We compared Dell ECS and Dell PowerScale (Isilon) based on our user's reviews in several parameters.
In comparing user reviews of Dell ECS and Dell PowerScale (Isilon), Dell ECS is praised for its efficient performance, while Dell PowerScale (Isilon) shines for its exceptional data scalability. Dell ECS receives positive feedback for its reasonable pricing and satisfactory ROI, whereas Dell PowerScale (Isilon) is commended for its prompt customer service and support. Both products have areas for improvement, with Dell ECS needing enhancements in reliability, customization, and customer support effectiveness, while Dell PowerScale (Isilon) could benefit from improvements in interface, performance speed, scalability, compatibility with other systems, and technical support.
Features: In terms of valuable features, Dell ECS is praised for its efficient performance, seamless integration, and reliable storage capabilities. On the other hand, Dell PowerScale (Isilon) is known for its exceptional data scalability, efficient storage management, and reliable performance.
Pricing and ROI: The setup cost for Dell ECS is considered straightforward and easy with no major complications, accommodating different business needs. On the other hand, Dell PowerScale (Isilon) also has a straightforward setup cost without any hidden charges or complexities, ensuring smooth integration and use of the product., Users have reported positive ROI with Dell ECS, citing cost savings, improved resource allocation, increased productivity, and streamlined processes. Dell PowerScale (Isilon) users appreciate its performance, scalability, efficiency, seamless integration, and cost savings from improved productivity and data management.
Room for Improvement: Dell ECS could benefit from improvements in product reliability, user interface intuitiveness, customer support effectiveness, and customization options. In contrast, Dell PowerScale (Isilon) needs enhancements in interface, performance speed, scalability, compatibility with other systems, and technical support.
Deployment and customer support: The user reviews for Dell ECS indicate that the timeframes for establishing a new tech solution varied, with some users taking three months for deployment and an additional week for setup. In comparison, the reviews for Dell PowerScale (Isilon) also mention varying timeframes, with some users spending three months on deployment and others reporting a week for setup. However, it is important to note that in cases where a week was required for both deployment and setup, these terms refer to the same period and should be evaluated together., Dell ECS has received commendations for their exceptional customer service, with users expressing satisfaction with the prompt response time and efficiency in resolving concerns. Dell PowerScale (Isilon) is highly commended for its exceptional customer service, with users praising the promptness, efficiency, and effectiveness of Dell's assistance. The level of expertise and professionalism demonstrated by the support team is also praised.
The summary above is based on 35 interviews we conducted recently with Dell ECS and Dell PowerScale (Isilon) users. To access the review's full transcripts, download our report.
"Competitive object storage platform that's stable and scalable."
"The performance is good."
"It's my understanding that the initial setup is straightforward."
"What I like best about Dell ECS is its stability. I also like that you can use it for large-scale data purposes. The solution works fine for me, and I haven't encountered any issues with it."
"The stability is the most valuable aspect of the solution."
"I have been satisfied with the stability."
"This solution is very easy to use, and is very reliable."
"The scalability is good."
"The single pane of glass for both IT and for the end-user is a valuable feature. On the IT side, I can actually control where things are stored, whether something is stored on solid-state drives or spinning drives... The single pane of glass makes it very easy to use and very easy to understand. We started at 100 terabytes and we moved to 250 and it still feels like the exact same system and we're able to move data as needed."
"Its scalability has been huge for us."
"The fact that we were able to set it up, use it, and, for the most part, didn't have to worry about it after we had it set up has been valuable."
"The solution is extremely easy to manage. This is its most valuable feature."
"The tool comes with cheap disks and works fast for video content."
"PowerScale has made it extremely easy to scale file data across our organization. We have two implementations of Isilon. One is a replica of the other. When scaling, we add nodes to each location and expand the cluster. The process is straightforward."
"For maximizing storage utilization, PowerScale is great. When you write the data to it, it spreads it out to all the nodes, so you get all the performance from the entire pool."
"Ability to scale the number of nodes without having to build additional clusters."
"We have concerns about the write performance. We would also like it to be easier to scale out, to add more boxes to the system. And we want improved performance, to use a next-generation NFS service."
"Dell EMC ECS could improve by having Relational Database Services(RDS) to review progress. Additionally, if the training was provided it would be a benefit, it would be good for our engineers."
"The setup is very complex."
"The solution could be more cost-effective and secure."
"Dell ECS could improve the price of the solution. It is expensive."
"It is a good solution, except for the cost."
"The disaster recovery could be improved because there should be something in-built within the ECS. Search and recovery should be in-built. Right now, we have to use some external tools for performing the recovery itself. For example, we're using Atempo or deploying Golden Superna, so it has dependency on the external third party vendors."
"Dell EMC ECS should support segregation of duty, particularly for role-based access controls. Having a single pane of glass for smarter observation and better control mechanism would also make this solution better."
"I'd like to see more Iceland products in the cloud so that we can port our data into different environments if needed. I would also like to see a virtual appliance or software-defined Iceland product."
"There is room for improvement in its handling of object storage."
"The legacy file system for Epsilon didn't scale into the cloud and didn't have a separate OS. It would be key if this was made possible."
"The only thing that I think PowerScale could do better is improving the HTTP data access protocol. At the present, you cannot protect access to data via HTTP or HTTPS the same way that you can secure data access through other protocols like NFS or SMB[...]the Unified Permission Model that would allow a user to authenticate before being able to access a private file, does not apply."
"The product’s expansion capacity, pricing clarity, and ease of use need improvement."
"The product needs to improve CLI since commands are complex. The search option is also difficult since you must give the full path."
"Data storage performance needs to be improved."
"We used to have a chat feature available on the support site. It's not available to us anymore."
Dell ECS is ranked 5th in File and Object Storage with 25 reviews while Dell PowerScale (Isilon) is ranked 2nd in File and Object Storage with 37 reviews. Dell ECS is rated 8.0, while Dell PowerScale (Isilon) is rated 9.0. The top reviewer of Dell ECS writes "Enables multiple protocol support, but its IOPS functionality needs improvement in terms of performance ". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Dell PowerScale (Isilon) writes "We can easily deploy, manage, and maintain systems without needing a huge amount of expertise to facilitate them". Dell ECS is most compared with Amazon AWS, NetApp StorageGRID, MinIO, Red Hat Ceph Storage and Scality RING, whereas Dell PowerScale (Isilon) is most compared with NetApp FAS Series, Pure Storage FlashBlade, Qumulo, HPE StoreEasy and Red Hat Ceph Storage. See our Dell ECS vs. Dell PowerScale (Isilon) report.
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