Dell XtremIO vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series comparison

Dell Technologies and Lenovo are both solutions in the All-Flash Storage category. Dell Technologies is ranked #22 with an average rating of 8.0, while Lenovo is ranked #23 with an average rating of 9.3. Dell Technologies holds a 0.8% mindshare in AFS, compared to Lenovo’s 2.5% mindshare. Additionally, 80% of Dell Technologies users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Lenovo users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 18, 2024

Dell XtremIO and Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series are high-performance storage solutions. Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series has an edge in overall features and perceived value, while Dell XtremIO leads in deployment ease and customer service.

Features: Dell XtremIO users highlight fast performance, robust data deduplication, and high scalability. Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series users value its flexibility, efficient data management, and robust security. Lenovo's broader feature set and flexibility give it an edge.

Room for Improvement:Dell XtremIO users seek enhancements in upgrade processes, better integration capabilities, and improved support for mixed workloads. Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series users suggest improvements in documentation, more frequent updates, and advanced automation features.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service:Dell XtremIO users find the deployment straightforward and praise its customer service. Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series users report a longer deployment time and mixed reviews for customer service.

Pricing and ROI:Dell XtremIO users report higher upfront costs but satisfactory ROI due to performance benefits. Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series users appreciate its competitive pricing and reliable ROI over time.

To learn more, read our detailed Dell XtremIO vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Dell XtremIO vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

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

Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the All-Flash Storage category, the mindshare of Pure FlashArray X NVMe is 0.8%, down from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell XtremIO is 0.8%, down from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is 2.5%, down from 2.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

All-Flash Storage

Featured Reviews

Eugene Hemphill

Sales Manager at Multicomputos PR

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.

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Stanislaw Jagielski

Trainer, Storage Consultant at Oxon

Efficient and straightforward setup boosts data management capabilities

Scalability is a significant feature of Dell XtremIO, as it is easy to expand and manage. It provides a lot of features suited for complex systems, such as scalability and the ability to define multi-domain systems, which are beneficial for data management and storage separation. It is efficient from the customer's point of view, offering deduplication at both the volume and file levels. The configuration and setup are straightforward, provided one has knowledge in setting up network infrastructure like VLANs. It is easy to install, use, and configure, making it a reliable product.

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Gastone Canali

IT Consultant at Effegibi

Provides good stability and is reliable in terms of performance

The solution is reliable in terms of performance They should include a snapshot feature for the solution. We have been using the solution for two to three years. The solution is stable. We have 60 solution users in our organization. The solution's initial setup process is easy. It takes three…

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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

"Pure FlashArray X NVMe has low latency and high Ops. It is an evergreen model."

"It offers competitive performance, and the Evergreen storage model of Pure fits well with my organization."

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

"The initial setup was extremely simple and straightforward."

"We're able to get higher-density workloads on the same infrastructure, and we have a smaller physical footprint. The performance is excellent – during our test the bottlenecks are never on the X array, it just keeps picking up the pace to match what you need. The real-time visibility is a differentiator in my opinion."

"Pure Storage has signature security technology, which cannot be deleted, even if you are an administrator."

"It's incredibly easy to use and greatly simplified our ability to both deploy and manage our storage subsystems."

"Technical support has been helpful and responsive."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pros

"Ease of management, aside from the serious performance, is the best feature."

"Deduplication and cloning capability"

"The speed and scalability of Dell XtremIO are significant features that improve data storage management."

"The most valuable features are that it is fast and reliable."

"It is great for applications like Microsoft Exchange, ERP, SQL and VDI; basically saved the VDI buy-in from users, as now performance was seamless in comparison to a physical PC."

"Speed and reliability:"

"The program is very stable."

"Very good IOPS performance"

More Dell XtremIO pros

"The solution is very easy to set up."

"The solution's initial setup process is easy."

"Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is simple to use"

"ThinkSystem's storage performs well, and the price per gigabyte is good, especially on SSD solutions. It's also easy to use."

"Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is quite an elementary box, no frills. It does not have all the functionality of the DM but it is acceptable, it does its task. It integrates pretty well."

"Its initial setup process is easy."

"This solution is good for virtualization and meets the need for CPU and RAM requirements."

"I would rate the stability of Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series as a ten."

More Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series pros

Cons

"I would like to see some AI features that would allow arrays to intelligently identify threats or unusual behavior in the data pattern and give an alert."

"Right now, the box itself is just strictly working as a backend storage system. It would be fantastic if we could access it directly like a NAS device through network access or SIS drives. I think they have an interface, but I am not sure how good it is. If we could address a box directly on the network without having to go through a server, it would be great. The replication schemas could be improved. We are not using replication on the storage level right now. We use a different type of replication. If their replication would be as good as the one that we have, I would probably run the replication schema because it might be faster, but I don't know that for a fact. So, I cannot say that they have good replication. All I can say is that they need to inform us better."

"I'd like to see the product implement active replication for vehicles such as VMware."

"Adding some functions to the product would be beneficial. Storage replication should be essential, and the analytics should not incur extra charges."

"They could add more support for file storage and different types of storage."

"Our use cases require more multi-tenant capabilities and additional VLAN interfaces for separating different customers. We currently use it to provide storage, sometimes shared storage, to different customers, but it is less flexible in comparison to a dedicated solution."

"There is room for improvement in the pricing of the product."

"It feels more suitable for small and medium-sized businesses rather than enterprises."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe cons

"In the next release, the solution could have better integration and if we can host assets on the cloud, such as NetApp has the NetApp volumes, which we can host on the cloud directly called NetApp CVO (cloud volume ONTAP). Dell EMC should come up with something purely on the cloud rather than manage services."

"The physical architecture could use some higher levels of redundancy."

"I would like to see more scalability."

"Management and reporting need improvement."

"The interface could be simplified for beginners to ease the configuration of special objects in the system."

"I believe having more replication options comparatively to VMAX (other than RecoverPoint) would be great."

"XtremIO needs to be lower priced. It also needs better endpoints and scalability."

"Sometimes we don't get an immediate response from the support team. The initial POC also took a lot of resources."

More Dell XtremIO cons

"Improvements can be made to the product's performance."

"The features are limited."

"ThinkSystem could be better integrated with backup software like Commvault, Veritas, or Symantec."

"There could be a snapshot feature in the solution."

"The product could support advanced software integrations."

"In the next release, I would like to see more functionality. But, again, it is an entry-level product."

"The type of connection that is used in Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series should be improved."

"The difficult part comes when dealing with the host. You have to enable multi-pathing and other aspects that are needed for proper configuration. I don't know if there is room for a more hyper-conversion structure to work with, but this would be easier."

More Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series cons

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."

"With VMware, we pay $300,000 annually."

"Our licensing fees are $500,000+ USD."

"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."

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

"With Pure Storage, we would like to continue seeing price reductions with flash storage. I don't think we're any different than anybody else when we continue to look to the industry for price reductions of both NVMe and traditional SSD storage. We would like to see these prices continue to decline and erode, even displacing large spinning disks."

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

"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

"The licensing cost is on a yearly subscription basis, which can be expensive but is necessary for ongoing support and services. The pricing could be improved to make it more accessible."

"It is costly but worth it."

"This is the best flash array on the market for high-end workloads, so expect to pay for that. But the support subscription cost is fixed for seven years, which made it easier for us to plan on the maintenance costs."

"You can get a two-year or three-year license for the tool. You can also opt for a perpetual-based licensing model, which can be renewed on a yearly or two-year basis."

"Don’t buy this array. You’re paying for loads of magic beans, since it’s mediocre at best for a platform in a rapidly growing field. Look instead at Pure Storage or something with variable block deduplication. You’ll end up spending less and getting a better product with actual support."

"The initial purchase price was good but when you need to upgrade, it's a different story."

"The license for XtremIO is in the box, so you don't have to buy anything."

"It's not cheap, but it absolutely gets the job done. I don't have any real comment regarding licensing specifically."

More Dell XtremIO pricing and cost advice

"The pricing for this solution is good compared to HP or Dell EMC."

"We have a five-year contract for providing support."

"The best thing about this solution is its price, which reduces our costs."

"The price of the Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is a one-time purchase. There is a global price list available to find the price of the solution."

"It is an expensive solution."

"The pricing is fair and low compared to other products in this category."

"All of the features are bundled together, and you can renew the bundle with all of the features included."

"The solution's price could be better."

More Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series pricing and cost advice

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Comparison Review

it_user182013

Federal Civ/Intel Engineering Lead at Rubrik

May 1, 2015

Measuring Up: EMC XtremIO and HP 3PAR

Leading up to EMC World 2015, IT Central Station asked how I would compare EMC XtremIO and HP 3PAR. Until recently, the flash storage conversation in my organization and many others has centered on XtremIO and Pure Storage, the leaders of the all-flash array (AFA) space. To that end, I've written a…

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Government

Financial Services Firm

17%

Computer Software Company

16%

Manufacturing Company

Retailer

Computer Software Company

17%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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.

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 ...

See all answers

What do you like most about Dell EMC XtremIO?

The feature I like most about Dell Xtremio is its hardware quality compared to other vendors. It's clear they're cont...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell XtremIO?

Pricing is hard to determine as it depends on the given configuration. XtremIO offers features that justify a potenti...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Dell XtremIO?

The interface could be simplified for beginners to ease the configuration of special objects in the system. While the...

See all answers

What do you like most about Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series?

The solution's initial setup process is easy.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series?

The price of Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is very good. We chose this type of storage for the performance and the price.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series?

The type of connection that is used in Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series should be improved.

See all answers

Comparisons

Dell PowerStore vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 30% of the time

TrueNAS R-Series vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 17% of the time

Pure Storage FlashBlade vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 15% of the time

IBM FlashSystem vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 11% of the time

HPE Alletra Storage vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 8% of the time

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe Competitors

Dell PowerStore vs Dell XtremIO

Compared 28% of the time

Dell PowerMax NVMe vs Dell XtremIO

Compared 16% of the time

Dell Unity XT vs Dell XtremIO

Compared 10% of the time

VAST Data vs Dell XtremIO

Compared 8% of the time

Pure Storage FlashArray vs Dell XtremIO

Compared 7% of the time

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Dell PowerStore vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

Compared 31% of the time

IBM FlashSystem vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

Compared 13% of the time

NetApp AFF vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

Compared 13% of the time

Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

Compared 11% of the time

HPE Alletra Storage vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

Compared 8% of the time

More Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Pure FlashArray X NVMe

April 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Dell XtremIO

April 2025

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Buyer's Guide

All-Flash Storage

April 2025

Download Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series product report

Also Known As

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

Dell EMC XtremIO Flash, Dell EMC XtremIO X2, XtremIO, XtremIO X2

ThinkSystem DE Series

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

Bring all-flash, scale-out storage to your enterprise applications with EMC XtremIO. Purpose-built for flash, XtremIO storage arrays are amazingly fast. Delivering high IOPS at less than 1 millisecond latency is just the start. EMC XtremIO helps you harness the power of flash storage by building in innovations like content-based data placement and dual-stage metadata.

Dell Technologies

The DE All-Flash Series delivers the performance of more than 2,000 15k rpm HDDs, yet requires only 2% of the rack space, power, and cooling. Because it consumes 98% less space and power, DE Series can significantly improve the overall efficiency of your IT operations while continuing to meet your performance requirements.

Lenovo

Sample Customers

Fremont Bank, Judson ISD, The Nielsen Company

Raiffeisen Bank Bulgaria, Wentworth-Douglas Hospital

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Dell XtremIO vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

April 2025

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