Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs NetApp Private Storage comparison

Dell Technologies and NetApp are both solutions in the NAS category. Dell Technologies is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.8, while NetApp is ranked #15 with an average rating of 8.0. Dell Technologies holds a 16.2% mindshare in N, compared to NetApp’s 2.0% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of Dell Technologies users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of NetApp users who would recommend it.

Dell PowerScale (Isilon)

Read 66 Dell PowerScale (Isilon) reviews

10,962 Views
5,262 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

NetApp Private Storage

Read 14 NetApp Private Storage reviews

429 Views
429 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Dell PowerScale (Isilon)

NetApp Private Storage

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 7, 2024

Dell PowerScale and NetApp Private Storage are prominent in the storage category, each offering notable benefits. Dell PowerScale stands out for its scalability and ease of management, providing enhanced features while requiring minimal IT resources. This advantage is highlighted by superior user feedback on scalability and support.

Features: Dell PowerScale offers key features such as policy-based file placement, SmartQuotas, and InsightIQ, enhancing storage utility and performance. The system supports scalable access from multiple hardware platforms, and continual OS improvements come without new licensing, making it a comprehensive storage solution. NetApp’s unified storage system is highly flexible with strong integration capabilities, providing backwards compatibility and robust cloud integration features.

Room for Improvement: Dell PowerScale could improve cloud integration with easier updates and more node options for smaller offices. Enhancements to the WORM feature and InsightIQ’s reporting are also needed, as well as expanding HTTP data protection. NetApp should focus on simplifying configuration and addressing support challenges. Making licensing less complicated would also be beneficial for user satisfaction.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Dell PowerScale and NetApp Private Storage primarily support on-premises deployment, with Dell PowerScale proving more adaptable to hybrid cloud environments. Dell’s technical support is generally well-regarded, though some users experience initial assistance challenges. NetApp support is inconsistent, often requiring escalation to resolve issues satisfactorily.

Pricing and ROI: Both Dell PowerScale and NetApp Private Storage are perceived as costly, but Dell's flexible licensing and comprehensive features offer a compelling ROI. Dell users find value in long-term cost efficiency and reduced administrative workload, while NetApp users appreciate reliability and integration, despite finding the pricing steep.

To learn more, read our detailed Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs. NetApp Private Storage Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs. NetApp Private 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

Dell PowerScale (Isilon)

Ranking in NAS

2nd

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

File and Object Storage (3rd)

NetApp Private Storage

Ranking in NAS

15th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the NAS category, the mindshare of Dell PowerScale (Isilon) is 16.2%, down from 17.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetApp Private Storage is 2.0%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

NAS Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Dell PowerScale (Isilon)	16.2%
NetApp Private Storage	2.0%
Other	81.8%

NAS

Featured Reviews

Scott Taylor

Senior Infrastructure Specialist at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees

Manages large data sets efficiently with hybrid cloud integration

My organization is quite large, with about 30,000 employees. The growth has been substantial in areas such as radiology and genomics. One of the best features we've utilized recently is offload to cloud pools due to capacity constraints on-premise. We didn't want to expand Dell PowerScale (Isilon) straight away, so we utilized cloud pools to offload some data to Azure. That's really saved us in certain areas as we didn't have funding to expand Dell PowerScale (Isilon) until next year, which is why we utilized the cloud pools functionality to offload.

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Christopher Cagayan

IT Server and Storage Engineer at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees

Works efficiently for customized data storage and has good technical support services

We had five downtimes in one year. Our storage is highly utilized, but when I checked VMware, we only used a fraction of that capacity. There is a difference in utilization between VMware and the storage devices. The NetApp support team explained that we need to enable a feature to make the data store utilization consistent with the VMware utilization. They said that the difference in utilization is likely due to the location of the data store. I rate its stability a six out of ten.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"Since it can scale so easily, as long as I have money to buy more nodes, I can grow it as big as I need to. That is important in our business. As sequencing technologies continue to evolve, and as those technologies evolve, the amount of data generation never gets smaller. It just always seems to get bigger. This is one of the absolute key aspects: We can grow on demand without having to forklift stuff."

"PowerScale helped free up our employees' time to focus on other business priorities. There are now automated jobs such as backing up and replicating data, that reduce the footprint we have. Those types of tasks were previously done manually."

"The most valuable feature we started using, beyond the initial scope for the solution, is the multi-protocol system that allows you to access the same set of files using different network protocols like NFS or SMB. PowerScale’s Unified Permission Model ensures that data security and access permissions are honoured regardless of whether the client is a Windows desktop or a Linux server"

"The solution's most valuable features are scalability and flexibility."

"On a scale of one to ten, with one being worst and ten being best, I would rate Dell PowerScale (Isilon) a ten."

"The tool's most valuable features are high density and scalability."

"I don't have to rebuild the cluster to add a node."

"My experience with Dell as a vendor is pretty good; they are probably one of the best in the industry."

More Dell PowerScale (Isilon) pros

"The solution is stable."

"NetApp is faster than other storage brands."

"Integration with other NetApp solutions and merging them is manageable."

"NetApp has really added a lot of features over the years to improve the product and performance. They can do things now like control ingress. They can control egress."

"NetApp has its own dedicated operating system, so it will not be affected by any wireless piggybacking or malware. That's the beauty of NetApp's operating system."

"Very stable and very scalable."

"The solution scales well."

"The most valuable feature of NetApp Private Storage is out-of-the-box integration with the SAN switches. They are much easier compared to Dell solutions. Additionally, the connector that comes with the solution that allows connection back to the Cisco SAN switches is very good. In Dell, I would need to use an FCIP or CIP port that is required."

More NetApp Private Storage pros

Cons

"The analytics could be improved."

"Some improvements to the NFS support would be of interest to us."

"Perhaps if there was a local chatbot built within the system or on the dashboard where we could directly ask for anything on the OneFS, it could help us."

"Always, there is room for improvement in terms of cybersecurity, as new challenges are continually emerging in the market."

"They should add some new services that should be for on-premises, and more analytics should be there for the data, allowing for a deep dive from that analytics, which is currently missing."

"The cost of Dell PowerScale is currently high and there is room for improvement."

"I would want to see more AI features with Dell PowerScale (Isilon)."

"It would be good to have synchronized mirroring between two clusters without using a third-party program."

More Dell PowerScale (Isilon) cons

"We had to write a number of custom tools or scripts ourselves to use it as a staging area between our on-premises datacenter and our cloud installation."

"The users find the new version's GUI complicated to use."

"It is not the fastest storage solution."

"I would like to see the GUI management simplified in the next release."

"I'm not sure how easy it is to use on the cloud versus on-prem. If they have different user experiences, they should work to make the two as similar as possible to make it easy for a user to understand both even if they only deal mainly with one."

"NetApp Private Storage is still integrated into the ISCSI connectivity and the FC protocol. I would recommend them to migrate to the FCIP because the SAN switches are moving further to an FCIP, and are scaling out of the ISCSI connectivity. Sooner or later, that will be an issue for NetApp Private Storage. An NFCIP should be available to them moving three years down the line."

"There may actually be so many features that the end-user gets lost in the volume."

"They need a little more technical people in Akola. Most of the NetApp people are in Bangalore, Mumbai, or Delhi, but there are very few in Akola. I think NetApp has few technicians in Akola because they mostly rely on partners to service this area."

More NetApp Private Storage cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The platform is not cheap. However, on the software side, you can choose what you want license. So, you can start your licensing with the features that you need, then after buying the platform add some other features."

"It is an expensive solution."

"We paid an additional fee to have Dell's ProDeploy Plus team implement it."

"The pricing is expensive, but I think it's a fair value because it does manage itself. It definitely is much simpler than any of the other scale-out storage platforms that we've looked at in the past."

"The solution is expensive; it is not the cheapest solution out there. If you look at it from a total cost of ownership perspective, then it is a very compelling solution. However, if you're looking at just dollar per terabyte and not looking at the big picture, then you could be distracted by the price. It is not an amazing price, but it's pretty good. It is also very good when you consider the total cost of ownership and ease of management."

"The price of the solution can fluctuate. The price can be competitive or other times not. The price of the solution could be better."

"The pricing for this solution is reasonable."

"Dell PowerScale is expensive on the start-up side but we can recoup those costs quickly by not having to reapply the savings to other equipment."

More Dell PowerScale (Isilon) pricing and cost advice

"We negotiate whatever deal we can get on the type of storage that it is, but it's totally under our control,."

"In general, I am pleased with the pricing, though it is a little high."

"The price of NetApp Private Storage is similar to other solutions. There is typically an annual license required for this solution."

"NetApp Private Storage is cheaper here in India compared to other solutions, such as Dell."

"It is an expensive solution."

"The price could be lower."

"The product is costly."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Healthcare Company

Computer Software Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

11%

University

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	16
Midsize Enterprise	17
Large Enterprise	36

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	7

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Dell EMC PowerScale (Isilon)?

The solution provides massive performance, scalability, efficiency, and ease of management.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell EMC PowerScale (Isilon)?

It's considered between mid and high-end regarding. Dell usually knows how to position each model. If the customer wants something inexpensive, there's PowerVault. The system is marketed for mid-ra...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Dell EMC PowerScale (Isilon)?

With every iteration of the OneFS system, new features are being added, and the UI is being updated here and there. So far, the system is adequate as a whole. Perhaps if there was a local chatbot b...

See all answers

What do you like most about NetApp Private Storage?

NetApp is faster than other storage brands.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetApp Private Storage?

The product is costly. Also, we need to pay for features like SnapMirror, etc. I rate its pricing a nine out of ten.

See all answers

What needs improvement with NetApp Private Storage?

NetApp is a great storage device, but sometimes support is not accessible. Also, the current version has removed most of the dashboard features. We have to use the CLI for some tasks. Additionally,...

See all answers

Comparisons

NetApp FAS Series vs Dell PowerScale (Isilon)

Compared 15% of the time

Pure Storage FlashBlade vs Dell PowerScale (Isilon)

Compared 11% of the time

Dell ObjectScale vs Dell PowerScale (Isilon)

Compared 9% of the time

Qumulo vs Dell PowerScale (Isilon)

Compared 8% of the time

HPE StoreEasy vs Dell PowerScale (Isilon)

Compared 6% of the time

More Dell PowerScale (Isilon) Competitors

NetApp FAS Series vs NetApp Private Storage

Compared 23% of the time

QNAP NAS Storage vs NetApp Private Storage

Compared 18% of the time

Hitachi NAS Platform vs NetApp Private Storage

Compared 14% of the time

Qumulo vs NetApp Private Storage

Compared 11% of the time

More NetApp Private Storage Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Dell PowerScale (Isilon)

September 2025

Download Dell PowerScale (Isilon) product report

Buyer's Guide

NetApp Private Storage

August 2025

Download NetApp Private Storage product report

Also Known As

PowerScale, Dell EMC Isilon

NPS

Overview

Dell PowerScale leads in unstructured data management with unified file and object storage, massive scalability, security, and cloud adaptability, enhancing AI, analytics, and enterprise applications with exceptional performance and resilience.

Dell PowerScale Isilon provides a comprehensive platform for unstructured data, excelling in scalability, management, and performance. With features like single-pane management, SyncIQ, and SmartQuotas, it handles large datasets with flexibility and robust security. Its multi-protocol support and seamless expansion improve operational efficiency. While it offers strong data protection, enhancements in cloud integration, cybersecurity, and performance are sought. Users note potential for cost reductions and streamlined configurations and mention desired improvements in object storage handling and NFS support.

What are the key features of Dell PowerScale Isilon?

Single-pane management: Simplifies data control and monitoring through a unified interface.
SyncIQ: Ensures efficient data replication for business continuity.
SmartQuotas: Provides intelligent quota management for optimized storage allocation.
Multi-protocol support: Facilitates cross-platform data access and integration.
Seamless storage expansion: Allows effortless scaling to accommodate growing data needs.

What benefits should users consider when reviewing Dell PowerScale Isilon?

Operational efficiency: Reduces workload with easy management and automation.
Enhanced security: Offers comprehensive data protection and recovery options.
Scalability: Supports large-scale data storage with flexible growth capabilities.
Performance: Delivers high-speed data processing for demanding applications.
Integration flexibility: Adapts to on-prem and hybrid cloud environments for diverse deployment needs.

Organizations across industries utilize Dell PowerScale Isilon for large-scale unstructured storage, supporting applications like video archiving, genomic data storage, and high-resolution imaging. Educational institutions, research centers, and media enterprises rely on its scaled-out storage capabilities, providing centralized, secure storage for diverse applications in hybrid, cloud, and on-prem environments.

Dell Technologies

NetApp Private Storage (NPS) for Cloud is a family of enterprise storage solutions that lets you use multiple industry-leading clouds and maintain complete control over your data on dedicated storage systems from NetApp.

NetApp

Sample Customers

OMRF, University of Utah, Translational Genetics Research Institute, Arcis, Geofizyka Torumn, Cyprus E&P Corporation, Colburn School, Columbia Sportswear, Harvard Medical School, University of Michigan, National Library of France,

ASE IT, Concerto Cloud

Buyer's Guide

Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs. NetApp Private Storage

September 2025

Free Report: Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs. NetApp Private Storage

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