FlexPod XCS vs IBM PurePower System comparison

"Definitely go with FlexPod. It's a great solution, especially with - I keep bringing up NetApp - but NetApp is a great company to work with."

"I would say that the interoperability matrix tool (IMT) is the most valuable feature as it helps us define versions and components we use in our configurations."

"It is very stable. We have had absolutely zero problems."

"It is extremely stable and well-supported because of the leadership and partnerships put in place."

"I would say that its very scalable, as it meets and exceeds our needs."

"The nice thing about NetApp is the ease of administration. We have a new storage admin who did not do storage at all, and he has fallen right in with it. There are no real issues."

"One of the easiest solutions to implement, maintain, and scale."

"Implementing this solution has made our staff more efficient because once it is built, it's a matter of provisioning additional VMs."

"I am very impressed by the stability of the program."

"We never have any issues or glitches."

"The price is something that we are still working on. At some point, it's a bit more expensive than the solution that we had before, as far as I know."

"The downside is that the administration is a little bit complex."

"From its prime competitor, seeing some sort of an architecture around cloud built into the solution would be great, whether that's UCS Director or vRealize Automation, something that's got a validated architecture that's ready to go for that solution would be useful."

"I would like to see programmability into a SaaS-based offering, as I know Cisco's going in a lot of directions with their Intersight application."

"The technical support for this solution is ok, although we dislike using the online robot."

"I think they are working on it, but I would like to be able to log into a portal and see the end-to-end solution and understand where it stands, from a supportability perspective."

"We've had a few technical problems, if those weren't present, then it would probably be perfect."

"Five years ago, it was very scalable. Now, the technology has changed so much in the last five years, it's not the most scalable solution out there."

"The management is really difficult when it comes to systems with traditional services."

"The management is really difficult when it comes to systems with traditional services."

"Licensing can be interesting with the new version because of the Intersight integration. I don't know what that looks like yet. I have seen some of the different licensing models, but with the new purchasing, all customers are going to have to buy some sort of Intersight licensing with the Blades or FlexPod. I am curious to see how that option shakes out. Previous to the UCS X-Series, the licensing was the same."

"Pricing is always tough. We need to get to a point where the customer's happy. Then, as partners, we are also happy."

"Coming from a rack and stack server model to FlexPod, it has saved us a lot of time (approximately hundreds to thousands of hours)."

"It is expensive. My company is small. When you look at the price point, this is a big thing for us to invest in."

"We purchased the solution through CDW. They are a partner and knowledgeable."

"Because the solution is now stable, we are saving about $100 million USD a year."

"We pay approximately $1,400 USD in total for between five-thousand and ten-thousand ports."

"Sometimes you may end up spending a little more to get it in the first place, but you gain it back in terms of infrastructure upgrade costs and troubleshooting costs. The solution also lasts a surprisingly long time."