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 8.8, while IBM is ranked #3. Dell Technologies holds a 14.1% mindshare in FBDA, compared to IBM’s 19.2% 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 55 Dell SC Series reviews

2,309 Views
231 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

IBM System Storage DS8000 S...

Read 6 IBM System Storage DS8000 Series reviews

506 Views
476 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: April 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Dell SC Series vs. IBM System Storage DS8000 Series

April 2026

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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

7.5

Number of Reviews

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

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the Frame-Based Disk Arrays category, the mindshare of Dell SC Series is 14.1%, up from 11.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM System Storage DS8000 Series is 19.2%, down from 34.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Frame-Based Disk Arrays Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Dell SC Series	14.1%
IBM System Storage DS8000 Series	19.2%
Other	66.7%

Frame-Based Disk Arrays

Featured Reviews

RafaelGamaluis

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.

Read full review

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.

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

"It is fast and performs well."

"It is just as stable as any other high-end solution."

"I definitely recommend Compellent to my customers because it is a very good product that is very scalable, it is easy to use, and Dell offers a good warranty."

"Technical support has been quite good; we are very satisfied with the level of support we receive."

"The most valuable features are the with back-end dedupe, and the thin nodes. For a 20TB or 60TB, we're using almost a one-to-two ratio."

"There's some new stuff coming with 7.3, which just got released, where they're spreading the sparing across the whole array, rather than having a dedicated spare disk, and have it sit there and do nothing until one of them dies, and then it kicks in - and having to rebuild all of that. Now, they'll do the sparing across all the disks and they say that is going to add not only space but performance to the array, with 7.3."

"It has good dedupe and compression. Also, the built-in data migration capabilities are pretty good, as is the federation. When we started migrating the workloads from different storage platforms, like NetApp and XtremeIO, it helped us in moving to that direction."

"The setup is straightforward."

More Dell SC Series pros

"These are global mirror and replication for DR, which allow us to do a lot of DR testing."

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

"The main benefit is from the standpoint of recovery; recovery time and being able to quickly replicate data."

"I really recommend the IBM DS8000 solution as it is the most advanced technology available for storage solutions."

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

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

"We have had no outages now for literally six years and that's really impressive."

"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."

Cons

"Dell could improve the upgrading process."

"We had some issues with the battery in the previous version that we were unable to resolve."

"Overall, I'd like to see more synergy between Dell EMC's higher-tier platforms and their mid-tier platforms."

"While there's always room for improvement in everything, I can't really think of a specific feature of the solution that requires immediate attention."

"The interface could be improved. It should have an application point of view."

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

"We can definitely see a need for it being a multi-controller system for customers who want to scale beyond the current capability. That's always a downside. A lot of the new systems are scaling vertically, they scale out, and the Compellent, of course, is controllers with shelves under it, so you don't scale out with it, unless you add another one. But if you do, they don't talk to each other, like some of the other solutions that we sell."

"While the scalability is good, there are certain limitations. Our racks are at their limit, so we do not have the requisite scalability to expand."

More Dell SC Series cons

"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."

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

"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 pricing of the solution is difficult to deal with. Lower pricing would be preferred."

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

"On the open system side, it's a little different."

"Sometimes when we do encounter problems, but not a complete system shutdown, that gets a little bit frustrating."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing of this solution is competitive."

"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 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."

"Pricing depends on varying life cycles."

"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."

"The scalability seems a bit more expensive than even buying a brand new one so far. That has been kind of a drawback."

"This product is too expensive compared to others, and I don't see any value in using it."

"We have the basic license for the use of this solution and it is a permanent license. The overall cost could be less, it is expensive."

More Dell SC Series pricing and cost advice

"The license is very expensive."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

14%

Outsourcing Company

Construction Company

Performing Arts

Financial Services Firm

18%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Computer Software Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	26
Midsize Enterprise	10
Large Enterprise	20

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Large Enterprise	7

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 ...

See all answers

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.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Dell SC Series?

We use Dell SC Series in a VMware environment.

See all answers

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Dell SC Series

April 2026

Download Dell SC Series product report

Buyer's Guide

IBM System Storage DS8000 Series

April 2026

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

April 2026

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

Find out what your peers are saying about Dell SC Series vs. IBM System Storage DS8000 Series and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.

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