Dell SC Series vs IBM System Storage DS8000 Series comparison

Dell Technologies and IBM are both solutions in the Frame-Based Disk Arrays category. Dell Technologies is ranked #2 with an average rating of 9.0, while IBM is ranked #3. Dell Technologies holds a 8.9% mindshare in FBDA, compared to IBM’s 33.5% mindshare. Additionally, 94% of Dell Technologies users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 85% of IBM users who would recommend it.

Dell SC Series

Read 54 Dell SC Series reviews

68 Views
38 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

IBM System Storage DS8000 S...

Read 6 IBM System Storage DS8000 Series reviews

215 Views
27 Comparison Views

85% willing to recommend

Dell SC Series

IBM System Storage DS8000 S...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Dell SC Series and IBM System Storage DS8000 Series based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Frame-Based Disk Arrays solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Dell SC Series vs. IBM System Storage DS8000 Series Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Dell SC Series vs. IBM System Storage DS8000 Series

June 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 SC Series

Ranking in Frame-Based Disk Arrays

2nd

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

All-Flash Storage (17th)

IBM System Storage DS8000 S...

Ranking in Frame-Based Disk Arrays

3rd

Average Rating

9.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Frame-Based Disk Arrays category, the mindshare of Dell SC Series is 8.9%, down from 15.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM System Storage DS8000 Series is 33.5%, up from 28.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Frame-Based Disk Arrays

Featured Reviews

Steven McClendon

Data Center Server & Storage Administrator at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees

Superior platform with excellent snapshots and cost-saving auto-tiering

I'm a big fan of the SC Series platform. Its feature set is superior to some of the other platforms. The snapshots on SC are excellent, allowing for multiple snapshot schedules for any one system. The auto-tiering functionality intelligently moves new data to the highest performance tier and then progresses it down to less expensive tiers over time, providing cost savings for customers.

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reviewer1392684

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.

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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 solution is stable."

"It is suitable for small or medium businesses."

"I find this version to be more budget-friendly compared to products from other vendors. This aspect greatly benefits my customers. It's highly advantageous due to its affordability. The operational aspect is also noteworthy. Additionally, its availability and performance are commendable. The speaker are also equally powerful."

"In terms of stability, it's good enough. It's okay."

"The performance benefits weren't surprising, we expected that. What we didn't expect were the densification benefits that we got out of going all-flash. We're able to put more applications on the arrays because of how all-flash performs. The way some of the application profiles have responded to all-flash has been really pleasing."

"Everything is sub-5 MS for us. What I've found is that, with all-flash, when an app from my business is slow, I pretty much know it's them and not me. It leads to a performance conversation that has really hit an interesting threshold point where we are better than what they need. So now we get to have that "refactoring your application" conversation a lot quicker because now the performance on the infrastructure side isn't in question anymore."

"With federation, you can have multiple systems across sites. You can treat them as one, and with a live migration, volumes don't go down. You can move them from site to site, doing maintenance, and keep your environment up."

"We replicate between SAN to SAN for a lot of features and supportability. It also helps us when we want to upgrade to a newer SC Series or move the data from one data center to another."

More Dell SC Series pros

"The Global Copy and Global Mirror features are the solution's most valuable aspects."

"The high throughput feature is the most powerful thing in this product."

Cons

"Dell could improve the upgrading process."

"In some customer cases, customers experienced more performance or latency."

"From a performance point of view, it's getting a bit old."

"While the price is competitive, in the next release it would be better if they could reduce the fees."

"This solution could be improved if overall performance was improved and operated with a higher speed and supported a higher volume of RAM."

"The SC Series doesn't support NVMe storage."

"The connection should be better integrated with the network to offer a better view of the system."

"I don't think the solution is very scalable."

More Dell SC Series cons

"The GUI isn't as user-friendly as other options."

"The solution should embedded replication switches into the hardware instead of using them externally."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We have reviewed many platforms over the years. It is probably the best solution for its value."

"Support typically depends on the array. It can range anywhere from $7,000 to a couple of hundred thousand dollars."

"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."

"The pricing of this solution is competitive."

"It's absolutely affordable. Again, not having to do a forklift upgrade like some of the others have had to do in the past, it's very affordable for our customers and they continue to buy."

"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."

"We have found it to be affordable. Comparing the cost with other hardware, it seems to be right in line with the compute and the storage that we get with it."

More Dell SC Series pricing and cost advice

"The license is very expensive."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

22%

University

10%

Financial Services Firm

Government

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Dell SC Series?

I find this version to be more budget-friendly compared to products from other vendors. This aspect greatly benefits my customers. It's highly advantageous due to its affordability. The operational...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell SC Series?

Cost considerations are crucial when choosing between solutions like Dell and NetApp. Sometimes Dell offers better performance for less money. That said, the costs can vary.

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What needs improvement with Dell SC Series?

In the future, I want any box that comes on-premises to have the provision to integrate with cloud storage. If I want a second copy or need to replicate data from on-premises to the cloud, this pro...

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Dell SC Series

June 2025

Download Dell SC Series product report

Buyer's Guide

IBM System Storage DS8000 Series

June 2025

Download IBM System Storage DS8000 Series product report

Also Known As

SC Series Storage, Compellent

System Storage DS8000

Overview

Dell EMC SC Series arrays provide a unified platform for the ultimate in performance, adaptability and machine-driven efficiency. SC Series software delivers modern features that help you meet aggressive workload demands using the fewest drives necessary. With an open, future-ready design, SC Series storage integrates seamlessly with applications and infrastructure, enabling you to scale on a single platform and add capabilities without forklift upgrades.

Dell Technologies

IBMÂ System StorageÂ DS8000Â series is a high-performance, high-capacity series of disk storage that supports continuous operations. The DS8000 series includes theÂ DS8800 (Models 951 and 95E) and theÂ DS8700 (Models 941 and 94E).

IBM

Sample Customers

TGen, Frost Science, Gerrie Electric

Renfe, Park Nicollet Health Services, Ricoh Americas Corporation, SK Energy, SWK STADTWERKE KREFELD AG

Buyer's Guide

Dell SC Series vs. IBM System Storage DS8000 Series

June 2025

Free Report: Dell SC Series vs. IBM System Storage DS8000 Series

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