessment of licensing and feature expenses for enterprises.
NetApp ONTAP is costly initially but becomes cost-efficient over time with various licensing and discount options for enterprises.
It's not that expensive, and the product is also pretty stable.
Founder at EKIUM
They have made some improvements regarding the pricing, but it's still too expensive.
CEO at Arsium
The cost changed from a perpetual license to a subscription model.
System Engineer at Bechtle
It is cost-effective for the benefits you get.
Systems and Network Administrator at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Valuable Features

DataCore SANsymphony enhances storage management with features like rollback, scalability, synchronous mirroring, auto-tiering, and high data availability.
NetApp ONTAP delivers efficient data management with advanced backup features, intuitive interface, scalability, and cost-saving storage solutions.
Customers can extend storage with flexibility, as one is not obligated to purchase hard disks or controllers from the same storage vendor.
System Engineer at Bechtle
DataCore SANsymphony is improving the access speed of data, the reading, and the writing significantly.
Founder at EKIUM
DataCore SANsymphony's ability to enhance storage utilization is very good because it's agnostic and it can be deployed on every environment, which is perfect for my clients.
CEO at Arsium
It lets you know if you have issues early enough so that you can plan around resolving and mitigating future issues.
Systems and Network Administrator at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
NetApp ONTAP has improved our organization through speed, efficiency, and data availability, which ensures business continuity.
Senior Storage Engineer at Shell
Without the encryption key, data cannot be accessed, which provides strong data protection.
Manager, System at a media company with 10,001+ employees
 

Categories and Ranking

DataCore SANsymphony
Ranking in Storage Software
2nd
Average Rating
9.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
59
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined Storage (SDS) (5th), HCI (11th), Storage Performance (1st)
NetApp ONTAP
Ranking in Storage Software
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
94
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Storage Software category, the mindshare of DataCore SANsymphony is 21.4%, down from 24.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetApp ONTAP is 20.1%, down from 37.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Storage Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
NetApp ONTAP20.1%
DataCore SANsymphony21.4%
Other58.5%
Storage Software
 

Featured Reviews

SC
Founder at EKIUM
Storage platform has improved data performance and has provided reliable support for my clients
It's difficult to know how DataCore SANsymphony can be improved. I think DataCore SANsymphony could be deployed on Linux environments, which could be a great thing for clients. I would like to see the stabilization of the Veeam implementation in the future, and perhaps the integration or officialization of compatibility with Proxmox and XCP-ng. With Proxmox, it wasn't easy while integrating it with third-party solutions. It's working, but it was a bit difficult to deploy.
BK
Senior Storage Engineer at Shell
Data management and availability improve operations, but cost and support need attention
For snapshots, there should be something similar to a recycle bin. When someone mistakenly deletes a snapshot, it should be stored for about two days before disappearing from the system. Regarding storage optimization, when purchasing a 10 terabyte disk, after formatting, you can only use approximately 8 terabytes. They should improve this so users can utilize 90% instead of 80% of the disk space. The support response needs improvement, especially for P1 cases. When critical cases are raised, they should ensure they call the customer and follow up properly. Comparing NetApp ONTAP to other solutions such as EMC, the cost of contract renewals and warranties is relatively expensive. They should extend their renewal window beyond the current six months to one year options. A longer warranty period of two years for new systems, controllers, or filers would be beneficial. Overall, they should reduce subscription costs for businesses.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
13%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Construction Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Outsourcing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business37
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise22
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise69
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for DataCore SANsymphony SDS?
I am saying that the pricing is reasonable. It's not that expensive, and the product is also pretty stable. It's a good solution and the price is okay regarding the other products.
What needs improvement with DataCore SANsymphony?
It's difficult to know how DataCore SANsymphony can be improved. I think DataCore SANsymphony could be deployed on Linux environments, which could be a great thing for clients. I would like to see ...
What is your primary use case for DataCore SANsymphony?
I usually recommend DataCore SANsymphony for companies in the domain of research, energy, governmental, and education.
How does Azure NetApp Files compare to NetApp ONTAP?
Azure NetApp Files is a Microsoft Azure file storage service built on NetApp technology. The platform combines the file capabilities of Azure and NetApp to move critical file-based applications to ...
What needs improvement with NetApp ONTAP?
File level restoration could be improved. Currently, NetApp ONTAP provides volume level restore, but file level restore is somewhat difficult to execute. If NetApp were to provide an option for fil...
 

Also Known As

DataCore Virtual SAN
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

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.
1&1 IONOS, Acıbadem Healthcare Group, Adder Technologies, Aero Vodochody Aerospace
Find out what your peers are saying about DataCore SANsymphony vs. NetApp ONTAP and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
912,517 professionals have used our research since 2012.