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 1.2% 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

583 Views
201 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

IBM VersaStack

Read 3 IBM VersaStack reviews

123 Views
41 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: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

FlexPod XCS vs. IBM VersaStack

June 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 July 2025, in the Converged Infrastructure category, the mindshare of FlexPod XCS is 9.2%, down from 9.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM VersaStack is 1.2%, down from 2.9% 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

"We have also seen an improvement in our application performance. Our VM and database environments are able to go as fast as we need them to now."

"It is a very well-thought-out solution with great virtualization. A good option we have is mapping a storage LUN onto an ESX cluster. That way, in case a particular ESX is down, it can migrate (using vMotion) to another host in the cluster, resulting in high-availability."

"Things got a lot faster. We can pull and test in DEV systems much more rapidly and are clearing up a lot of DBA time. In the past, every time we tested it, we needed to be refreshed. In the past, it would take a day of our DBA's time, and now it's just point, click, and ten minutes later it's done."

"The ease at which it scales and its redundancy factors. It's extremely redundant and easy-to-scale."

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

"The solution’s validated designs for major enterprise apps in our organization are very important. It's basically become critical to our organization to have that system functioning a 100 percent of the time. If that system is not functional, then our doctors and nurses can't provide the care to the patients in an effective way. So, it's important that it is stable, works, and easy to understand."

"The validated design is really important for us because it gives us a model on which to base our architecture and continued support for all firmware upgrades. It also provides consistency throughout the environment."

"The most valuable feature is that it is all-in-one, and it is easy to get support on it."

More FlexPod XCS pros

"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."

"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."

Cons

"There is a lot of documentation that has to be reviewed before you go through an upgrade. It is not as straightforward as some other solutions."

"We would like to see the automation improved because there has been a learning curve having to create the workflows."

"There are certain things that are just hard to do on a physical infrastructure, like for instance you need to make petabytes of data available at high speed."

"The cost may be high compared to other solutions."

"The continued simplification will be a continued battle and evolution for both Cisco and NetApp, especially on the FlexPod product."

"If there were going to be any improvements, they should probably be UI improvements, overall. It can get a little kludgy sometimes when trying to figure out what to do."

"We have had a bit of struggle on the support side. From a customer perspective, it has been up to us to make sure that we get both NetApp and Cisco involved when we have had an issue."

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

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

"You get better management and orchestration, but it still costs you money."

"The scalability is very expensive."

"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."

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

"We immediately saw a return on investment due to the fact that replacing our legacy storage arrays with the new AFFs reduced the footprint and maintenance costs. Overall, we saw an almost immediate ROI."

"The scalability is very good. I wish it was a more cost-effective, but you get what you pay for."

"The cost is a little high."

"We can just swap in new equipment or hardware as we need, which has probably saved us several weeks."

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

20%

Educational Organization

12%

Financial Services Firm

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 37% of the time

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Compared 19% of the time

Dell PowerEdge VRTX vs FlexPod XCS

Compared 16% of the time

HPE Hyper Converged vs FlexPod XCS

Compared 16% of the time

VMware vSAN vs FlexPod XCS

Compared 11% of the time

More FlexPod XCS Competitors

No data available

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

FlexPod XCS

June 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Converged Infrastructure

June 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

June 2025

Free Report: FlexPod XCS vs. IBM VersaStack

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