Dell XtremIO vs IBM FlashSystem comparison

Dell Technologies and IBM are both solutions in the All-Flash Storage category. Dell Technologies is ranked #23 with an average rating of 7.8, while IBM is ranked #13 with an average rating of 8.2. Dell Technologies holds a 0.8% mindshare in AFS, compared to IBM’s 6.4% mindshare. Additionally, 80% of Dell Technologies users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 91% of IBM users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 18, 2024

Dell XtremIO and IBM FlashSystem are two leading storage solutions in the market. IBM FlashSystem has a competitive edge with its superior features despite higher costs, while Dell XtremIO is noted for its ease of deployment and cost efficiency.

Features: Dell XtremIO is praised for its inline data reduction, scalability, and performance. IBM FlashSystem stands out with its comprehensive data protection, high availability, and seamless integration capabilities.

Room for Improvement: Users suggest Dell XtremIO could improve in areas like NAS support, analytics, and adding more functionalities. IBM FlashSystem could benefit from more intuitive management tools, clearer upgrade paths, and enhancements in usability.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Dell XtremIO is noted for its straightforward deployment process and effective troubleshooting support. IBM FlashSystem, while praised for deployment, occasionally receives feedback about complex setup steps. Dell's customer service is seen as more responsive and user-friendly.

Pricing and ROI: Dell XtremIO offers lower initial setup costs and faster ROI, appealing to budget-conscious buyers. IBM FlashSystem, despite higher costs, provides a return on investment through exceptional performance and long-term reliability. Users are generally satisfied with the value provided by both, but IBM's ROI is noted for its high performance.

To learn more, read our detailed Dell XtremIO vs. IBM FlashSystem Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Dell XtremIO vs. IBM FlashSystem

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 All-Flash Storage category, the mindshare of Pure FlashArray X NVMe is 1.0%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell XtremIO is 0.8%, down from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM FlashSystem is 6.4%, down from 6.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

All-Flash Storage Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
IBM FlashSystem	6.4%
Pure FlashArray X NVMe	1.0%
Dell XtremIO	0.8%
Other	91.8%

All-Flash Storage

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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Stanislaw Jagielski

Trainer, Storage Consultant at Oxon

Efficient and straightforward setup boosts data management capabilities

Scalability is a significant feature of Dell XtremIO, as it is easy to expand and manage. It provides a lot of features suited for complex systems, such as scalability and the ability to define multi-domain systems, which are beneficial for data management and storage separation. It is efficient from the customer's point of view, offering deduplication at both the volume and file levels. The configuration and setup are straightforward, provided one has knowledge in setting up network infrastructure like VLANs. It is easy to install, use, and configure, making it a reliable product.

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OmarIsmail1

Infrastructure Technical Specialist II at Clicks Group

Offers high performance and dependable support for fast storage needs

The most valuable feature of IBM FlashSystem is its robust back code. When integrated properly into the environment and configured according to the guidelines, it provides a very solid infrastructure that does the job on demand. Additionally, IBM FlashSystem offers competitive pricing and reliable performance. The hardware is dependable, ensuring that it functions effectively when the setup is done correctly.

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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 standout features for us in Pure FlashArray X NVMe are its robust DDoS protection, seamless transparent failover, and failback capabilities ensuring high availability."

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

"I appreciate the performance."

"It's incredibly easy to use and greatly simplified our ability to both deploy and manage our storage subsystems."

"One of the best features is the support, which is excellent."

"We're able to get higher-density workloads on the same infrastructure, and we have a smaller physical footprint. The performance is excellent – during our test the bottlenecks are never on the X array, it just keeps picking up the pace to match what you need. The real-time visibility is a differentiator in my opinion."

"It has good, reliable, fast storage."

"The duplication algorithm allows us to get a lot more use out of less storage. We're running a five terabyte array right now and we're running probably about 30 terabytes on it. So the duplication rate is pretty phenomenal, without a cost to performance. It still runs pretty smoothly."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pros

"Snapshots are valuable because of their seamless nature, as well as the minimal space each snapshot takes."

"The solution's most valuable feature is its high performance."

"We mostly use it for backup, because we cannot measure anything, and we are afraid to use it for surveillance systems. We were planning to use it for mostly for surveillance systems."

"It was very easy and straightforward to setup."

"It is scalable."

"Dell XtremIO is good for databases and huge workloads."

"Ease of management, aside from the serious performance, is the best feature."

"Thin storage allocation"

More Dell XtremIO pros

"I would recommend it to other users."

"The compression and deduplication features are the most valuable."

"Virtualization of external storage, while adding cache and speed to the external storage."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is replication...Stability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is compression."

"The speed of the unit is its best feature. It performs very well."

"It's very easy to manage."

"The solution allows for easy migrations from previous products or vendors via its embedded storage virtualization function."

More IBM FlashSystem pros

Cons

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

"We have run into a couple of instances recently where we are running out of space. So we have had to buy some more packs for it and they have deployed fine and it has increased smoothly."

"It is on the expensive side."

"It's more multi-tenant functionality in their Pure1 manage portal that is lacking."

"Adding some functions to the product would be beneficial. Storage replication should be essential, and the analytics should not incur extra charges."

"The tool's pricing is higher than competitors."

"There is room for improvement in catering to midrange storage needs, especially for customers seeking Enterprise-class features."

"It feels more suitable for small and medium-sized businesses rather than enterprises."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe cons

"Native data replication: To replicate data between XtremIO devices, you need to use EMC’s RecoverPoint appliances to move the data."

"The GUI could be modified more in terms of how the different components are linked to each other."

"XtremIO needs to be lower priced. It also needs better endpoints and scalability."

"XtremIO is coming to its end of life."

"It needs a way to determine the deduplication of each LUN and what the impact would be if we were to move data from one LUN to another."

"When we upgraded the capacity from five to ten TB, the price of the disks was high."

"The product is highly expensive. Additionally, there is a significant lack of training, support documents, and forums available for Dell XtremIO, making troubleshooting difficult for third-party individuals."

"The product could be improved by reducing the pricing and having better organization in their technical support team."

More Dell XtremIO cons

"The solution has a low number of NVME host attachments at 16 per IO group over the fiber channel."

"The interface could improve in IBM FlashSystem."

"There could be some extra features added."

"It could be easier to implement."

"Their technical support needs improvement in terms of reachability for the clients and response times. They should be more responsive and have more online platforms for support. They should make more technical information available online. There could be some kind of documentation community."

"The customer's expectations are what they get on the cloud, they're expecting even in the on-premises deployments, going forward."

"They can improve its initial configuration. The initial configuration is currently very difficult. There are multiple choices or alternative ways to configure based on the use case and what you are targeting out of the device, that is, more capacity or more performance. These multiple alternatives cause a lot of confusion. They should increase the processing part of the nodes. Currently, you can cluster up to eight nodes. From my experience and the workload that I am facing in my environment currently, I would like to see either a bigger or stronger node or a larger number of nodes that can be clustered together. We formally communicated to them that we need to see either this or that, and they are working on something."

"The installation is not easy. You need to have extensive knowledge to handle it."

More IBM FlashSystem cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is expensive."

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

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

"They can tout the functionality and cutting edge technology that they have, but that's where the price tag comes in. The cost is high, but I think as they grow their business and get more customers that it will probably go down a little bit."

"The licensing is on a yearly basis."

"The tool's pricing is cheap; I rate it a six to seven out of ten. Most of our sales are not subscription-based. We sell the hardware, and customers keep using it. They only renew the service part annually. The support can be a bit pricey, but the solution is more cost-effective than anything else out there."

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

"With Pure Storage, we would like to continue seeing price reductions with flash storage. I don't think we're any different than anybody else when we continue to look to the industry for price reductions of both NVMe and traditional SSD storage. We would like to see these prices continue to decline and erode, even displacing large spinning disks."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pricing and cost advice

"Dell XtremIO's price is affordable and I would rate it a five out of ten."

"With some workloads that benefit from compression and deduplication, costs are actually better than some tier 2 subsystems (while latency remains <1ms)."

"The initial purchase price was good but when you need to upgrade, it's a different story."

"The price of the solution should be reduced. The price matches the price of a VMAX service but it does not have the capability of a VMAX service. However, the prices of Dell EMC XtremIO can be reduceable."

"XtremIO is pretty straightforward about pricing. However, you need to look at your data so you can estimate, with the advice of DEL EMC, what data reduction ratio you will reach. In our case, a 3:1 reduction ration gave us a positive case compared to other storage arrays."

"It is expensive if you need to increase scalability."

"It's not cheap, but it absolutely gets the job done. I don't have any real comment regarding licensing specifically."

"This solution is a little bit pricey."

More Dell XtremIO pricing and cost advice

"The cost of the IBM FlashSystem is lower than the HPE solution."

"The price depends of the technology that our customers need. The price can come at a lower cost but this may increase as storage is added."

"I find the pricing of the solution to be very reasonable."

"Its price is very good."

"It pays to go back and get the best price you can from your supplier. The first offer is not always at the best discount."

"The solution has good pricing, but it is not cheaper."

"Our customers would like IMB FlashSystem to be less expensive."

"They've been much more aggressive in the last five, six years than they were before that."

More IBM FlashSystem pricing and cost advice

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Comparison Review

it_user182013

Federal Civ/Intel Engineering Lead at Rubrik

May 1, 2015

Measuring Up: EMC XtremIO and HP 3PAR

Leading up to EMC World 2015, IT Central Station asked how I would compare EMC XtremIO and HP 3PAR. Until recently, the flash storage conversation in my organization and many others has centered on XtremIO and Pure Storage, the leaders of the all-flash array (AFA) space. To that end, I've written a…

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Government

Financial Services Firm

13%

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

Healthcare Company

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

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	15
Midsize Enterprise	14
Large Enterprise	29

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	47
Midsize Enterprise	22
Large Enterprise	57

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.

See all answers

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 ...

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What do you like most about Dell EMC XtremIO?

The feature I like most about Dell Xtremio is its hardware quality compared to other vendors. It's clear they're cont...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell XtremIO?

Pricing is hard to determine as it depends on the given configuration. XtremIO offers features that justify a potenti...

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What needs improvement with Dell XtremIO?

The interface could be simplified for beginners to ease the configuration of special objects in the system. While the...

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What do you like most about IBM FlashSystem?

It is simple to make an update.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM FlashSystem?

The pricing is reasonable for IBM FlashSystem.

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM FlashSystem?

Some improvements are required in IBM regarding response time and resolution time, though not about competence. Produ...

See all answers

Comparisons

Dell PowerStore vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 22% of the time

TrueNAS R-Series vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 16% of the time

Dell PowerMax vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 13% of the time

Pure Storage FlashBlade vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 11% of the time

HPE Nimble Storage vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 4% of the time

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe Competitors

Dell PowerStore vs Dell XtremIO

Compared 25% of the time

Dell PowerMax vs Dell XtremIO

Compared 16% of the time

Pure Storage FlashArray vs Dell XtremIO

Compared 12% of the time

NetApp AFF vs Dell XtremIO

Compared 9% of the time

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) vs Dell XtremIO

Compared 7% of the time

More Dell XtremIO Competitors

Dell PowerStore vs IBM FlashSystem

Compared 20% of the time

HPE Alletra Storage vs IBM FlashSystem

Compared 9% of the time

Huawei OceanStor Dorado vs IBM FlashSystem

Compared 8% of the time

Pure Storage FlashArray vs IBM FlashSystem

Compared 8% of the time

NetApp AFF vs IBM FlashSystem

Compared 7% of the time

More IBM FlashSystem Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Pure FlashArray X NVMe

October 2025

Download Pure FlashArray X NVMe product report

Buyer's Guide

Dell XtremIO

October 2025

Download Dell XtremIO product report

Buyer's Guide

IBM FlashSystem

October 2025

Download IBM FlashSystem product report

Also Known As

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

Dell EMC XtremIO Flash, Dell EMC XtremIO X2, XtremIO, XtremIO X2

IBM Storwize

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

Bring all-flash, scale-out storage to your enterprise applications with EMC XtremIO. Purpose-built for flash, XtremIO storage arrays are amazingly fast. Delivering high IOPS at less than 1 millisecond latency is just the start. EMC XtremIO helps you harness the power of flash storage by building in innovations like content-based data placement and dual-stage metadata.

Dell Technologies

IBM FlashSystem products are enterprise computer data storage systems that store data on flash memory chips. Unlike storage systems that use standard solid-state drives, IBM FlashSystem products incorporate custom hardware based on technology from the 2012 acquisition of Texas Memory Systems. This hardware provides performance, reliability, and efficiency benefits versus competitive offerings.

IBM

Sample Customers

Fremont Bank, Judson ISD, The Nielsen Company

Raiffeisen Bank Bulgaria, Wentworth-Douglas Hospital

Celero, Friedhelm Loh Group, Clarks, Mingkang Natregro Health Food Group, Sofia, Etisalat Fights Fraud, UF Health Shands Hospital, Generali, Elecon Engineering Company Limited, Ventiv , Technology, CPFL Energia, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., SciQuest, Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated, Paddy Power, Kelsey-Seybold Clinic, Interconnect Services, Severstal IP-Only AB, PVU Group GmbH

Buyer's Guide

Dell XtremIO vs. IBM FlashSystem

September 2025

Free Report: Dell XtremIO vs. IBM FlashSystem

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