Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs IBM FlashSystem comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

Dell PowerScale (Isilon)
Ranking in NAS
1st
Average Rating
9.0
Number of Reviews
49
Ranking in other categories
File and Object Storage (3rd)
IBM FlashSystem
Ranking in NAS
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Number of Reviews
106
Ranking in other categories
Modular SAN (Storage Area Network) (2nd), All-Flash Storage (6th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2024, in the NAS category, the mindshare of Dell PowerScale (Isilon) is 26.5%, up from 22.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM FlashSystem is 6.6%, up from 5.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
NAS
Unique Categories:
File and Object Storage
8.0%
Modular SAN (Storage Area Network)
17.9%
All-Flash Storage
7.2%
 

Featured Reviews

RL
May 20, 2024
Supports managed servers and gives a lot of operational flexibility
We use the solution internally to support our own managed servers and run our own support center. From a business point of view, I like the way the solution cooperates. Dell PowerScale works well to help our organization manage and run its storage from any location. We used to have systems at different locations, which required a lot of coordination. We made it work, but with the current solution, one guy can do the work that earlier required two or three full-time equivalents. Dell PowerScale has helped us to reduce or eliminate data silos. I rate the solution's flexibility a six out of seven for supporting various data workloads while keeping them protected. It did not really limit risk. It gives a lot of operational flexibility in a way that reduces risk because then the solution is better up to date every time you use it and is consistent across the different data sources. That's good and adds value, but we were already doing that in the old situation. Dell PowerScale just made it easier. When envisioning the future of our containerized solutions in terms of cloud integration, we will adopt a hybrid strategy. Some of our customers are not able to move to the cloud, where we have to support them. We're following what the customer can do. In many cases, their initial transition into the cloud was not as successful as they thought. In the Dutch market, people are now a little more business-minded while looking into the cloud. That's why I believe that hybrid will be the way forward. As an integrator, the needs of our customers drive our decision-making process when it comes to selecting a cloud, on-premises, or hybrid environment for containerized applications.
Raanan Sitton - PeerSpot reviewer
Oct 6, 2022
Stable, with a straightforward implementation, and a compression feature
IBM FlashSystem is used for performance systems IBM FlashSystem has improved the way the organizations of my customers function. The most crucial feature of IBM FlashSystem is compression. The only issue my team faced was transferring the data from the old system to IBM FlashSystem, which is an…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Dell PowerScale's performance is good."
"You plug in a new node and data starts migrating over to it, and IT spreads out the load. We've added multiple nodes to the system since deploying it. The process is pretty seamless, and we are able to do it with no downtime. It's a very easy process to do."
"Dell has the AI to protect the EMA."
"PowerScale allows us to manage storage without managing RAID groups or migrating volumes between controllers. It has really simplified things. We're not having to worry about the underlying infrastructure. That takes care of itself. We just worry about the data. It's really easy for deploying and managing storage at the petabyte scale."
"The tool's most valuable features are scalability and stability."
"The product's scalability feature is super easy to use."
"The most valuable feature of Dell PowerScale (Isilon) is all the capabilities together."
"There are also the policies that you set up on replication and purging files, and policies for something called WORM. That's a "write once, read many," where you can't overwrite certain files or certain data. It puts them in a "protected mode" where it becomes very difficult for someone to accidentally delete. We use that for certain files or certain directories, because we're dealing with video and some video has to be protected for chain-of-custody purposes. The WORM feature works great."
"The valuable features for us are the extra add-ons, such as the FIM provisioning, the compression, the disaster recovery capabilities, and the storage pooling functions."
"The installation is nice and easy."
"IBM FlashSystem is flexible, quick, and has a solid design."
"The feature I find most valuable, is the deduplication, because the nature of the data that we are using in our current environment, has a lot of replicated data."
"One of the most valuable features is that it's very easy to use and configure. It used to be more difficult, but now it's almost flawless."
"The most valuable features are deduplication and compression, which together, enable you to have more space."
"No queuing and high ops, speed, and performance."
"IBM FlashSystem is a powerful effective storage solution. Additionally, it is user-friendly, anyone can use it."
 

Cons

"The pricing could be reduced."
"The replication could lend itself to some improvement around encryption in transit and managing the racing of large volumes of data. The process of file over and file back can be tedious. Hopefully, you never end up going into a DR. If you do go into a DR, you know the data is there on the remote site. However, in terms of the process of setting up the replicates and filing them back, that is just very tedious and could definitely do with some improvement."
"Dell PowerScale (Isilon) could improve the load distribution capability. For example, in some cases, the system load is not distributed automatically on all the nodes but is concentrated only on one. You have a peak request on only one node and the others don't do anything."
"It would be nice to see tools like Superna Eyeglass built into PowerScale."
"I would like to see increased reporting and statistics functionalities."
"That said, for the other security features, it would be helpful if Tenable - and I know it's outside the scope of this question itself - had Isilon-specific plugins."
"PowerScale is not suitable for virtual environments."
"Dell PowerScale (Isilon) is a little bit pricey, and its pricing could be improved."
"The GUI for monitoring performance metrics could provide better visibility. For example, it doesn't let me segregate the IOPS per volume."
"Include an option to upload the support package to the IBM ECuRep when opening an IBM PMR."
"I would like to see bigger modules."
"The product needs to improve their scalability."
"The solution should improve its pricing and the mechanism in the reduction pool."
"In the next release having the next level of high-speed performance would be great."
"I think the only thing the developers can look at, is that it is limited to 25 gigabytes currently. In the next release they might want to increase that."
"GUI interface should be enhanced more as there is some issues in copy services."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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 general cost for a system like this is expensive. The total cost depends on your use case. You need to pay for every additional feature that you use."
"Pricing for this solution is reasonable."
"We use the TNA approach which is a great opportunity for us to better manage the licenses based on how much consumption is available for the different customers so we can use that approach and scalability."
"The pricing for this solution is reasonable."
"The solution's licensing cost varies based on capacity and performance requirements."
"It is an expensive product with a high storage capacity suitable for large data requirements."
"It is an expensive solution."
"IBM V7000 has a new license and price structure which provides intuitive licensing based on the functions customers wish to enable and use the most."
"There are no licensing fees, it is a one-time purchase of the IBM FlashSystem."
"The cost is pretty high in terms of licensing. We pay at least $100,000 USD in licensing fees for the storage."
"Overall the price of the solution is expensive and this includes the license."
"This solution is expensive compared to other solutions."
"The price of IBM FlashSystem is a little high because you pay a premium because the solution is from IBM. We had paid for the SLA prior to using the solution."
"For a yearly license, it is about $100,000. There are no additional costs. The entire system is included."
"The solution has good pricing, but it is not cheaper."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
24%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell EMC PowerScale (Isilon)?
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.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM FlashSystem?
I rate the pricing a three out of ten. The tool is cost-efficient. The prices are good.
What needs improvement with IBM FlashSystem?
Customization features must be improved.
 

Also Known As

PowerScale, Dell EMC Isilon
IBM Storwize
 

Overview

 

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,
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
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs. IBM FlashSystem and other solutions. Updated: July 2024.
793,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.