DDN IntelliFlash vs NetApp E-Series comparison

DataDirect Networks and NetApp are both solutions in the NVMe All-Flash Storage Arrays category. DataDirect Networks is ranked #13 with an average rating of 9.0, while NetApp is ranked #11 with an average rating of 8.5. DataDirect Networks holds a 1.2% mindshare in N, compared to NetApp’s 3.0% mindshare. Additionally, 87% of DataDirect Networks users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of NetApp users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 5, 2024

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DDN IntelliFlash and NetApp E-Series compete in data storage solutions. DDN IntelliFlash outshines with its diverse performance capabilities, while NetApp E-Series is favored for its reliability.

Features: DDN IntelliFlash includes high scalability, mixed workload support, and efficient data reduction, offering versatility for different load demands. NetApp E-Series stands out with high-speed block-level storage, minimal latency, and suitability for bandwidth-intensive applications. This highlights DDN's flexibility against NetApp's speed.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: DDN IntelliFlash is noted for simplified management and intuitive deployment, ensuring a streamlined setup. NetApp E-Series provides straightforward deployment backed by prompt and knowledgeable customer support. Although both firms deliver effective customer service, DDN often has a faster deployment process, whereas NetApp prioritizes reliability.

Pricing and ROI: DDN IntelliFlash offers competitive setup costs and significant long-term ROI due to data optimization. NetApp E-Series may have higher initial costs but promises a strong ROI through sustained performance and lower maintenance over time, distinguishing DDN's cost-efficiency from NetApp's investment value.

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To learn more, read our detailed DDN IntelliFlash vs. NetApp E-Series Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

DDN IntelliFlash vs. NetApp E-Series

September 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 FlashArray X NVMe

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the NVMe All-Flash Storage Arrays category, the mindshare of Pure FlashArray X NVMe is 3.2%, up from 2.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of DDN IntelliFlash is 1.2%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetApp E-Series is 3.0%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

NVMe All-Flash Storage Arrays Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Pure FlashArray X NVMe	3.2%
NetApp E-Series	3.0%
DDN IntelliFlash	1.2%
Other	92.6%

NVMe All-Flash Storage Arrays

Featured Reviews

Jaehoon Oh

Chief Technology Officer at Lambda256

Supports efficient storage management through volume snapshots and offers reliable non-disruptive upgrades

I have no specific improvements to suggest for Pure FlashArray X NVMe at this time. The performance statistics could be enhanced. I can see the performance statistics in the Pure Storage console, but it does not show the performance by 4K byte unit. It displays IOPS and bandwidth, but IOPS is about real use, and I want to know how many IOPS are currently running in 4K byte units. I cannot see that IOPS because most storage systems report their performance by 4K byte unit. I want to see Pure Storage performance by 4K byte unit to compare with other storage or other internal NVMe SSD.

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Anil Rahulwar

Storage Engineer at Movate

Good customer service and support and suitable for large environments

It is very easy to install. Users don't need to remember anything while deploying IntelliFlash because everything will be taken care of by tech support. They can easily modify the installation or change the password with the help of the tech support. It is very easy to integrate IntelliFlash with other solutions. We have plugins that can be integrated with other solutions. It will require maintenance. It is the same as any other storage solution: updates and upgrades, firmware upgrades, and drive upgrades.

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Arnaud Salmon

Presales Engineer at SFR

The product offers easy and reliable choices to customers without sacrificing performance

I rate NetApp E-Series an eight out of ten. They need to improve automation and business continuity. They have a gateway with other products coming from ONTAP to use cloud storage in Azure and AWS, and so on. That's good for hybrid clouds. I would focus on automation and business continuity because, for products like NetApp Insight, there are a lot of tools to administer and follow the storage during its lifecycle. It's quite easy to use and has some information about the array of storage uses. This functionality is useful, especially on primary storage rather than backups, since customers always ask for business continuity.

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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 system allows for seamless learning experiences, facilitating quick and easy cloning of environments within minutes."

"I use the tool for Oracle databases, Oracle virtual machines, and Oracle Linux databases. I'm on the storage side, not a database administrator."

"It is very easy to install and configure. It has got excellent diagnostics. If you really need to see how the box is performing, the console gives you a lot of information. You can set thresholds as well as alerts based on the thresholds, which is a very powerful functionality. They are very proactive. They know how to monitor and manage the systems. They see a problem, and they are all over it before us. They see the problem before we see it, which is very good."

"It offers competitive performance, and the Evergreen storage model of Pure fits well with my organization."

"On a scale of one to ten, I rate Pure FlashArray as ten."

"It has benefited my organization because it has reduced time to insights."

"The most valuable feature of this solution is reliability."

"Overall stability is very good. It is a very stable solution."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pros

"EasyTier/hotcaching: Valuable because it allows greater performance than standard SAS disks"

"It performed great originally, and when it performed great, it was awesome."

"The initial setup is straightforward."

"High performance and ease-of-management are the most valuable features."

"Data Compression: Up to 80% space reduction in the database"

"It provides a combination of all the protocols that you need, without losing deduplication and compression."

"We use IntelliFlash products for larger environments, like Qatar Airways."

"It's very fast. We were seeing read latencies of less than one millisecond. It is robust."

More DDN IntelliFlash pros

"My customers are satisfied with the performance."

"The Snapshot feature is actually widely used; it is a feature that only NetApp E-Series has and it is quite good."

"The product is easy to use."

"The overall experience has been positive."

"Customers go for the E Series if they need backup storage because it is cheap."

Cons

"Many options to check performance, like read, writes, random writes, and random reads, are missing in Pure FlashArray X NVMe."

"Efficiency improvements would always be welcome, but I'm not sure if they could get more efficient."

"The UI for this solution needs to be improved."

"We've seen that when we create a POD in synchronous mode, it increases the latency."

"In the next release, I would like to see real-time analytics for further insight into consumption models."

"The software layer has to improve."

"I would like to see replication and DR features in the next release of this solution."

"They could add more support for file storage and different types of storage."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe cons

"Snapshots are not as easy to access as on a NetApp device."

"In the proxy section you can’t choose a user account and password, so it is not allowed at the moment to go out, if customer has such constellation."

"Technical support is bad. It'd grade them at 30% or 40%. The response time is terrible."

"It's somewhat scalable, but maybe not so much as some of the competition."

"We had just one small stability problem with power flapping and it did not start up again automatically. We had to access service ports and manually restart the storage processors."

"It only keeps one hour of real-time data without the ability to do deep analysis of each element."

"Performance is horrible now. Our original intent was to buy new storage in about two years. But since it became a critical urgency for us, we decided to purchase a new one in two or three months."

"In future releases, I look forward to more AI features."

More DDN IntelliFlash cons

"Though the performance is there, if NetApp wants to be competitive with the others, it must improve their business continuity."

"The solution must provide more training courses."

"NetApp should add more production lines to the E series so we can make flexible solutions more easily."

"Getting through first level to second level takes two hours minimum."

"With NetApp E-Series, when we are running active-active NAS4, sometimes due to either an issue or a bug, we experience failures. At least twice yearly, we have seen this issue. When it occurs, we lose critical systems such as MQ."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Its price could be better. It is not too expensive, but it is the high-end cost. It is kind of a Rolls-Royce. You pay a lot, but you get a lot out of it. So, the price pressure on the way down would be great, but at the end of the day, if you need to do the work, you just pay for it."

"Given its price, Pure is not the first option."

"With VMware, we pay $300,000 annually."

"The support cost per array is about $20,000 a year for 24/7 support."

"The product is expensive."

"As far as the licensing costs, everything is included in the license."

"The licensing is on a yearly basis."

"Pure FlashArray X NVMe’s pricing is cheaper than other products."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pricing and cost advice

"I recommend the full bundle software in order to have all the functionality. It is more expensive to purchase it one by one."

"I think we pay around 100 grand per year for three arrays or four arrays."

"The price is reasonable for NetApp E-Series."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Government

Computer Software Company

15%

Manufacturing Company

Construction Company

Government

Manufacturing Company

27%

Computer Software Company

12%

Comms Service Provider

11%

Educational Organization

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	15
Midsize Enterprise	11
Large Enterprise	12

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	8
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	3

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Pure FlashArray X NVMe?

Pure FlashArray X NVMe helps to improve our processing speed. It is user-friendly and easy to use.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Pure FlashArray X NVMe?

The price of Pure FlashArray X NVMe is very expensive, though I do not know the actual price because I am using the E...

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What needs improvement with Pure FlashArray X NVMe?

I have no specific improvements to suggest for Pure FlashArray X NVMe at this time. The performance statistics could ...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IntelliFlash?

It is a bit cheaper than other products, 10% to 20% cheaper.

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What needs improvement with IntelliFlash?

DDN IntelliFlash should improve in terms of sales. In future releases, I look forward to more features about AI and M...

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What is your primary use case for IntelliFlash?

We use IntelliFlash products for larger environments, like Qatar Airways. They have large scalability and use more th...

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What do you like most about NetApp E-Series?

The product is easy to use.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetApp E-Series?

The price is reasonable for NetApp E-Series.

See all answers

What needs improvement with NetApp E-Series?

As an AZ3 technician with experience in that direction, when I call them, I do not call the first-level support as it...

See all answers

Comparisons

Dell PowerStore vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 23% of the time

TrueNAS R-Series vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 15% of the time

Dell PowerMax vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 13% of the time

Pure Storage FlashBlade vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 12% of the time

HPE Alletra Storage vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 11% of the time

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe Competitors

VAST Data vs DDN IntelliFlash

Compared 48% of the time

NetApp AFF vs DDN IntelliFlash

Compared 19% of the time

IBM FlashSystem vs DDN IntelliFlash

Compared 12% of the time

Pure Storage FlashBlade vs DDN IntelliFlash

Compared 11% of the time

Tintri VMstore T7000 vs DDN IntelliFlash

Compared 10% of the time

More DDN IntelliFlash Competitors

Seagate Exos X Series vs NetApp E-Series

Compared 28% of the time

NetApp ASA vs NetApp E-Series

Compared 25% of the time

NetApp AFF vs NetApp E-Series

Compared 17% of the time

TrueNAS R-Series vs NetApp E-Series

Compared 13% of the time

Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform vs NetApp E-Series

Compared 9% of the time

More NetApp E-Series Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Pure FlashArray X NVMe

September 2025

Download Pure FlashArray X NVMe product report

Buyer's Guide

DDN IntelliFlash

October 2025

Download DDN IntelliFlash product report

Buyer's Guide

NVMe All-Flash Storage Arrays

October 2025

Download NetApp E-Series product report

Also Known As

Pure FlashArray//X NVMe, Pure FlashArray//X, FlashArray//X

Tegile, IntelliFlash N-Series, IntelliFlash T-Series, IntelliFlash HD-Series

No data available

Overview

Pure Storage FlashArray//X is the world’s first enterprise-class, all-NVMe flash storage array. It represents a new class of storage – shared accelerated storage, which is a term coined by Gartner – that delivers major breakthroughs in performance, simplicity, and consolidation.

Pure Storage

Western Digital through its IntelliFlash arrays delivers high-performance storage with a complete range of features and connectivity options, including inline compression and deduplication, application and VM consistent snapshots, replication, RAID, data encryption, VMware vCenter integration, and multi-protocol support for SAN (FC, iSCSI) and NAS (NFS, SMBv3). IntelliFlash arrays deliver high availability through dualredundant and hot-swappable components, active/active or active/passive controllers, non-disruptive software upgrades, eMLC flash, and proactive cloud-based monitoring, analytics, and intelligence. A RESTful API provides scripted or programmatic control.

DataDirect Networks

NetApp E-Series offers a flexible, high-performance storage solution ideal for handling intensive data requirements. Designed to optimize capacity and improve data availability, it supports diverse sector needs.

NetApp E-Series is a purpose-built system engineered to deliver fast, consistent performance. It is best utilized in environments requiring high-performance workloads where speed and efficiency are crucial. Users appreciate its reliability and scalability, which contribute to effective data management. The system is known for its efficient storage capabilities, providing robust data protection and seamless integration with existing infrastructure.

What are the key features of NetApp E-Series?

Scalability: Supports expansion to accommodate growing data needs seamlessly.
Performance: Delivers high-speed processing for demanding applications.
Integrations: Easily integrates with existing IT environments, enhancing operational efficiency.

What benefits and ROI should users look for?

Cost Efficiency: Offers competitive pricing with long-term savings through energy-efficient designs.
Reliability: Provides consistent uptime, minimizing disruptions and improving productivity.
Flexibility: Versatile deployment options cater to specific performance and capacity requirements.

NetApp E-Series is widely implemented across industries ranging from healthcare to finance, where it supports critical data-intensive applications. Its deployment in environments such as scientific research and media production highlights its capacity for handling high-speed data access and reliable performance.

NetApp

Sample Customers

Fremont Bank, Judson ISD, The Nielsen Company

Bank of Stockton, Barnsley College, Boyes Turner, Brigham Young University

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

DDN IntelliFlash vs. NetApp E-Series

September 2025

Free Report: DDN IntelliFlash vs. NetApp E-Series

Find out what your peers are saying about DDN IntelliFlash vs. NetApp E-Series and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.

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