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Dell SC Series vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe comparison

Dell Technologies and Pure Storage are both solutions in the All-Flash Storage category. Dell Technologies is ranked #18 with an average rating of 9.0, while Pure Storage is ranked #15 with an average rating of 8.6. Dell Technologies holds a 0.8% mindshare in AFS, compared to Pure Storage’s 0.8% mindshare. Additionally, 94% of Dell Technologies users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Pure Storage users who would recommend it.
Dell SC Series
Read 54 Dell SC Series reviews
  • 1,084 Views
  • 886 Comparison Views
94% willing to recommend
Pure FlashArray X NVMe
Read 35 Pure FlashArray X NVMe reviews
  • 1,532 Views
  • 743 Comparison Views
100% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 18, 2024

The Dell SC Series and Pure FlashArray X NVMe are high-performing storage solutions. Pure FlashArray X NVMe stands out for its advanced features, making it worth the investment over the Dell SC Series.

Features: Dell SC Series robust performance, scalability, and affordability; Pure FlashArray X NVMe speed, reliability, and comprehensive storage features

Room for Improvement: Dell SC Series better integration with third-party services, simpler update process, improved scalability options; Pure FlashArray X NVMe cost, documentation, interface complexity

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Dell SC Series straightforward deployment, mixed customer service experiences; Pure FlashArray X NVMe easy deployment, responsive support

Pricing and ROI: Dell SC Series cost-effective with solid ROI; Pure FlashArray X NVMe higher costs justified by superior performance and long-term benefits

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To learn more, read our detailed Dell SC Series vs. Pure FlashArray X NVMe Report (Updated: April 2025).
Buyer's Guide
Dell SC Series vs. Pure FlashArray X NVMe
April 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 All-Flash Storage
18th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
54
Ranking in other categories
Frame-Based Disk Arrays (3rd)
Pure FlashArray X NVMe
Ranking in All-Flash Storage
15th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
35
Ranking in other categories
NVMe All-Flash Storage Arrays (6th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the All-Flash Storage category, the mindshare of Dell SC Series is 0.8%, down from 1.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Pure FlashArray X NVMe is 0.8%, down from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
All-Flash Storage
 

Featured Reviews

Steven McClendon - PeerSpot reviewer
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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Eugene Hemphill - PeerSpot reviewer
Helps to save money and resources with the data compression feature
One point I'd like to improve is that the tool should start selling small boxes again. It discontinued some products and is focusing on bigger, more capable boxes, neglecting the SMB market. Even though it's not a big market, it shouldn't have removed them. One way to improve the product is to add an operational assistant that doesn't depend on VMware. It could also establish more alliances with other operational systems.
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 SC Series offers a lot of performance, being one of the best performing storages Dell ever made."
"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."
"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."
"Connecting it up, you can run it within a few hours."
"I can mix and match the drives, using older mechanical devices and the latest SFP drives in a single solution with different enclosures."
"One time, we had a drive fail and we were notified before we even saw it on the device."
"The product offers good performance and is quite powerful."
"It is fast and performs well."
More Dell SC Series pros
"It has benefited my organization because it has reduced time to insights."
"I appreciate the performance."
"The solution is scalable."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is reliability."
"The Pure1 component is most valuable at this point in time when comparing it with EMC. Pure1 is where you can have your diagnostics in the cloud, so you can look at things from your mobile phone."
"The database workloads are pretty fast because I frequently move data from here to there."
"The initial setup was extremely simple and straightforward."
"FlashArray has some fresh efficiency features. I've never seen a storage solution with a compression rating this high before. It's at least 4-to-1 on Oracle databases. It's the best flash storage for Oracle."
More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pros
 

Cons

"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."
"The cost of the solution could be better."
"I would like to see an integrated key manager in the controllers. Currently, it's an external product. It would be nice to have the option of having a built-in key for self-encrypting drive features."
"In the future, I want any box that comes on-premises to have the provision to integrate with cloud storage."
"I would like to see higher compression, dedupe, faster I/O, and bigger drives."
"In some customer cases, customers experienced more performance or latency."
"Compellent comes in the form of a component that's not true of a unified storage platform."
"In terms of additional features, I would like to see some kind of I/O meter, to indicate what we are using in terms of performance. I would like to see automation with that, where it would give me the trends. I want to know those things easily, to help me know where issues are going to occur."
More Dell SC Series cons
"We would like to see VNC integration or be able to use Pure Storage with VNC."
"Adding some functions to the product would be beneficial."
"In the future, I would like to see integration with enterprise backup systems."
"We need better data deduplication."
"I want to see Pure Storage not only be for fast storage, but I want to see it be for the entire data center."
"There is room for improvement in catering to midrange storage needs, especially for customers seeking Enterprise-class features."
"In the next release, I would like to see real-time analytics for further insight into consumption models."
"Maybe the price can be reduced since the solution is very expensive."
More Pure FlashArray X NVMe cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Compared to other solutions out there, it's affordable."
"Pricing depends on varying life cycles."
"We have reviewed many platforms over the years. It is probably the best solution for its value."
"The pricing is reasonable, but it is expensive."
"Support typically depends on the array. It can range anywhere from $7,000 to a couple of hundred thousand dollars."
"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."
"This product is too expensive compared to others, and I don't see any value in using it."
"There are costs involving the solution, vendor fees and product safety which are additional."
More Dell SC Series pricing and cost advice
"The tool is an investment that we've budgeted for. While the prices may be higher than those of other vendors, we see it as a market leader with benefits. We don't regret purchasing it."
"The support cost per array is about $20,000 a year for 24/7 support."
"Given its price, Pure is not the first option."
"We pay approximately $50,000 USD per year in licensing fees."
"They can tout the functionality and cutting edge technology that they have, but that's where the price tag comes in. The cost is high, but I think as they grow their business and get more customers that it will probably go down a little bit."
"The product is expensive."
"As far as the licensing costs, everything is included in the license."
"The tool's pricing is cheap; I rate it a six to seven out of ten. Most of our sales are not subscription-based. We sell the hardware, and customers keep using it. They only renew the service part annually. The support can be a bit pricey, but the solution is more cost-effective than anything else out there."
More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pricing and cost advice
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
21%
University
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Government
6%
 

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.
See all answers
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...
See all answers
What do you like most about Pure FlashArray X NVMe?
Pure FlashArray X NVMe helps to improve our processing speed. It is user-friendly and easy to use.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Pure FlashArray X NVMe?
I am an engineer and am not aware of the setup cost.
See all answers
What needs improvement with Pure FlashArray X NVMe?
Adding some functions to the product would be beneficial. Storage replication should be essential, and the analytics should not incur extra charges. This is one of the main things organizations need.
See all answers
 

Comparisons

Dell PowerStore vs Dell SC Series Logo
Dell PowerStore vs Dell SC Series
Compared 61% of the time
Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) vs Dell SC Series Logo
Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) vs Dell SC Series
Compared 10% of the time
Dell Unity XT vs Dell SC Series Logo
Dell Unity XT vs Dell SC Series
Compared 9% of the time
IBM FlashSystem vs Dell SC Series Logo
IBM FlashSystem vs Dell SC Series
Compared 9% of the time
NetApp AFF vs Dell SC Series Logo
NetApp AFF vs Dell SC Series
Compared 6% of the time
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Dell PowerStore vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe Logo
Dell PowerStore vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe
Compared 30% of the time
TrueNAS R-Series vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe Logo
TrueNAS R-Series vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe
Compared 17% of the time
Pure Storage FlashBlade vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe Logo
Pure Storage FlashBlade vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe
Compared 15% of the time
IBM FlashSystem vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe Logo
IBM FlashSystem vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe
Compared 11% of the time
HPE Alletra Storage vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe Logo
HPE Alletra Storage vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe
Compared 8% of the time
More Pure FlashArray X NVMe Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Dell SC Series
April 2025
Dell SC Series reportDownload Dell SC Series product report
Buyer's Guide
Pure FlashArray X NVMe
April 2025
Pure FlashArray X NVMe reportDownload Pure FlashArray X NVMe product report
 

Also Known As

SC Series Storage, Compellent
Pure FlashArray//X NVMe, Pure FlashArray//X, FlashArray//X
 

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

Pure Storage FlashArray//X is the world’s first enterprise-class, all-NVMe flash storage array. It represents a new class of storage – shared accelerated storage, which is a term coined by Gartner – that delivers major breakthroughs in performance, simplicity, and consolidation.

Pure Storage
 

Sample Customers

TGen, Frost Science, Gerrie Electric
Fremont Bank, Judson ISD, The Nielsen Company
Buyer's Guide
Dell SC Series vs. Pure FlashArray X NVMe
April 2025
Free Report: Dell SC Series vs. Pure FlashArray X NVMe
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