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 #17. Dell Technologies holds a 16.5% mindshare in N, compared to NetApp’s 2.1% 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 67 Dell PowerScale (Isilon) reviews

10,602 Views
5,089 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

NetApp Private Storage

Read 15 NetApp Private Storage reviews

452 Views
452 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

17th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the NAS category, the mindshare of Dell PowerScale (Isilon) is 16.5%, down from 17.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetApp Private Storage is 2.1%, 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)	16.5%
NetApp Private Storage	2.1%
Other	81.4%

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.

Read full review

Atilla Celiloglu

Broadcast Technology Director at tv8

Has supported continuous broadcasting with reliable performance and consistent operations

They can make more solutions for cloud integration in NetApp Private Storage. It should be easier to use the cloud S3 integration, maybe from a NetApp interface, where users can choose the type of storage before sending to S3. I would like to see more audit and performance logs via cloud integrations and ONTAP. Without the need for separate software.

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

"Dell PowerScale helps in saving costs related to power and rack space, reducing physical hardware from over one hundred to twenty-nine chassis."

"The most valuable feature of Dell PowerScale (Isilon) is all the capabilities together."

"Dell PowerScale's performance is good."

"The best thing is that it works. We don't have to maintain it too much; we usually upgrade once a year."

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

"Certainly, we have seen return on investment and peace of mind, especially with our two clusters that are linked together, where one is a disaster recovery solution for the other."

"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."

More Dell PowerScale (Isilon) pros

"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."

"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."

"The solution is stable."

"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."

"At the moment, we are extensively using SnapMirror."

"The solution scales well."

"As opposed to cloud, we have full control over security, use, who uses it. We own a number of different companies, so we can partition however we want."

"NetApp is faster than other storage brands."

More NetApp Private Storage pros

Cons

"PowerScale is not suitable for virtual environments."

"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."

"Additional metadata reporting would be great. We have to use a separate tool to report on that. We would like to view the age of data and how long it has been since someone has accessed a file."

"Dell PowerScale needs to reduce its price."

"The solution’s interface and pricing could be improved."

"There are some missing features in the product, especially when our company needs to do some tape backup, and we see that the tool doesn't have integration capabilities."

"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."

"The product’s expansion capacity, pricing clarity, and ease of use need improvement."

More Dell PowerScale (Isilon) cons

"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."

"I think that it should work better with Microsoft solutions, more integrated with Microsoft. We also need integrated NAS and block storage."

"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."

"It is not the fastest storage solution."

"The hardware does not last as long as it could with new software."

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

"There is room for improvement in the support. It has been a problem for our team."

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

More NetApp Private Storage cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution's licensing cost varies based on capacity and performance requirements."

"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 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 a really expensive solution."

"It is an expensive product with a high storage capacity suitable for large data requirements."

"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."

"It's a high-cost offering amounting to three or four million Swedish kronor, or about $400,000 or euros, for approximately 480 terabytes of storage."

"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."

More Dell PowerScale (Isilon) pricing and cost advice

"The price could be lower."

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

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

"The product is costly."

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

"It is an expensive solution."

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

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

Government

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Educational Organization

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	2
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)?

The cost is competitive with other vendors such as HP. I always compare prices between two vendors, and they are good in this situation.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Dell EMC PowerScale (Isilon)?

Sometimes, it takes too long to set up everything. That's something I would want them to improve. The main challenge I face with it now is that my team is accustomed to using other vendors, and whe...

See all answers

What needs improvement with NetApp Private Storage?

See all answers

What is your primary use case for NetApp Private Storage?

It consists of a large production company and national television channels broadcasting 24/7. We wanted to choose a stable product with flawless SLA levels for an organization that broadcasts 24/7....

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering NetApp Private Storage?

I believe it will deliver the expected performance and stability for television channels and production studios. On a scale of 1-10, I rate NetApp Private Storage an 8.

See all answers

Comparisons

NetApp FAS Series vs Dell PowerScale (Isilon)

Compared 16% of the time

Pure Storage FlashBlade vs Dell PowerScale (Isilon)

Compared 10% of the time

Qumulo vs Dell PowerScale (Isilon)

Compared 8% of the time

Dell ObjectScale 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 21% of the time

QNAP NAS Storage vs NetApp Private Storage

Compared 18% of the time

Hitachi NAS Platform vs NetApp Private Storage

Compared 13% of the time

Qumulo vs NetApp Private Storage

Compared 9% of the time

Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform vs NetApp Private Storage

Compared 7% of the time

More NetApp Private Storage Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Dell PowerScale (Isilon)

October 2025

Download Dell PowerScale (Isilon) product report

Buyer's Guide

NetApp Private Storage

October 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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