No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform vs IBM System Storage DS5000 Series comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 2, 2025

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

Hitachi Virtual Storage Pla...
Ranking in Modular SAN (Storage Area Network)
5th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
55
Ranking in other categories
NAS (6th), Frame-Based Disk Arrays (1st), All-Flash Storage (10th), NVMe All-Flash Storage Arrays (5th)
IBM System Storage DS5000 S...
Ranking in Modular SAN (Storage Area Network)
7th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Modular SAN (Storage Area Network) category, the mindshare of Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform is 6.1%, down from 12.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM System Storage DS5000 Series is 2.9%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Modular SAN (Storage Area Network) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform6.1%
IBM System Storage DS5000 Series2.9%
Other91.0%
Modular SAN (Storage Area Network)
 

Featured Reviews

DA
Associate Vice President at Federal Bank Ltd
Reliable and secure storage solution supports core banking operations effectively
The replication technology that Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform uses is quite older, and the replication methodology they employ for data between the data center and the production and standby database shows no significant improvement in that particular field. With respect to storage administration, I'd like to see more clarity on the encryption side; data being stored in an encrypted manner is essential, but the customer or end-user doesn't understand which encryption is being used and doesn't have a direct view stating that their data is encrypted using AES 256 or DES, or whatever standard they follow. This lack of transparency may not be acceptable during audits.
Gustavo Rosello - PeerSpot reviewer
Technological Infrastructure Manager at Mercado Argentino de Valores S.A.
Provides solid hardware and ROI to users
Companies or groups of business units are growing fast. We have perhaps between four and five more people than what it was two years ago, so the systems are increasing, and now we are working with RPA in some of our processes for automation, especially wherever it is mandatory in the financial branch, like a common investment fund and the investment in action or where there are other products. Our market is directly related to small business. We are working with companies where data translation is needed or where invoices, specifically credit invoices, the negotiation of cheques, or a doc that shows receipt of money, which you can sell at a future date. We have a sub-warehouse that has a back office in the cloud to use all operations related to creditors so that the company can increase its share in the markets. I think that we may need something on-premises in the future. The trends indicate that users are returning to on-premises systems because of the high cost of public clouds. We are looking for a better data center. In Argentina, hardware costs are high, but now, it is a great investment. We are slowly planning to expand the tool. In the USA, when it comes to object-first devices, there is a cost of 48,000 USD for 128 TB, but in Argentina, the cost is 64,000 USD for 84 TB. In Argentina, we have a lot of taxes, and the government is in the process of reducing these taxes, but now we have a situation associated with our economy. Out of 100 companies, only two are seeking employees. We are waiting for the recovery of the economy, but everything here is expensive apart from the salaries.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"This is a good product with high capabilities and high reliability."
"The most valuable features are external storage virtualization and the 100 percent data guaranteed availability."
"We use Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform G Series for core products and it helps us increase performance and ensure business continuity for over 5,000 users in our organization."
"Hitachi's adaptive data reduction technology has helped reduce our storage footprint."
"There are no significant challenges in terms of scalability, and it can accommodate larger storage capacities compared to other storage solutions."
"The biggest benefit of the Hitachi platform is 100 percent storage uptime. It's also highly cost-effective."
"In summary, this is a stable product and I highly recommend it."
"The Hitachi VSP has significantly improved data storage scalability by addressing various issues. Through their research and development efforts, they've incorporated customer feedback regarding deployment speed and performance requirements."
"It's very competitive in terms of price."
"It is a very stable solution."
"IBM System Storage DS5000 series is highly reliable, which is evident by clients' systems still operating effectively after seven or eight years."
"The solution is quite robust and complex."
"You can easily virtualize and share the storage."
"The initial setup is pretty straightforward."
"The stability and performance of the drive are the most valuable."
"The security and velocity for fetching data are valuable."
 

Cons

"I would like to see Hitachi improve their management software. It's been three years since they introduced Ops Center, their management product, and it still hasn't reached at least 50 percent of the capability we require. We are using legacy software because the product Hitachi offers does not stack up in functionality."
"The admin tools in the Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform definitely have certain shortcomings that require improvement."
"With Hitachi, everything that regards the user experience has a big room for improvement. The user experience is pretty bad in Hitachi."
"The interface management and monitoring need improvement. Although I receive emails from Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform, I find the management aspect not as good as their hardware."
"The initial setup was difficult, as we don't have access to assistance. We had some issues around configuration. We needed to know things like what kind of rate is the best, or what kind of replication is ideal. We had to seek out answers online to get the information we needed."
"I think the management should be improved, because it is not very user-friendly at all."
"We moved away from this product because we were looking for an all-flash solution, and with our G1500 at the time, perhaps two years ago, they were just proposing more of the same technology."
"One thing that can be improved is the price because it is a bit expensive."
"I don't like the storage now, as it is in the same data center. I want to separate the data center from the backup to another floor of the building or outside the building in a data center of another provider."
"The product is very costly; very few can afford IBM System Storage DS5000 Series, and the renewal or maintenance of the solution is also expensive."
"IBM System Storage DS5000 is expensive when compared to other vendors."
"If you decide to expand the IBM System Storage DS5000 Series by adding an extension frame to the controller, you won't have the ability to incorporate flash storage models directly. Instead, you'll need to work with SSD which may be slightly slower."
"The initial setup is hard."
"Regarding improvements, there's a common perception, primarily during pre-sales, that IBM storage solutions are expensive, though studies often prove otherwise. As for additional functionality, supporting two to three sites for applications might be a potential enhancement."
"IBM is not always as agile as other competitors when it is about cloud integration and user interfaces."
"The solution's integration with other tools could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"A drawback of Hitachi storage systems is that they are expensive. The upfront cost is very high compared to others. But when you compare the IOPS at the same price, Hitachi gives you better business value..."
"It is expensive as compared to other vendors, but its price is good if you are looking for stability, reliability, performance, and security."
"The product is reasonably priced."
"I give the price of Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform a nine out of ten."
"This is an expensive solution."
"It is cheap. It is not very expensive. If you decide to expand the system, the cost is pretty low as compared to other vendors, such as Dell."
"Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform is a very expensive product."
"Considering the solution's price, it is very competitive compared to the other competitors in the market. I rate the product price a nine out of ten."
"This product is priced well. The ratio between cost and productivity is very high and we're happy with it."
"It's an expensive solution."
"Compared to other vendors, I think it's expensive."
"The basic functionalities of the product are provided within the normal license, but users can opt for some optional features from IBM's licensing model."
"Its price is fair. IBM is quite fair in price when you compare it with others. We also use Hitachi internally, and Hitachi is always a little bit more expensive. NetApp is also a bit more expensive. So, IBM has good positioning in terms of price."
"We mounted all the virtualization with less than 1,50,000 USD. We are negotiating to get the tool for 800,000,000 Argentine Pesos. The tool is expensive, but it is worth the money."
"It is a competitively priced solution. The cost can vary depending on whether it is purchased from the hardware or the software departments."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Modular SAN (Storage Area Network) solutions are best for your needs.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Outsourcing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
31%
Construction Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Renewables & Environment Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise30
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise7
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform?
The cost of Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform is reasonable compared to competitors, but it is dependent on the customer; I cannot say for the entire industry, but for us, it's comparable.
What needs improvement with Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform E990?
The centralized management console in Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform is not very comfortable and user-friendly. However, it works fine. Additional functionality related to data encryption and aut...
What is your primary use case for Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform E990?
I work in the financial sector with Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform, specifically VSP. We did not need tiering in Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform since we are using all-flash storage. Regarding H...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM System Storage DS5000 Series?
The price fits well with the proposal of this equipment. Although IBM is not cheap, the cost fits well with the propose.
What needs improvement with IBM System Storage DS5000 Series?
There are some functions that can only be used in prompt mode. If these functions could be shown in the graphical interface, it could be better.
What is your primary use case for IBM System Storage DS5000 Series?
We use the DS5000 for mainframe purposes. We have IBM z System and have installed SAP HANA SaaS for IBM equipment. This equipment storage holds very large data of SAP HANA.
 

Also Known As

Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform F Series, 5000 Series, E Series, N Series, G Series
System Storage DS5000 series
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Turkcell, Owens Corning, Region Nord, Net Credit Financial Group (NFC Group), Russian Railways
Engine Informštica
Find out what your peers are saying about Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform vs. IBM System Storage DS5000 Series and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.