FlexPod XCS vs IBM VersaStack comparison

NetApp and IBM are both solutions in the Converged Infrastructure category. NetApp is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.3, while IBM is ranked #10. NetApp holds a 10.3% mindshare in CI, compared to IBM’s 1.8% 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

2,096 Views
859 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

IBM VersaStack

Read 3 IBM VersaStack reviews

128 Views
120 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

FlexPod XCS

IBM VersaStack

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

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: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

FlexPod XCS vs. IBM VersaStack

September 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 869,883 peers since 2012

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

3rd

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

10th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Converged Infrastructure category, the mindshare of FlexPod XCS is 10.3%, up from 9.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM VersaStack is 1.8%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Converged Infrastructure Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
FlexPod XCS	10.3%
IBM VersaStack	1.8%
Other	87.9%

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.

Read full review

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.

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

"It has never fallen out from under us when we were trying to do a critical push."

"It is scaling to our needs. We don't have any issues."

"Going from the old monolithic server and silo storage that they used to use is an improvement. With the FlexPod solution, just being able to manage and monitor the overall environment helps."

"Availability is the most valuable part of this solution. We have not had any trouble since we installed it."

"The most valuable feature is the ability to integrate different products into one validated design. That allows customers to understand and get the value out of the hardware, as it was designed."

"With FlexPod, it is about the synergy of the server, the storage, and the whole management layer. Together, it is really about minimizing staff. You don't have to hire more people. You can work with the minimum level of resources and the availability is really good. We have had very little downtime."

"We got the product and we have a small environment, but it was able to be scalable to when we started to grow."

"It has simplified our support."

More FlexPod XCS pros

"Replication and DR implementation became faster."

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

"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 GPU based VDA solutions could use improvement."

"Support could be more integrated. For example, you might call NetApp, and they'll determine that VMware is the issue. It would be helpful if they could automatically engage VMware and bring them onto the same call to transfer ticket information and work together."

"FlexPod should focus more on automation. Integrating an automation tool with FlexPod would enable customers to leverage automation capabilities."

"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."

"Make it easier to refresh hardware. We got to the point where we couldn't fix vulnerabilities without refreshing the hardware, then that became a little too expensive for us to do."

"As the technology grows, we're looking to upgrade our storage systems to something faster, and we're hoping to improve our servers with next-generation technology. So we want to enhance our server infrastructure and explore server virtualization with VMware. That's the improvement that our clients are demanding."

"Perhaps having a unified interface for managing the entire company could lead to improved efficiency and performance."

"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

"We have seen an 80 percent improvement in application performance."

"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."

"Cost is the primary factor behind why I would not give this product a perfect rating."

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

"It is cheaper than other products. For example, Dell EMC VxBlock is more expensive."

"We definitely saw a lot of operational cost savings using FlexPod. As far as capital outlay goes, that was a little bit too much for us to swallow and we weren't able to recognize enough savings in that area to afford it."

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

"It's expensive, but when you pay for enterprise support and enterprise products, you have to pay the big bucks."

More FlexPod XCS pricing and cost advice

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

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Converged Infrastructure solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

869,883 professionals have used our research since 2012.

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…

Read full review

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

23%

Performing Arts

10%

Educational Organization

10%

Computer Software Company

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	34
Midsize Enterprise	66
Large Enterprise	182

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

Ask a question

Earn 20 points

Comparisons

Dell PowerFlex vs FlexPod XCS

Compared 27% of the time

HPE ConvergedSystem vs FlexPod XCS

Compared 13% of the time

Dell VxBlock System vs FlexPod XCS

Compared 13% of the time

Oracle Private Cloud Appliance vs FlexPod XCS

Compared 13% of the time

HPE Hyper Converged vs FlexPod XCS

Compared 13% of the time

More FlexPod XCS Competitors

No data available

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

FlexPod XCS

October 2025

Download FlexPod XCS product report

Buyer's Guide

Converged Infrastructure

October 2025

Download IBM VersaStack product report

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

September 2025

Free Report: FlexPod XCS vs. IBM VersaStack

Find out what your peers are saying about FlexPod XCS vs. IBM VersaStack and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.

DOWNLOAD NOW

869,883 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our FlexPod XCS vs. IBM VersaStack report.

See our list of best Converged Infrastructure vendors.

We monitor all Converged Infrastructure reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.