IBM Cloud Object Storage vs NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP comparison

IBM Cloud Object Storage vs. NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP

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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

IBM Cloud Object Storage

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

File and Object Storage (15th)

NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Cloud Migration (3rd), Cloud Storage (9th), Cloud Backup (27th), Public Cloud Storage Services (11th), Cloud Software Defined Storage (2nd)

Featured Reviews

reviewer2384904

Sales Engineer For Channel Organisation at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees

Enables seamless data replication and supports comprehensive data analytics workflows

The capability to replicate data in different locations is valuable since it enables customers to have a cluster over various sites. Also, important is the capability to provide RESTful APIs for custom connectors. In terms of security, I advise customers to rotate access keys to enhance protection. Additionally, scalability is effortless as you can add nodes or expand the license.

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reviewer5948293

Principal Consultant at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

Offers performance control and cloud integration while supporting data management with granular flexibility

The scalability of NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP is interesting. We have thought about it, but we haven't used it. I think the scalability is something you scale up rather than respond to peak demand. It wouldn't help with outages either; the scaling is manual, and there are no processes we've used to automate that for unexpected scenarios. We like the scalability; it's enough for what we're planning to use, but we haven't used any advanced features. The standard platform is NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP, which is their cloud service. In fact, that's probably the most experience I have with NetApp. I've experienced it on-premise, but kind of secondhand.

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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

"One of Cloud Object Storage's best features is infinite capacity."

"IBM has the most number of additional services, this is the main advantage."

"IBM Cloud Object Storage integrates well."

"The integration itself is pretty easy. The access appliances create the connection between both environments."

"One of Cloud Object Storage's best features is infinite capacity. This is one of the main advantages if you don't want to use your own storage. You also have the ability to write only, write once, and read many. It's like tape storage but software-based. This feature is essential for financial institutions that require that kind of protection if you write backup or data there."

"The standout feature of IBM Cloud Object Storage is its top-notch security, making it ideal for sensitive applications like mobile financial transactions."

"The capability to replicate data in different locations is valuable since it enables customers to have a cluster over various sites."

"The most valuable feature I like is when you connect it via CLI plug-in...It is a stable solution."

More IBM Cloud Object Storage pros

"The solution’s unified file and block-storage access across our infrastructure is invaluable. Without it, we can't do what we do."

"We're able to use the SnapMirror function and SnapMirror data from our on-prem environment into Azure. That is super-helpful. SnapMirror allows you to take data that exists on one NetApp, on a physical NetApp storage platform, and copy it over to another NetApp storage platform. It's a solid, proven technology, so we don't worry about whether data is getting lost or corrupted during the SnapMirror."

"CVO gives us the ability to access data as quickly as possible, which is critical because of the mission set we handle. Some things cannot wait. For example, we tried having the data in the cloud itself, but it took too long for us to retrieve it from cold or deep storage. If we have it ONTAP or on-prem, it's so much easier to pull it within minutes."

"Lastly, the API and web services are fairly good. That is an important feature too. We write some code to do different things. We have code that runs to make sure that everything is being backed up as we say it is and we try to also detect places where we may have missed a backup."

"The most valuable features are the ease of management, the deduplication, storage optimization, SnapMirror, it has flexible in testing for different scenarios, rapid deployment of the test environments, and rapid recovery."

"Replication to the cloud is the most valuable feature. Deduplication and compression are also very important to us. We are in the process of adopting to the cloud. We are going to AWS and we are trying to do a safety technician call out with integration to the cloud. NetApp allows us to move some of the volume to the cloud, at the same time that we continue providing the cloud services that we have on premises."

"The ability to see things going back and forth has been quite useful."

"For us, the value comes from the solution's flexibility, speed, and hopefully cost savings in the long term."

More NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP pros

Cons

"One improvement could be incorporating a feature similar to Dropbox's version history. This would allow users to track modifications made to files over time, which is particularly important for maintaining a record of changes. While the free version might not include this feature, it could be included in the paid version to provide added value to clients. Additionally, having a version history feature that allows users to access modifications made to files over the past three months could be beneficial."

"Sometimes technical support lacks a comprehensive understanding of the entire solution, only focusing on the product they support."

"The performance could be better. It isn't bad, but everything is network-based, so you have a performance penalty on the network. You can never achieve the same performance as hardware. That's the disadvantage of cloud storage solutions in general. Cloud performance is one of the main issues clients have."

"IBM Cloud storage is not cheap, but it could be."

"Room for improvement depends on customer needs. Some customers prefer pure Object Storage using the S3 protocol, while others use a gateway in front of the storage grid to enable CIFS or NFS."

"The performance could improve in IBM Cloud Object Storage. The throughput or objects per second can have degradation."

"IBM has limited cloud storage."

"One area where IBM Cloud Object Storage could potentially improve is in modernizing its underlying codebase."

More IBM Cloud Object Storage cons

"The product is more restricted with underlying cloud."

"In terms of improvement, I would like to see the Azure NetApp Files have the capability of doing SnapMirrors."

"I would like to see something from NetApp about backups. I know that NetApp offers some backup for Office 365, but I would like to see something from NetApp for more backup solutions."

"The encryption and deduplication features still have a lot of room for improvement."

"NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP should improve its support."

"I think the challenge now is more in terms of keeping an air gap. The notion that it is in the cloud, easy to break, etc. The challenge now is mostly about the air gap and how we can protect that in the cloud."

"It's limited. We're trying to figure out better methods as we need to scale out more."

"It definitely needs improvement with respect to clustering and with respect to more collaborative integrations with Azure."

More NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Pricing is not cheap."

"Like most cloud providers, IBM likely charges based on storage capacity, typically per gigabyte or terabyte. Their pricing is competitive when compared to AWS or Microsoft."

"You have the option of a monthly or yearly license. Most customers choose the monthly option. I understand what you would like to say. IBM also lets you choose among four types of Cloud Object Storage. The difference is usage, performance, etc. Of course, high-performance storage is more expensive, while low-performance storage is for cold data, and it's really cheap."

"IBM Cloud is cheaper than AWS. If you want to scale your cloud infrastructure, it can be bought at almost the same price."

"Our licensing is based on a yearly subscription. That is an additional cost, but because of the storage efficiencies that the NetApp gives, even with the additional cost of the NetApp license, you still end up saving money versus straight Azure native for storage. It's definitely worth it."

"The pricing could be improved. It is a good product, but it is very expensive for me."

"The solution's pricing is reasonable."

"They give us a good price for CVO licenses. It is one of the reasons that we went with the product."

"Overall, the pricing of NetApp is aggressive and the pricing becomes more aggressive as the amount of data increases. The cost for a given volume of data that you are storing becomes lower. The greater the volume of data, the cheaper the license."

"Once we deploy the pay as you go model, we cannot convert this product as a BYOL model. This is a concern that we have."

"They have a very good price which keeps our customers happy."

"We find the pricing to be favorable due to the educational sector we belong to."

More NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

19%

Computer Software Company

12%

Outsourcing Company

Construction Company

Manufacturing Company

12%

Construction Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	3
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	4

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	8
Midsize Enterprise	11
Large Enterprise	53

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Cloud Object Storage?

In general, Object Storage should be a cheaper solution.

What needs improvement with IBM Cloud Object Storage?

The interface can feel clunky and outdated compared to AWS S3 or Azure Blob Storage. While scalable, latency can be an issue for high-throughput applications, especially during peak load times. I...

What is your primary use case for IBM Cloud Object Storage?

I do not use IBM Cloud Object Storage directly, but I was part of a consultancy company that managed it. During my professional career, I have worked for vendors like NetApp, Dell, and EMC, as well...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP?

NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP is actually quite reasonable in price compared to other native cloud storage options. For example, a customer using 100 TB of AWS storage would not benefit from deduplica...

What needs improvement with NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP?

It would be nice to see technology supporting the Elastic Fabric Adapter on Amazon AWS, therefore getting RDMA technology for more low-latency connections.

What is your primary use case for NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP?

I use NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP mostly in customer companies.

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Compared 7% of the time

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Compared 5% of the time

Azure NetApp Files vs NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP

Compared 4% of the time

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Compared 3% of the time

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Product Reports

IBM Cloud Object Storage

Download IBM Cloud Object Storage product report

NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP

Download NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP product report

Also Known As

Cleversafe

ONTAP Cloud, CVO, NetApp CVO

Overview

IBM Cloud Object Storage delivers vast capacity and reliable protection with seamless cloud integration and robust security features. It supports scalable deployment and provides versatile integration options, addressing key storage and data management needs.

IBM Cloud Object Storage is designed for flexible and secure data storage, supporting both on-premises and cloud solutions. It offers crucial security protocols against hacking and enables easy data replication across multiple sites. The offering integrates with IBM's IAM for enhanced data protection and uses RESTful APIs for customization. While it facilitates easy file management through compatibility with IBM Aspera and Watson Supply Chain, users indicate that improvements in network operation performance and interface intuitiveness could enhance user experience. Usability can be improved with more intuitive console design and modern framework compatibility. Employment in diverse use cases such as data lakes for IoT, cloud deployments, and OS tasks makes it an attractive choice, although some desire greater geographic data center presence.

What are the key features of IBM Cloud Object Storage?

Infinite Capacity: Provides unlimited storage capabilities, allowing for extensive data scalability.
Data Protection: Offers write-once-read-many protection and strong security measures.
Seamless Data Transfer: Facilitates data movement between on-premises and cloud locations.
Data Replication: Replicates data across various sites to ensure reliability and redundancy.
RESTful APIs: Enhances customization and integration with other applications.
IBM IAM Integration: Ensures data protection through access management solutions.

What benefits or ROI should organizations look for in IBM Cloud Object Storage?

Cost-effectiveness: Recognized for providing storage solutions with attractive pricing.
Scalability: Easily accommodates growing data storage needs.
Security: Protects against cyber threats with robust security features.
Versatility: Integrates well with IBM's cloud tools, enhancing operational efficiency.

In the automotive and IoT sectors, IBM Cloud Object Storage supports data lake initiatives and enhances AI analyses through integration with Watson's Supply Chain Insight. It serves as a backend storage solution for backups using Spectrum Protect Server, with many adopting it for cloud deployments to store on-premises data.

IBM

NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP is an efficient storage management solution for managing and storing data in the cloud. It offers seamless integration with cloud providers, advanced data replication capabilities, and high data protection. With reliable performance, it is ideal for industries like healthcare and finance.

NetApp

Sample Customers

Bitly, Dreamstime, Prime Research

1. Accenture 2. Acer 3. Adidas 4. Aetna 5. AIG 6. Apple 7. Bank of America 8. Barclays 9. Bayer 10. Berkshire Hathaway 11. BNP Paribas 12. Cisco 13. Coca-Cola 14. Comcast 15.ConocoPhillips 16. CVS Health 17. Dell 18. Deutsche Bank 19. eBay 20. Eli Lilly 21. FedEx 22. Ford 23. Freescale Semiconductor 24. General Electric 25. Google 26. Honeywell 27. IBM 28. Intel 29. Intuit 30. JPMorgan Chase 31. Kellogg's 32. KeyCorp 33. Liberty Mutual 34. L'Oréal 35. Mastercard

IBM Cloud Object Storage vs. NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP