Dell SC Series vs VAST Data comparison

Dell Technologies and VAST Data are both solutions in the All-Flash Storage category. Dell Technologies is ranked #16 with an average rating of 8.8, while VAST Data is ranked #30. Dell Technologies holds a 1.2% mindshare in AFS, compared to VAST Data’s 2.7% mindshare. Additionally, 94% of Dell Technologies users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of VAST Data users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 18, 2024

Dell SC Series and VAST Data are prominent choices in the storage market. VAST Data seems to have the upper hand due to its high performance and advanced storage capabilities.

Features: Dell SC Series is known for its scalable architecture, comprehensive data management, and positive feedback about user experience. VAST Data is noted for high performance, advanced storage capabilities, and innovative features that many users find advantageous.

Room for Improvement: Dell SC Series users indicate areas for improvement such as better integration with third-party tools, enhancements in system reliability, and improved support. VAST Data users suggest improvements in documentation, support for additional protocols, and better user guidance.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Dell SC Series is recognized for straightforward deployment processes, though customer service experiences vary. VAST Data is praised for efficient deployment and consistent customer support, providing a slight advantage in service quality.

Pricing and ROI: Dell SC Series offers competitive pricing but is perceived to provide only moderate ROI. VAST Data, while more expensive, delivers superior ROI due to its advanced performance, making it worth the additional cost.

To learn more, read our detailed Dell SC Series vs. VAST Data Report (Updated: February 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Dell SC Series vs. VAST Data

February 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

Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the All-Flash Storage category, the mindshare of Pure FlashArray X NVMe is 1.5%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell SC Series is 1.2%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VAST Data is 2.7%, up from 2.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

All-Flash Storage Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Dell SC Series	1.2%
Pure FlashArray X NVMe	1.5%
VAST Data	2.7%
Other	94.6%

All-Flash Storage

Featured Reviews

Jaehoon Oh

Chief Technology Officer at Lambda256

Supports efficient storage management through volume snapshots and offers reliable non-disruptive upgrades

I have no specific improvements to suggest for Pure FlashArray X NVMe at this time. The performance statistics could be enhanced. I can see the performance statistics in the Pure Storage console, but it does not show the performance by 4K byte unit. It displays IOPS and bandwidth, but IOPS is about real use, and I want to know how many IOPS are currently running in 4K byte units. I cannot see that IOPS because most storage systems report their performance by 4K byte unit. I want to see Pure Storage performance by 4K byte unit to compare with other storage or other internal NVMe SSD.

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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.

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Alan Powers

HPC CTO at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees

Stability-wise, a device that has been up and running for years

The failover capability and resiliency are some of the solution's valuable features. The big thing is resilience because it has richer coding in it, so multiple devices can't fail. Also, one can still access a number of CBoxes that can allow one to access their file system. Once a device fails, it fails the transparency of the end-user, and it just starts using another resource. The encryption capability, the snapshots, along with a whole bunch of features make the tool valuable. VAST Data keeps adding more and more features all the time.

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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 uses newer technology for deduplication and compression."

"The most valuable feature of this solution is reliability."

"On a scale of one to ten, I rate Pure FlashArray as ten."

"The most valuable feature of this solution is its ease of use."

"Overall stability is very good. It is a very stable solution."

"The tool's valuable features are speed, security, data compression, and reliability. Its data compression feature is the best that we have ever seen. It helps us to save money and resources."

"Technical support has been helpful and responsive."

"The solution is scalable."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pros

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

"It has been one of the most stable products in our data center."

"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."

"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."

"They have a feature called Live Migrate; it's been very, very useful."

"The flexibility of this solution has been valuable for our business."

"One time, we had a drive fail and we were notified before we even saw it on the device."

More Dell SC Series pros

"The solution is useful for machine learning and scientific applications, including computer simulations."

"This has been one of the most reliable storage systems that I have ever used."

Cons

"In the future, I would like to see integration with enterprise backup systems."

"We have run into a couple of instances recently where we are running out of space. So we have had to buy some more packs for it and they have deployed fine and it has increased smoothly."

"Every time I think of something that needs to improve, they're one step ahead, which I love. The only area I wish to see improve, I believe is coming, is in the FlashBlade product. Blade implementation fell short on a few of the services."

"The tool's portfolio is minimal. It is expensive."

"There is room for improvement in catering to midrange storage needs, especially for customers seeking Enterprise-class features."

"There are some challenges with data encryption and reduction."

"It is on the expensive side."

"The UI for this solution needs to be improved."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe cons

"I would like to improve the processing ability."

"Compellent comes in the form of a component that's not true of a unified storage platform."

"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."

"If Dell SC Series could have supported the protocol NVMe over TCP, that would have been great. It does not."

"Licensing, especially on the storage line, could use some simplification. It's not terrible, but, for example, with the Isilon series, they've gone to completely a la carte. A la carte is very difficult to traverse, as to what you need. It would be more beneficial, at least from my point of view as a customer, if they did it more like car companies do, where there are package lines"

"In the future, I want any box that comes on-premises to have the provision to integrate with cloud storage."

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

More Dell SC Series cons

"The write performance could be improved because it is less than half of the read performance."

"The read/write ratio is an area in the solution with some flaws and needs improvement."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Given its price, Pure is not the first option."

"The support cost per array is about $20,000 a year for 24/7 support."

"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."

"Pretty much everything that you need is licensed when you buy the product. Licensing to me is different than the maintenance cost, but they can bleed into one another. We buy the product, and we expect three years of support bundled into what we negotiate on our storage arrays. I would start to see maintenance costs going into the fourth year, but we're not there yet."

"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."

"We pay approximately $50,000 USD per year in licensing fees."

"The licensing is on a yearly basis."

"The product is expensive."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pricing and cost advice

"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."

"It's a very affordable solution."

"Compared to other solutions out there, it's affordable."

"The pricing of this solution is competitive."

"The pricing of Dell EMC Compellent is competitive."

"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."

"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."

"The pricing is reasonable, but it is expensive."

More Dell SC Series pricing and cost advice

"We acquired VAST Data as a one-time, capital purchase."

"Price-wise, VAST Data is not the cheapest, not the most expensive one."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Government

University

Computer Software Company

Performing Arts

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

13%

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

11%

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	15
Midsize Enterprise	11
Large Enterprise	12

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

No data available

Questions from the Community

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.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Pure FlashArray X NVMe?

The price of Pure FlashArray X NVMe is very expensive, though I do not know the actual price because I am using the E...

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What needs improvement with Pure FlashArray X NVMe?

I have no specific improvements to suggest for Pure FlashArray X NVMe at this time. The performance statistics could ...

See all answers

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...

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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 alrea...

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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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Comparisons

Dell PowerStore vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 14% of the time

Dell PowerMax vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 11% of the time

HPE Alletra Storage vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 10% of the time

TrueNAS R-Series vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 9% of the time

Huawei OceanStor Dorado vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 3% of the time

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe Competitors

Dell PowerStore vs Dell SC Series

Compared 16% of the time

HPE Alletra Storage vs Dell SC Series

Compared 7% of the time

Dell PowerMax vs Dell SC Series

Compared 7% of the time

HPE 3PAR StoreServ vs Dell SC Series

Compared 7% of the time

Huawei OceanStor V3 Storage System vs Dell SC Series

Compared 4% of the time

More Dell SC Series Competitors

Pure Storage FlashArray vs VAST Data

Compared 9% of the time

NetApp AFF vs VAST Data

Compared 8% of the time

Pure Storage FlashBlade vs VAST Data

Compared 7% of the time

MinIO vs VAST Data

Compared 7% of the time

Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs VAST Data

Compared 7% of the time

More VAST Data Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Pure FlashArray X NVMe

February 2026

Download Pure FlashArray X NVMe product report

Buyer's Guide

Dell SC Series

February 2026

Download Dell SC Series product report

Buyer's Guide

NVMe All-Flash Storage Arrays

February 2026

Download VAST Data product report

Also Known As

Pure FlashArray//X NVMe, Pure FlashArray//X, FlashArray//X

SC Series Storage, Compellent

No data available

Overview

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

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

Innovation to break decades of data storage trade-offs.

VAST Data

Sample Customers

Fremont Bank, Judson ISD, The Nielsen Company

TGen, Frost Science, Gerrie Electric

Norwest Venture Partners, General Dynamics Information Technology, Ginkgo Bioworks

Buyer's Guide

Dell SC Series vs. VAST Data

February 2026

Free Report: Dell SC Series vs. VAST Data

Find out what your peers are saying about Dell SC Series vs. VAST Data and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.

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