FlexPod XCS vs IBM VersaStack comparison

NetApp and IBM are both solutions in the Converged Infrastructure category. NetApp is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.4, while IBM is ranked #12. NetApp holds a 9.2% mindshare in CI, compared to IBM’s 1.3% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of NetApp users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of IBM users who would recommend it.

FlexPod XCS

Read 295 FlexPod XCS reviews

1,666 Views
583 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

IBM VersaStack

Read 3 IBM VersaStack reviews

141 Views
123 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

FlexPod XCS

IBM VersaStack

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 2, 2025

FlexPod XCS and IBM VersaStack are competing products in the converged infrastructure space. FlexPod XCS often has the upper hand due to its customer support and competitive pricing, whereas IBM VersaStack appeals to those seeking advanced features and are willing to invest more for quality.

Features: FlexPod XCS offers flexibility and a scalable architecture that integrates with Cisco and NetApp technologies. IBM VersaStack provides comprehensive data management and robust security features. Notably, IBM VersaStack includes advanced analytics tools adding significant value.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: FlexPod XCS provides a straightforward deployment process with dedicated support, making installation and configuration easier. IBM VersaStack requires a complex setup but includes automation features to streamline deployment. FlexPod XCS offers more personalized customer service, beneficial for newer users.

Pricing and ROI: FlexPod XCS presents cost-effective setup options, leading to quicker ROI while maintaining high performance. IBM VersaStack, with a higher upfront cost, offers long-term value through infrastructure efficiency and resource optimization, justifying investment through its enhanced capability and potential ROI over time.

To learn more, read our detailed FlexPod XCS vs. IBM VersaStack Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

FlexPod XCS vs. IBM VersaStack

July 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

FlexPod XCS

Ranking in Converged Infrastructure

5th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

295

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

IBM VersaStack

Ranking in Converged Infrastructure

12th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Converged Infrastructure category, the mindshare of FlexPod XCS is 9.2%, down from 10.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM VersaStack is 1.3%, down from 2.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Converged Infrastructure

Featured Reviews

John Kevin

Deputy IT Manager at MBBank

Enforces standardized setup procedures following Certified Validated Design (CVD) guidelines and offers greater flexibility and control over the system compared to traditional systems

The GUI setup follows the right setup, meaning we have to follow the CVDi.e. Certified Validated Design. Everything is clear, because you can build CI yourself, but without rules, it can be messy. With FlexPod, there are rules to follow, making it more standardized. This helps with troubleshooting and compatibility assessments, simplifying troubleshooting significantly. We also use FlexPod pre-validated architectures to validate the design. It is very, very important to us because we had a bad case in 2015 where separate items integrated poorly due to no version or firmware compatibility certification. Troubleshooting became a nightmare. So, standards are crucial for us, and everything entering production should be verified or at least documented for certification.

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reviewer2058714

Infrastructure Head at a program development consultancy with 11-50 employees

A very high IOPS that gives more I/O transactions per second

Scalability used to be an issue so at that time it was rated an eight out of ten. We have become OPEX-based and rent storage from them. Physical storage is about 200% of our requirements but we only pay for what we use. This resolved all of our scalability issues. When we reach a certain threshold like 100%, OPEX calls us and asks if we want to add more storage. Our total capacity right now is 300 terabytes but we are only using around 200 terabytes. We bought the storage two years ago and our projections are on par. We don't need more capacity now but have plans to increase in another two years. With our OPEX storage, scalability is rated a nine out of ten.

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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

"Performance-wise, it is actually doing quite well. The end users are very happy with it."

"It's a new architecture, really scalable and programmable. When you look at SDN propositions it fits very well in a next-gen data center."

"It ships in a rack, so it is very easy to deploy."

"Gives us a single point of contact for support."

"FlexPods allow us to go through and roll out compute, having a converged infrastructure with the same level of simplicity that you would expect of a hyper-converged."

"FlexPod has improved our company as far as ease of management, stability, and redundancy."

"It provides us with a lot of agility, on-demand or through orchestrations. We deliver hundreds of servers."

"It is absolutely resilient. It has built-in redundancy and multipathing. If there is an issue with one part, it doesn't fail automatically."

More FlexPod XCS pros

"The solution has high IOPS and the I/O is important because it gives us more transactions per second."

"Replication and DR implementation became faster."

"The combination of Cisco's architecture and IBM's flash technology. Cisco provides FI technology which provides one simple architecture. IBM's flash technology is fast."

Cons

"The ability to manage the templates across sites. We would like to easily take out the configuration of one FlexPod and copy it over, just making minor changes. There is a way to do it, but it's clumsy."

"I'd like to see a little more on the provisioning and the replication piece... Also, I don't want to say analytics are lacking but I'd like to see more analytics."

"A progress bar would...be pretty cool."

"We would like them to improve the validate designs. It is hard to stay in a supported config with the software and firmware versions of the platform. It's always a concern to ensure things not only work well, but they work at all. If we run into incompatibility inside of the NetApp, Cisco, or VMware versions, it can cause real issues."

"I would like to see more CVDs and more published designs around a multi-hypervisor approach within a single pod."

"Since 2018 or 2019, maybe due to COVID and the chipsets, my DIMMs are dying left and right."

"The initial setup is complex because it has to be done in a certain way."

"The initial setup was complex. UCS is not the easiest thing to configure from the ground up. The networking pieces can get confusing, especially when you are talking about virtual segmentation. It is not as easy as other things now on the market, such as hyperconverged."

More FlexPod XCS cons

"The solution should improve deduplication to get a lot of savings."

"Raw data mapping for storage should be a given option."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It has saved us hundreds of man-hours by using this converged infrastructure."

"The solution has saved our customers' organization in terms of CapEx. E.g., with the cloud availability, it's turned into sort of a hybrid CapEx/OpEx model."

"The product is kind of expensive even from an entry-level standpoint. I would say FlexPod would be the way to go if you are a larger business or one with large data volume."

"In terms of the cost, the last bill I saw was about $3.5 million, from the latest contract. That might have been for a five-year contract."

"We have absolutely seen ROI. We have saved between two to four million dollars on travel alone over the past 24 months."

"As a whole, it is inexpensive, and it uses the least amount of parts."

"The NetApp portion was a $5 million investment five years ago. That has served the customer well over five and a half years."

"Make sure you are buying for performance, not just capacity."

More FlexPod XCS pricing and cost advice

"The solution is enterprise level so it is expensive."

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Comparison Review

it_user244362

Managing Consultant with 51-200 employees

Aug 30, 2015

Nutanix vs. VMware EVO:RAIL vs. FlexPod

Originally posted at www.storagegaga.com/dont-get-too-drunk-on-hyper-converged/ I hate the fact that I am bursting the big bubble brewing about Hyper Convergence (HC). I urge all to look past the hot air and hype frenzy that are going on, because in the end, the HC platforms have to be aligned…

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

23%

Educational Organization

14%

Performing Arts

Computer Software Company

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about FlexPod?

The system is designed for easy scaling. Because we define everything clearly. So when we plug the system in, we apply the profile, and it scales easily.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for FlexPod?

The pricing is not cheaper, but stability is more important for us now. We focus on business gains, not static numbers. Following XCS rules ensures a stable environment, which is crucial. For me, C...

See all answers

What needs improvement with FlexPod?

FlexPod should focus more on automation. Integrating an automation tool with FlexPod would enable customers to leverage automation capabilities. More automation would be helpful. Currently, we cont...

See all answers

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Comparisons

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Compared 16% of the time

HPE Hyper Converged vs FlexPod XCS

Compared 15% of the time

VxRail vs FlexPod XCS

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More FlexPod XCS Competitors

No data available

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

FlexPod XCS

July 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Converged Infrastructure

July 2025

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Overview

FlexPod XCS is the secure platform your applications need from edge to cloud. Easily manage your suite of cloud-native, edge, and enterprise apps. Integrate advanced cloud services without compromising performance, security, reliability, or scale.

NetApp

VersaStack is a converged infrastructure solution of network, compute and storage designed for quick deployment and rapid time to value. The solution includes Cisco UCS integrated infrastructure together with IBM software- defined storage solutions to deliver extraordinary levels of agility and efficiency. VersaStack is backed by Cisco Validated Designs and IBM Redbooks application guides for faster infrastructure delivery as well as workload/ application deployment.

Designed for dynamic organizations that want to accelerate business growth while reducing costs, VersaStack incorporates IBM all-flash as well as hybrid storage technologies into the “single pane of glass” management environment provided by Cisco UCS Director. The solution offers quick deployment and execution of business applications—with the versatility to adapt as business priorities change. Providing an IT infrastructure that is easy, efficient and versatile, VersaStack helps accelerate data center infrastructure deployment and helps efficiently manage information and resources amid business change.

IBM

Sample Customers

University of Sao Paulo, WD-40, The Commonwell Mutual Insurance Group

Newhall Hospital, Medicat, JJ Haines, Sigmax

Buyer's Guide

FlexPod XCS vs. IBM VersaStack

July 2025

Free Report: FlexPod XCS vs. IBM VersaStack

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