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HPE MSA vs IBM FlashSystem vs NetApp FAS Series comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
6.8
HPE MSA provides cost-effective storage solutions, optimizing business operations and delivering substantial monetary savings and better returns.
Sentiment score
6.3
IBM FlashSystem offers high ROI with efficient migration, scalability, and performance, despite post-acquisition price increases; valued for reliability.
Sentiment score
5.5
NetApp FAS Series users report positive ROI, cost savings, and satisfaction, especially in VMware settings, despite disk addition expenses.
It certainly shows a return on investment with HPE MSA, but we have framework contracts with special prices for the HP hardware, so I am not sure that our return on investment calculation corresponds to what other people should have.
Administrative Assistant at EUIPO - European Union Intellectual Property Office
The solution can comfortably be stretched from five to seven years without any failures, ensuring a long-lasting return.
Infrastructure Technical Specialist II at Clicks Group
We have seen return on investment compared to other OEMs, which took approximately three years after implementing IBM FlashSystem.
Technical Lead at Tomia
If you have the configuration well maintained and configured, you should have good efficiency and compression for the clients and for yourself.
System Engineer at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.4
HPE MSA support is mostly effective and reliable, but improvements in response times and proactive measures are needed.
Sentiment score
6.9
IBM FlashSystem's customer service is responsive, yet technical expertise and support vary by region, with contract complexities noted.
Sentiment score
7.3
NetApp FAS Series is praised for reliable, responsive support, though some seek faster resolutions and enhanced first-tier expertise.
I would rate technical support a three out of five due to the lack of effectiveness in preventing recurring problems.
Manager, Information Technology at a construction company with 201-500 employees
Customers of alternatives like Dell and Hitachi enjoy more reliable and comprehensive support services directly from vendors rather than third-party subsidiaries.
Vice President Sales at BELOCAL LTD
I rate the technical support from IBM as a ten.
Infrastructure Technical Specialist II at Clicks Group
IBM customer support is responsible, efficient, and responsive, though it is expensive.
Manager, Technical Services, IBM Storage & Backup Solutions. at Thakral
Sometimes, the support was inadequate because the initial architecture was poorly defined.
Pre-Sales Director France, Belgium and Luxembourg at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
We are also using it ourselves for the SAN and CIFS protocol.
System Engineer at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
They often provide basic solutions, such as suggesting a failover or a power cycle, which are not the sophisticated solutions we expect from a vendor.
Senior Cloud System Engineer at Atos Poland
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
HPE MSA is scalable for small to medium businesses, offering easy expansion and positive feedback on workload hosting capabilities.
Sentiment score
7.3
IBM FlashSystem offers scalable storage solutions with dynamic upgrades and flexibility for medium to large enterprises despite some hardware limitations.
Sentiment score
7.3
NetApp FAS Series offers high scalability with Clustered Data ONTAP, supporting growth despite cost and complexity challenges.
It is more profitable to use HPE MSA because if you run out of space, you can expand the capacity of the array using expansion enclosures, making it more flexible and profitable.
Systems Engineer at Thakral One (Pvt) Ltd
HPE MSA's scalability benefits are notable as its speed and performance are good.
Manager, Information Technology at a construction company with 201-500 employees
For larger enterprises, scalability is an issue as the price becomes prohibitive.
Vice President Sales at BELOCAL LTD
The problem arises when migrating data to a later IBM FlashSystem version due to issues with firmware compatibility.
Manager, Technical Services, IBM Storage & Backup Solutions. at Thakral
The scalability of IBM FlashSystem is exceptional, and I rate it as a nine.
Infrastructure Technical Specialist II at Clicks Group
We normally avoid current versions and use versions that have been running for at least two months in client usage before updating drivers.
DIRECTOR at Vellore Online Systems
NetApp FAS Series is scalable, and it is possible, but you need to pay.
System Engineer at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
The NetApp FAS Series is scalable and offers numerous solutions, but only if customers are willing to invest in the shelves.
Senior Cloud System Engineer at Atos Poland
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.4
HPE MSA is highly reliable and stable, excelling in performance and compatibility, despite occasional hard disk concerns.
Sentiment score
7.6
IBM FlashSystem is praised for stability and resilience, with minor issues resolved quickly, earning high feedback for reliability.
Sentiment score
7.9
NetApp FAS Series is reliable and stable, with minor issues swiftly resolved, earning high stability ratings despite occasional challenges.
I faced issues with hard disk reliability, as they frequently fail and risk losing redundancy.
Manager, Information Technology at a construction company with 201-500 employees
Customers have infrastructure that is 100% stable.
Manager, Technical Services, IBM Storage & Backup Solutions. at Thakral
The firmware and software engine have fewer bugs, which enhances operational efficiency.
Infrastructure Technical Specialist II at Clicks Group
When panic occurs on the node, it reboots itself, and we have experienced numerous hardware-related issues.
Senior Cloud System Engineer at Atos Poland
Most things are tailor-made, and we avoid downtimes even with primitive CLI commands.
DIRECTOR at Vellore Online Systems
 

Room For Improvement

HPE MSA requires better scalability, GUI, replication, cloud integration, security, performance, and affordable support, addressing user concerns.
IBM FlashSystem requires enhancements in scalability, integration, user interface, and support, with better deduplication, monitoring, and streamlined processes.
NetApp FAS users desire better performance, documentation, UI, cost efficiency, cloud integration, automation, support, and competitive pricing.
Data security features are more important to me than anything else, and I think HPE MSA lacks in this area.
Manager, Information Technology at a construction company with 201-500 employees
If it could be a hybrid with SSDs and hard disks, then it would be more economical and efficient.
Systems Engineer at Thakral One (Pvt) Ltd
Despite marketing promises, these features do not function effectively and can impact performance.
Vice President Sales at BELOCAL LTD
There is room for improvement in the troubleshooting part, specifically related to IBM Spectrum for Insight.
Manager, Technical Services, IBM Storage & Backup Solutions. at Thakral
An additional function that could be helpful is reducing the time it takes to delete volumes, especially if they are compressed or deduplicated.
Storage Specialist at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Storage companies should create encrypted storage solutions between the OS and storage to protect against ransomware attacks.
DIRECTOR at Vellore Online Systems
Nutanix leads the business in this approach, and I feel that NetApp is missing some aspects, such as CPU, GPU, and RAM, in its AI portfolio.
Pre-Sales Director France, Belgium and Luxembourg at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
There is an opportunity there for NetApp with Cloud Volumes ONTAP.
Technological Consultant at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
 

Setup Cost

HPE MSA's pricing is high with costly support and licensing, but users value responsive support; better pricing could aid businesses.
IBM FlashSystem offers competitive pricing, but evaluating long-term needs and negotiating discounts is crucial to manage costs effectively.
NetApp FAS Series is costly but offers value with features like deduplication; planning and negotiation optimize ROI and pricing.
The pricing of HPE MSA is not deemed reasonable.
Manager, Information Technology at a construction company with 201-500 employees
To install or upgrade any software features, the cost is high, which makes it challenging for smaller companies who do not require advanced features like deduplication or compression typically needed by larger organizations.
Vice President Sales at BELOCAL LTD
The pricing is high; storage solutions are always expensive.
Freelancer at a logistics company with 10,001+ employees
The pricing of NetApp FAS Series is not cheap, but in comparison to other vendors, NetApp FAS Series is affordable.
System Engineer at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Valuable Features

HPE MSA is praised for its ease of management, scalability, robust features, and suitability for SMBs due to reliable performance.
IBM FlashSystem delivers high performance, user-friendly management, and scalable efficiency with robust features like deduplication and virtualization.
NetApp FAS Series offers performance, flexibility, and reliability with robust deduplication, seamless integration, and efficient data management for diverse environments.
I found that its scalability benefited my organization, especially in larger settings.
Manager, Information Technology at a construction company with 201-500 employees
In terms of disaster recovery, we can define global spares in HPE MSA. When one disk fails, a global spare is automatically allocated to that particular disk, which saves the data.
Systems Engineer at Thakral One (Pvt) Ltd
The most useful feature of HPE MSA is VAAI, which are the functions embedded in the system, allowing operations on the server or storage without using server CPU, making it easier.
Administrative Assistant at EUIPO - European Union Intellectual Property Office
There is a significant amount of data reduction, achieving a ratio of one to three.
Storage Specialist at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
The most valuable features are performance and reliability.
Freelancer at a logistics company with 10,001+ employees
There is built-in compression, a data reduction feature, and artificial intelligence-driven insights that calculate warnings and errors to redirect to customers automatically.
Manager, Technical Services, IBM Storage & Backup Solutions. at Thakral
While NVMe disks are expensive and require three disks for parity calculations, hard drives in NetApp FAS Series are inexpensive, making it more cost-efficient per GB, even with RAID tech implementation.
Senior Cloud System Engineer at Atos Poland
Our IOPS are very high, reaching somewhere about 50k to 150k or 1.150k.
DIRECTOR at Vellore Online Systems
One important feature for customers is its ease of use and continuity, enabling seamless usage across on-premise and cloud environments.
Pre-Sales Director France, Belgium and Luxembourg at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Modular SAN (Storage Area Network) category, the mindshare of HPE MSA is 9.4%, down from 19.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM FlashSystem is 10.6%, down from 19.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetApp FAS Series is 10.7%, down from 17.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Modular SAN (Storage Area Network) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
NetApp FAS Series10.7%
HPE MSA9.4%
IBM FlashSystem10.6%
Other69.3%
Modular SAN (Storage Area Network)
 

Featured Reviews

JP
Administrative Assistant at EUIPO - European Union Intellectual Property Office
Ease of management and seamless storage optimization empower effective data handling
The user web interface is a bit slow, but it is really easy to use, although you still have to wait a bit when you send an operation. We have had some drive failures, but with the redundancy, we had no data loss. We just had to replace the disk, and it goes automatically well. The main difficulty is the firmware upgrade of disks, as it means stopping all the servers to make the upgrade. It would be beneficial to have it done in the background, stopping a disk and upgrading it while keeping the system running. Regarding responsiveness of the web interface, the same issue exists with iLO on the servers, where the interface is also a bit slow. However, with the new servers, it is always faster. The small CPU dedicated to that task does not have a lot of power since it is not the main task of the machine, making it less of a real problem and just a question of responsiveness.
OmarIsmail1 - PeerSpot reviewer
Infrastructure Technical Specialist II at Clicks Group
Offers high performance and dependable support for fast storage needs
The most valuable feature of IBM FlashSystem is its robust back code. When integrated properly into the environment and configured according to the guidelines, it provides a very solid infrastructure that does the job on demand. Additionally, IBM FlashSystem offers competitive pricing and reliable performance. The hardware is dependable, ensuring that it functions effectively when the setup is done correctly.
Srikanth Purushothaman - PeerSpot reviewer
DIRECTOR at Vellore Online Systems
Has supported long-term data protection and backup while requiring better part availability and pricing options
For monitoring purposes, we normally use flash access storage exclusively. We utilize a hybrid system because we need performance, combining NL-SAS for the volume and SAS flash to use as a fast cache system that provides more IOPS. We normally implement RAID 10, which we prefer over RAID 6's n plus 2 combinations. We utilize it for data redundancy, even with write intensity on. Regarding the unified storage architecture for NetApp FAS Series, we normally opt for exclusivity unless budget constraints exist. Our IOPS are very high, reaching somewhere about 50k to 150k or 1.150k. The high performance ensures minimal latency. An advantage we've seen with NetApp FAS Series is that snapshots provide very rapid backup and fast recovery. We basically use snapshots for data protection as first-level protection, with deduplication between the two storages serving as second-level protection.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
13%
Computer Software Company
11%
Construction Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
9%
Construction Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise11
Large Enterprise7
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business47
Midsize Enterprise21
Large Enterprise60
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business31
Midsize Enterprise38
Large Enterprise58
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HPE StorageWorks MSA?
I did not compare the cost of HPE MSA with others because we buy with a framework contract, and HP is the only brand ...
What needs improvement with HPE StorageWorks MSA?
The user web interface is a bit slow, but it is really easy to use, although you still have to wait a bit when you se...
What is your primary use case for HPE StorageWorks MSA?
We use HPE MSA as storage for the VMware servers, and we will try to use Proxmox server later on, but currently, we u...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM FlashSystem?
The pricing is high; storage solutions are always expensive. I do not know if the price needs to be reviewed, but it ...
What needs improvement with IBM FlashSystem?
As far as I know, IBM FlashSystem has already improved, but I do not see room for improvement. It is simple to use an...
What is your primary use case for IBM FlashSystem?
We are not working with Object Storage or Storage Protect; we are working with SAN storage and LUN storage. I am a co...
Which SAN product would you choose: IBM FlashSystem (FS9500) vs PureFlash Array/X NVMe vs PureFlash Array/XL NVMe?
Have you considered a NetApp FAS Storage for your NAS needs? I am sure it fits very well.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetApp FAS Series?
I do not handle the pricing part of NetApp FAS Series since it is managed by the sales team.
What needs improvement with NetApp FAS Series?
There is room for improvement when it comes to response time and first-level support quality. If a new feature needs ...
 

Also Known As

HP StorageWorks MSA
IBM Storwize
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Femsa CSC, TTX, Rabobank
Celero, Friedhelm Loh Group, Clarks, Mingkang Natregro Health Food Group, Sofia, Etisalat Fights Fraud, UF Health Shands Hospital, Generali, Elecon Engineering Company Limited, Ventiv , Technology, CPFL Energia, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., SciQuest, Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated, Paddy Power, Kelsey-Seybold Clinic, Interconnect Services, Severstal IP-Only AB, PVU Group GmbH
Children's Hospital Central California, Plex Systems, PDF PNI Digital Media, Denver Broncos, PDF KSM Legal, Clayton Companies, Virginia Community College
Find out what your peers are saying about NetApp, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, IBM and others in Modular SAN (Storage Area Network). Updated: May 2026.
899,645 professionals have used our research since 2012.