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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 June 2026, in the Frame-Based Disk Arrays category, the mindshare of Dell SC Series is 15.1%, up from 8.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM System Storage DS8000 Series is 17.5%, down from 33.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Frame-Based Disk Arrays Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Dell SC Series15.1%
IBM System Storage DS8000 Series17.5%
Other67.4%
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

"One time, we had a drive fail and we were notified before we even saw it on the device."
"For all the deployments that I've seen or done, its been a rock solid platform."
"With the SC Series SAN, the performance that we've gotten out of the boxes alleviated anyone's concerns."
"Its leading feature is the price-performance ratio, which is very good."
"It has been one of the most stable products in our data center."
"It is one of the most cost effective systems for us, and we have been able to run it longer than most, getting the most benefit and money out of it."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to replicate. We are running a financial company and it needs to be available 24/7. We can't afford any downtime."
"The Dell support is helpful and the response is quick, and the agents' knowledge is very good."
"The main benefit is from the standpoint of recovery; recovery time and being able to quickly replicate data."
"The high throughput feature is the most powerful thing in this product."
"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."
"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."
"These are global mirror and replication for DR, which allow us to do a lot of DR testing."
"The Global Copy and Global Mirror features are the solution's most valuable aspects."
 

Cons

"There's always room for improvement in the operating code."
"Dell SC Series is no longer available, while Dell PowerStore, which supports NVMe over TCP, is different and not very affordable."
"In some customer cases, customers experienced more performance or latency."
"Technical support should respond more quickly because the turnaround time is very high."
"For example, for a 4TB SSD, they may charge you seven grand or eight grand. It's expensive."
"I would like to have 100% functionality through the web app."
"To begin with, we were ready to throw it out the window."
"An issue we had was that the controller went down during an upgrade because of their upgrading the code. One side of the switch was down."
"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 solution should embedded replication switches into the hardware instead of using them externally."
"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."
"The pricing of the solution is difficult to deal with. Lower pricing would be preferred."
"On the open system side, it's a little different."
"The GUI isn't as user-friendly as other options."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Compared to other solutions out there, it's affordable."
"Pricing depends on varying life cycles."
"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."
"This product is too expensive compared to others, and I don't see any value in using it."
"The scalability seems a bit more expensive than even buying a brand new one so far. That has been kind of a drawback."
"Always keep in mind, this is not just a enclosure with disks is a complete SAN as a service. There is software, license, and storage in one single solution."
"We have reviewed many platforms over the years. It is probably the best solution for its value."
"We were able to afford two tiers of flash storage at a price where the competition was giving us one tier or just a handful of discs."
"The license is very expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
16%
Construction Company
11%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
21%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
6%
 

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
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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: June 2026.
900,644 professionals have used our research since 2012.