Dell ObjectScale vs IBM Cloud Object Storage comparison

Dell Technologies and IBM are both solutions in the File and Object Storage category. Dell Technologies is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.1, while IBM is ranked #12 with an average rating of 9.3. Dell Technologies holds a 7.3% mindshare in FaOS, compared to IBM’s 1.0% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of Dell Technologies users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 87% of IBM users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 26, 2025

IBM Cloud Object Storage and Dell ObjectScale are competitors in cloud storage, both offering scalable solutions tailored for enterprises. IBM has the upper hand with pricing and strong customer support, while Dell excels with its robust features and perceived value.

Features: IBM Cloud Object Storage is known for its scalability, security, and integration with IBM services. It also offers S3 protocol support, effortless data scalability, and strong security measures. Dell ObjectScale offers advanced analytics, easy management, and high performance. It integrates seamlessly with other Dell solutions, providing excellent data compression and power-efficiency.

Room for Improvement: IBM could enhance their analytic capabilities and performance features. More automation in management tasks would also be beneficial. Dell ObjectScale might improve its multi-tenancy features and streamline its setup processes. Offering more flexible pricing plans could also be considered.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Both IBM and Dell offer flexible deployment options. However, IBM is often recognized for its smoother deployment experience and reliability in support services. Dell provides effective support via their integrated systems, though it may require more detailed initial setup.

Pricing and ROI: IBM Cloud Object Storage provides competitive pricing with flexible plans, ideal for reducing long-term costs. Dell ObjectScale, while having higher initial setup costs, delivers greater ROI over time due to its comprehensive features and performance advantages. The choice often depends on the organization's specific needs and budget priorities.

To learn more, read our detailed Dell ObjectScale vs. IBM Cloud Object Storage Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Dell ObjectScale vs. IBM Cloud Object Storage

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 Storage FlashBlade

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the File and Object Storage category, the mindshare of Pure Storage FlashBlade is 5.7%, down from 6.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell ObjectScale is 7.3%, down from 8.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Cloud Object Storage is 1.0%, down from 1.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

File and Object Storage Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Dell ObjectScale	7.3%
Pure Storage FlashBlade	5.7%
IBM Cloud Object Storage	1.0%
Other	86.0%

File and Object Storage

Featured Reviews

MikaelHellström

IT Manager at Regin Dalarna

Has handled backup storage needs reliably and supports seamless upgrades

In environments requiring high throughput and low latency, Pure Storage FlashBlade provides high throughput and normal latency, but we do not have any application that requires low latency right now, so the latency of three to five milliseconds is considered kind of high. Pure Storage FlashBlade's ability to integrate with enterprise applications is not important for us, as we only want to present an S3 bucket for our backup, which we have done, and it works very fast. We use the Purity software's data reduction techniques; we have a backup software that compresses everything before sending it to the S3 bucket, achieving a data reduction of 1.1 to one. I would recommend Pure Storage FlashBlade to other companies because it's a very fast and scalable solution for anyone who needs it. On a scale of 1-10, I rate this solution an 8.

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SamuelThomas

Consultant at Key Information Technology L.L.C.

Managing efficiently with user-friendly interfaces for monitoring and managing resources

We normally recommend Dell ECS to enterprise customers and government customers Dell ECS is very easy to handle, primarily because the web UI dashboard and everything is very easy to manage for every customer. They can monitor the DPS, access failures, bandwidth, failed requests, and latency.…

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Steve Qualls

Senior Storage Engineer at Q & Q IT Consulting

Offers the ease with which you can move data between on-premises storage and the cloud and then retrieve it back on-premises when necessary

IBM Cloud Object Storage supports big data and analytics workflows. However, I usually have to refer to my documentation for that. Cloud environments are part of almost every project I've been involved in over the last few years, but I rely heavily on documentation whenever I need to do anything in the cloud. I know the basics, but the technical details always need refreshing. I create the drawings or diagrams of how the on-premises and cloud environments interact. So, visual representations are helpful. I'll diagram the on-premises environment, the cloud environment, and any appliances in between and then work from there. The integration capabilities simplified our data workflows. Like, the integration itself is pretty easy. The access appliances create the connection between both environments.

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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

"Pure Storage FlashBlade's scalability is one of the most valuable features, and importantly, it always works, allowing for seamless upgrades."

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

"The snapshots, replication, and the ability to have immutable blades are the most valuable features. You're putting data snapshots out in those blades, and they cannot be touched. Its performance is great."

"It's very easy-to-use."

"Among its most appealing features are its ease of handling and minimal maintenance requirements."

"The product is scalable and easy to expand."

"Using this solution has made our backups more reliable."

"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."

More Pure Storage FlashBlade pros

"I have found Dell ECS to be scalable."

"It is a stable platform."

"The support is good."

"Some of the best features with Dell ECS are that it's scale-out storage with compatibility, which are the main drivers, along with very good support from Dell EMC that usually makes customers happy."

"Dell ECS provides compatibility between on-premises and cloud-based storage, supporting protocols such as S3, which is commonly used in cloud storage, enabling integration between on-premises storage and cloud storage."

"The performance is good."

"The impact of Dell ECS on my organization has been positive, improving user experience, security, and reliability."

"I have been satisfied with the stability."

More Dell ObjectScale pros

"IBM has the most number of additional services, this is the main advantage."

"The integration itself is pretty easy. The access appliances create the connection between both environments."

"The capability to replicate data in different locations is valuable since it enables customers to have a cluster over various sites."

"One of Cloud Object Storage's best features is infinite capacity. This is one of the main advantages if you don't want to use your own storage. You also have the ability to write only, write once, and read many. It's like tape storage but software-based. This feature is essential for financial institutions that require that kind of protection if you write backup or data there."

"The standout feature of IBM Cloud Object Storage is its top-notch security, making it ideal for sensitive applications like mobile financial transactions."

"IBM Cloud Object Storage integrates well."

"The most valuable feature I like is when you connect it via CLI plug-in...It is a stable solution."

"Overall, I rate IBM Cloud Object Storage a ten out of ten."

Cons

"In terms of scalability, it doesn't expand out quite as robustly as some of the others, but it covers 90% of the market in what it does."

"I would like to see more VM-Aware features in the next release of this solution."

"I would like to see more monitoring capability included in the next release of this solution."

"I would like to have Snapshots and Snapmail in the next release. People who came from a NetApp background, especially expect these features."

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

"We initially encountered challenges with the assembly process due to issues with the documentation required during setup, an area where Pure Storage needs improvement."

"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."

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

More Pure Storage FlashBlade cons

"There is room for improvement in the DPI reports, as they could be made more user-friendly."

"The major weakness in the solution is that there is no cloud version for Dell ECS."

"From an improvement perspective, Dell ECS should aim to offer a better pricing plan to its users."

"The solution needs to provide better integration between this solution and all other kinds of systems."

"Dell ECS could improve the price of the solution. It is expensive."

"The deployment is not easy, and some expertise is required to configure the virtual data center and replication groups."

"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."

"Technical support needs to be improved."

More Dell ObjectScale cons

"Sometimes technical support lacks a comprehensive understanding of the entire solution, only focusing on the product they support."

"The performance could improve in IBM Cloud Object Storage. The throughput or objects per second can have degradation."

"Room for improvement depends on customer needs. Some customers prefer pure Object Storage using the S3 protocol, while others use a gateway in front of the storage grid to enable CIFS or NFS."

"One improvement could be incorporating a feature similar to Dropbox's version history. This would allow users to track modifications made to files over time, which is particularly important for maintaining a record of changes. While the free version might not include this feature, it could be included in the paid version to provide added value to clients. Additionally, having a version history feature that allows users to access modifications made to files over the past three months could be beneficial."

"IBM Cloud storage is not cheap, but it could be."

"One area where IBM Cloud Object Storage could potentially improve is in modernizing its underlying codebase."

"IBM has limited cloud storage."

"The performance could be better. It isn't bad, but everything is network-based, so you have a performance penalty on the network. You can never achieve the same performance as hardware. That's the disadvantage of cloud storage solutions in general. Cloud performance is one of the main issues clients have."

More IBM Cloud Object Storage cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Our licensing is renewed annually."

"It's a costly solution, but Pure Storage FlashBlade doesn't require additional licenses. All of the software is combined into one bundle."

"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 product is very expensive."

"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."

"The pricing for FlashBlade is between cheap and moderate."

"Licensing fees are paid yearly."

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

More Pure Storage FlashBlade pricing and cost advice

"We initially purchased all of the licenses at the same time."

"It is an inexpensive product."

"Dell EMC ECS is too expensive."

"It is an expensive solution. There is a need to make yearly payments towards the licensing costs attached to the product."

"We are not paying for the license at this stage."

"If I remember correctly, Dell ECS is an appliance, so if you buy Dell ECS, you also have to buy the hardware, while IBM is standalone software, so you can buy IBM as software only without needing to buy the hardware. On a scale of one to five, I'm rating the pricing for Dell ECS a four."

"The charges for this solution are made in blocks of models, which are purchased depending on what features an organization requires."

"The solution could be cheaper."

More Dell ObjectScale pricing and cost advice

"You have the option of a monthly or yearly license. Most customers choose the monthly option. I understand what you would like to say. IBM also lets you choose among four types of Cloud Object Storage. The difference is usage, performance, etc. Of course, high-performance storage is more expensive, while low-performance storage is for cold data, and it's really cheap."

"IBM Cloud is cheaper than AWS. If you want to scale your cloud infrastructure, it can be bought at almost the same price."

"Pricing is not cheap."

"Like most cloud providers, IBM likely charges based on storage capacity, typically per gigabyte or terabyte. Their pricing is competitive when compared to AWS or Microsoft."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Financial Services Firm

20%

Manufacturing Company

12%

Computer Software Company

12%

Government

Financial Services Firm

25%

Computer Software Company

19%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	11
Midsize Enterprise	11
Large Enterprise	21

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

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	3
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	4

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 of Pure Storage FlashBlade is expensive compared to other products I used from other companies in the pas...

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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 bi...

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What do you like most about Dell EMC ECS?

The tool is easy to use.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell EMC ECS?

The pricing is moderate and at par with the market. As a service provider, we receive good margins, indicating a favo...

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What needs improvement with Dell EMC ECS?

I cannot think of anything as an area for improvement with Dell ECS. I do not see any pricing or usability concerns.

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What do you like most about IBM Cloud Object Storage?

The integration itself is pretty easy. The access appliances create the connection between both environments.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Cloud Object Storage?

In general, Object Storage should be a cheaper solution.

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM Cloud Object Storage?

The interface can feel clunky and outdated compared to AWS S3 or Azure Blob Storage. While scalable, latency can be...

See all answers

Comparisons

Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs Pure Storage FlashBlade

Compared 19% of the time

Pure Storage FlashArray vs Pure Storage FlashBlade

Compared 10% of the time

MinIO vs Pure Storage FlashBlade

Compared 10% of the time

Red Hat Ceph Storage vs Pure Storage FlashBlade

Compared 9% of the time

Qumulo vs Pure Storage FlashBlade

Compared 3% of the time

More Pure Storage FlashBlade Competitors

NetApp StorageGRID vs Dell ObjectScale

Compared 14% of the time

Amazon AWS vs Dell ObjectScale

Compared 14% of the time

Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs Dell ObjectScale

Compared 13% of the time

MinIO vs Dell ObjectScale

Compared 10% of the time

Cloudian HyperStore vs Dell ObjectScale

Compared 3% of the time

More Dell ObjectScale Competitors

MinIO vs IBM Cloud Object Storage

Compared 32% of the time

Red Hat Ceph Storage vs IBM Cloud Object Storage

Compared 17% of the time

HPE File Storage and Object Storage vs IBM Cloud Object Storage

Compared 10% of the time

IBM Spectrum Scale vs IBM Cloud Object Storage

Compared 10% of the time

Cloudian HyperStore vs IBM Cloud Object Storage

Compared 8% of the time

More IBM Cloud Object Storage Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Pure Storage FlashBlade

October 2025

Download Pure Storage FlashBlade product report

Buyer's Guide

Dell ObjectScale

October 2025

Download Dell ObjectScale product report

Buyer's Guide

IBM Cloud Object Storage

October 2025

Download IBM Cloud Object Storage product report

Also Known As

No data available

EMC ECS, Dell EMC Elastic Cloud Storage (ECS)

Cleversafe

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

Dell ObjectScale is a next-generation S3 object storage platform known for scalability, performance, and efficiency. It integrates with Dell EMC products, combining hardware and software for seamless user experience in the AI era.

Dell ObjectScale implements the S3 protocol, integrating smoothly with Dell EMC solutions like ISILON. Its architecture supports data compression and interoperates with multiple protocols for enhanced performance. Enterprise features include immutability, geo-replication, and user-friendly management. However, it needs better integration with other systems, enhanced security, and disaster recovery. Write performance and scalability improvements, competitive pricing, and documentation enhancements are key areas for progress. The interface could be more straightforward, with more remote management features and native analytics.

What features does Dell ObjectScale offer?

S3 Protocol Implementation: Brings industry-standard access with wide application compatibility
Seamless Dell EMC Integration: Ensures stability and ease of use with existing systems
Data Compression and Protocol Interoperability: Enhances performance and storage efficiency
Immutability and Geo-Replication: Provides enterprise-level data protection
Optimized Pricing: Balances cost with comprehensive support

What benefits should users look for in reviews?

Scalability: Supports expanding data requirements effectively
Integration Flexibility: Works with many existing systems for better interoperability
Ease of Management: Streamlines hardware and software operations
Enterprise-Level Features: Delivers advanced protection and efficiency

Industries leverage Dell ObjectScale for cloud-based object storage, archiving, and backups. It's favored for unstructured data management, CCTV integration, and document archiving. Strong in data analytics, it integrates well with high-capacity applications, enhancing data retention strategies across fields.

Dell Technologies

IBM Cloud Object Storage is a web-scale platform that stores unstructured data - from petabyte to exabyte - with reliability, security, availability and disaster recovery without replication.

IBM

Sample Customers

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

Atos

Bitly, Dreamstime, Prime Research

Buyer's Guide

Dell ObjectScale vs. IBM Cloud Object Storage

September 2025

Free Report: Dell ObjectScale vs. IBM Cloud Object Storage

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