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Dell SC Series vs IBM System Storage DS8000 Series comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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 SC Series
Ranking in Frame-Based Disk Arrays
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
55
Ranking in other categories
All-Flash Storage (18th)
IBM System Storage DS8000 S...
Ranking in Frame-Based Disk Arrays
3rd
Average Rating
9.4
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Frame-Based Disk Arrays category, the mindshare of Dell SC Series is 15.0%, up from 11.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM System Storage DS8000 Series is 18.0%, down from 32.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Frame-Based Disk Arrays Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Dell SC Series15.0%
IBM System Storage DS8000 Series18.0%
Other67.0%
Frame-Based Disk Arrays
 

Featured Reviews

RafaelGamaluis - PeerSpot reviewer
Architect Engineer, IT INFRASTRUCTURES Project Manager at Vilavi
User interface offers clarity and detailed information while technical support consistently delivers
The best features of Dell SC Series are stability and replication. The replication solution is excellent, and they have a solution named Live Migration. It is a robust platform. The interface and the GUI (graphical user interface) for administrating the Compellent are exceptional, with abundant information that is very clear. The management capabilities are excellent, and the stability of our storage hardware is remarkable.
reviewer1392684 - PeerSpot reviewer
Solution Architect; Senior Manager Mainframe Technical Service at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Great Global Copy and Global Mirror features with an easy initial setup
We're just a customer. We don't have a business relationship with the company. I'm an outsourcing service provider and I've had a lot of experience using the solution. We have everything from DS8100 disc storage, all the way up to 8990s. I'd advise new users to read the implementation installation guide. Most of the questions are answered in there. People just tend to skim over it and don't get into the details. However, it's important in making everything run smoothly and understanding the solution. That's probably the best advice I've actually heard from anybody. At the end of the day, don't be someone who skips the instructions, and all of a sudden you have a pile of parts. I'd rate the solution nine out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Connecting it up, you can run it within a few hours."
"The Phone Home support is very good, providing proactive troubleshooting and responding quickly, and we also have a local vendor who supports all our IT infrastructure and acts as our consultant."
"Technical support is very good. I do use it from time to time and it's always excellent."
"With the hybrid storage approach, we can balance between cheap space and good performance."
"The setup and installation is much simpler now, because Dell has standardized the configure process."
"With auto-tiering, it's easier to understand than most arrays, knowing that all of your writes go to the tier that you specify, with easy-to-create storage profiles."
"I can mix and match the drives, using older mechanical devices and the latest SFP drives in a single solution with different enclosures."
"Component support was great; on a scale of one to ten they were a ten, they were always helpful."
"The high throughput feature is the most powerful thing in this product."
"The high throughput feature is the most powerful thing in this product."
"These are global mirror and replication for DR, which allow us to do a lot of DR testing."
"The solution is very stable; there aren't any problems there at all as it doesn't have bugs or glitches and doesn't crash or freeze, and we've found it to be very reliable."
"The Global Copy and Global Mirror features are the solution's most valuable aspects."
"The main benefit is from the standpoint of recovery; recovery time and being able to quickly replicate data."
"We have had no outages now for literally six years and that's really impressive."
"I really recommend the IBM DS8000 solution as it is the most advanced technology available for storage solutions."
 

Cons

"An issue we had was that the controller went down during an upgrade because of their upgrading the code."
"One option I would like to see is, when you're up on the view-screen, to be able to incorporate getting to what HPE call the iLO, the Integrated Lights-Out. To be able to get that instead of having to go back and trying to find IP addresses and re-institute those would be good. It would be good to be able to that put on the initial splash screen."
"Overall, I'd like to see more synergy between Dell EMC's higher-tier platforms and their mid-tier platforms. What I have said, constantly, to my partners at Dell EMC is that the clear articulation of the path is really important to us. In that vein, what I'd also like to see is, with the migration strategy that's built into this product, a lot more attention paid to Dell's - in particular - legacy platforms and how we get from some of our legacy EMC platforms onto this platform with a straight-through migration and scaling strategy, not host-based migrations and not piecemeal... Dell EMC would do well to focus more on my ability to skip a generation, rather than having me take individual hops because I can't greenfield my way into a software-defined data center fast enough. This journey of multiple hops is not helpful."
"The price could be improved."
"I don't think the solution is very scalable."
"Customer support could be improved. It takes five or six reps to finally get someone who can help us."
"I would rate the SC Series at seven out of ten right now. That might change as future releases come out and more functionality comes into the product."
"We can definitely see a need for it being a multi-controller system for customers who want to scale beyond the current capability."
"The solution should embedded replication switches into the hardware instead of using them externally."
"On the open system side, it's a little different."
"The pricing of the solution is difficult to deal with. Lower pricing would be preferred."
"The GUI isn't as user-friendly as other options."
"We need the GUI feature to be improved. If the GUI is good, then it is easier to manage with just the clicks, rather than going in with CLI and commands to do the stuff."
"Sometimes when we do encounter problems, but not a complete system shutdown, that gets a little bit frustrating."
"I would like it to be easier to use. Some of it is so complex that we've got a lot of scripts and automation and things tied around it."
"The GUI isn't as user-friendly as other options."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This product is too expensive compared to others, and I don't see any value in using it."
"It is one of the most cost effective systems for us. We have been able to run it longer than most, getting the most benefit and money out of it."
"It's a very affordable solution."
"It has a good price point and offers some value-added enterprise features."
"The maintenance is usually pretty good. It's not like some of the others where they increase it in the fourth, fifth, or sixth years."
"The pricing of Dell EMC Compellent is competitive."
"We have reviewed many platforms over the years. It is probably the best solution for its value."
"The SC Series was priced fairly. I wouldn't call it either expensive or cheap because we had a very tight budget, so if they were able to fit in that type of budget, they met our expectations."
"The license is very expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Construction Company
7%
Performing Arts
6%
Financial Services Firm
18%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
8%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business26
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise20
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Large Enterprise8
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell SC Series?
In our case, we received favorable pricing with Dell because of our strong partnership. While I acknowledge that Dell SC Series can be expensive for many companies, we received good discounts. The ...
What needs improvement with Dell SC Series?
For us, it is a great product. The deduplication and compression could potentially be improved, though they are already good. We cannot identify any significant areas that need improvement.
What is your primary use case for Dell SC Series?
We use Dell SC Series in a VMware environment.
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

Also Known As

SC Series Storage, Compellent
System Storage DS8000
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

TGen, Frost Science, Gerrie Electric
Renfe, Park Nicollet Health Services, Ricoh Americas Corporation, SK Energy, SWK STADTWERKE KREFELD AG
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell SC Series vs. IBM System Storage DS8000 Series and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
896,099 professionals have used our research since 2012.