IBM FlashSystem vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series comparison

IBM and Lenovo are both solutions in the All-Flash Storage category. IBM is ranked #10 with an average rating of 8.2, while Lenovo is ranked #21 with an average rating of 10.0. IBM holds a 5.8% mindshare in AFS, compared to Lenovo’s 2.1% mindshare. Additionally, 91% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Lenovo users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 18, 2024

IBM FlashSystem and Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series are competing storage solutions. Users find Lenovo's feature set and proactive customer service offer the upper hand over IBM's performance, despite cost considerations.

Features: IBM FlashSystem is recognized for high speed, low latency, and efficient data compression. Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series includes multi-protocol support, high-density storage, and flexible scalability options.

Room for Improvement: IBM FlashSystem needs better integration capabilities, cost optimization, and potentially improved management software. Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series could enhance its management software, reduce complexity, and improve initial setup procedures.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM FlashSystem offers a straightforward deployment process and responsive customer service. Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series may have a more complex deployment but is supported by robust, proactive customer service.

Pricing and ROI: IBM FlashSystem is sometimes considered cost-prohibitive but provides good ROI over time. Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series may have higher initial setup costs but delivers faster ROI through advanced features and reliability.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM FlashSystem vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM FlashSystem vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

December 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

Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the All-Flash Storage category, the mindshare of Pure FlashArray X NVMe is 1.4%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM FlashSystem is 5.8%, down from 6.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is 2.1%, down from 2.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

All-Flash Storage Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
IBM FlashSystem	5.8%
Pure FlashArray X NVMe	1.4%
Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series	2.1%
Other	90.7%

All-Flash Storage

Featured Reviews

Jaehoon Oh

Chief Technology Officer at Lambda256

Supports efficient storage management through volume snapshots and offers reliable non-disruptive upgrades

I have no specific improvements to suggest for Pure FlashArray X NVMe at this time. The performance statistics could be enhanced. I can see the performance statistics in the Pure Storage console, but it does not show the performance by 4K byte unit. It displays IOPS and bandwidth, but IOPS is about real use, and I want to know how many IOPS are currently running in 4K byte units. I cannot see that IOPS because most storage systems report their performance by 4K byte unit. I want to see Pure Storage performance by 4K byte unit to compare with other storage or other internal NVMe SSD.

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OmarIsmail1

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.

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Giorgio Pozzi

System Administrator at PORTGUARDIAN.COM SRL

Performance and cost-effectiveness are maximized with seamless setup and significant ROI

I use Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series to replace the old storage in our infrastructure. Additionally, I use it in customer infrastructures to migrate from the old storage to the new one On the M storage, I find the best features to be deduplication and compression. On the DE storage, the most…

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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

"Pure FlashArray X NVMe has low latency and high Ops. It is an evergreen model."

"We're able to get higher-density workloads on the same infrastructure, and we have a smaller physical footprint. The performance is excellent – during our test the bottlenecks are never on the X array, it just keeps picking up the pace to match what you need. The real-time visibility is a differentiator in my opinion."

"Offers excellent features like efficient data reduction, a reliable SafeMode, and a great support model for continuous assistance and updates."

"The database workloads are pretty fast because I frequently move data from here to there."

"Everything, especially the VMs inside, is pretty fast."

"I appreciate the performance."

"The standout features for us in Pure FlashArray X NVMe are its robust DDoS protection, seamless transparent failover, and failback capabilities ensuring high availability."

"Technical support has been helpful and responsive."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pros

"The valuable features are high availability, compression, and a failover mechanism. It's a very highly available storage solution."

"The most valuable feature is reliability."

"The valuable feature is autoscalling."

"IBM FlashSystem is a powerful effective storage solution. Additionally, it is user-friendly, anyone can use it."

"The solution is scalable and has varying degrees of scalability."

"It's very easy to manage."

"The initial setup was really straightforward. It was not complex. Deployment took one month, due to the data migration duration."

"The installation is nice and easy."

More IBM FlashSystem pros

"This solution is good for virtualization and meets the need for CPU and RAM requirements."

"Fewer features is not necessarily a negative as it leads to simpler operation and lower price."

"The most valuable features of the Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series are the dual controllers, available installation documentation, and the option of multiple host bus adapter interfaces."

"Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is simple to use"

"Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is highly reliable, especially for block-level storage. It is stable, with minimal downtime and no issues beyond user errors."

"The solution is very easy to troubleshoot. It's one of the most valuable features. It also doesn't take long to deploy and normally it comes with a three-year warranty."

"The solution is very easy to set up."

"We have been working with the solution for around a year and so far it has shown itself to be stable."

More Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series pros

Cons

"The software layer has to improve."

"There is room for improvement in the pricing of the product."

"Every time I think of something that needs to improve, they're one step ahead, which I love. The only area I wish to see improve, I believe is coming, is in the FlashBlade product. Blade implementation fell short on a few of the services."

"Right now, the box itself is just strictly working as a backend storage system. It would be fantastic if we could access it directly like a NAS device through network access or SIS drives. I think they have an interface, but I am not sure how good it is. If we could address a box directly on the network without having to go through a server, it would be great. The replication schemas could be improved. We are not using replication on the storage level right now. We use a different type of replication. If their replication would be as good as the one that we have, I would probably run the replication schema because it might be faster, but I don't know that for a fact. So, I cannot say that they have good replication. All I can say is that they need to inform us better."

"I would like to see some AI features that would allow arrays to intelligently identify threats or unusual behavior in the data pattern and give an alert."

"There are some challenges with data encryption and reduction."

"It feels more suitable for small and medium-sized businesses rather than enterprises."

"Managing data isn't difficult for me. The performance is usually perfect, but we sometimes have capacity problems."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe cons

"Product support is restricted to IBM only. It must be decentralized to IBM partners as well."

"Events/log analysis tools."

"The initial setup is complex."

"The customer's expectations are what they get on the cloud, they're expecting even in the on-premises deployments, going forward."

"They don't offer subscription-based payments."

"In IBM FlashSystem, data reduction is an area with shortcomings where improvements can be made in the future."

"I would like to see an improvement in the handling of large amounts of rights."

"The support could improve by allowing you to speak to someone when you call rather than them calling you back. However, once we do have contact with one of their technicians they are excellent."

More IBM FlashSystem cons

"ThinkSystem could be better integrated with backup software like Commvault, Veritas, or Symantec."

"Usually, when a part fails, we have to replace it and it takes a while. It would be better if the part could be available locally here in Kenya so we don't have to wait so long to repair the solution."

"It would be useful to have structured solutions replicated to other sites."

"Its performance could be faster."

"In the next release, I would like to see more functionality. But, again, it is an entry-level product."

"The type of connection that is used in Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series should be improved."

"The product could support advanced software integrations."

"In the next release, I would like to see support for Hyper-converged infrastructure."

More Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"With VMware, we pay $300,000 annually."

"Pretty much everything that you need is licensed when you buy the product. Licensing to me is different than the maintenance cost, but they can bleed into one another. We buy the product, and we expect three years of support bundled into what we negotiate on our storage arrays. I would start to see maintenance costs going into the fourth year, but we're not there yet."

"Our licensing fees are $500,000+ USD."

"The product is expensive."

"Given its price, Pure is not the first option."

"They can tout the functionality and cutting edge technology that they have, but that's where the price tag comes in. The cost is high, but I think as they grow their business and get more customers that it will probably go down a little bit."

"With Pure Storage, we would like to continue seeing price reductions with flash storage. I don't think we're any different than anybody else when we continue to look to the industry for price reductions of both NVMe and traditional SSD storage. We would like to see these prices continue to decline and erode, even displacing large spinning disks."

"As far as the licensing costs, everything is included in the license."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pricing and cost advice

"The solution has good pricing, but it is not cheaper."

"It pays to go back and get the best price you can from your supplier. The first offer is not always at the best discount."

"The pricing is reasonable."

"The price of IBM FlashSystem is reasonable."

"The pricing may be a bit higher than other brands. If you compare the IBM FlashSystems in midrange with Dell EMC in midrange, IBM costs a bit more, but I prefer IBM because it has more specs that I can benefit from."

"I'd rate the basic licensing and the Virtualize software a ten out of ten, and the extra Spectrum and other an eight out of ten."

"Among IBM, Dell EMC, and Pure Storage, IBM is the cheapest. The price is also based on our location, the size of our entity, and our regular annual purchases from them. We are a very big IBM customer, so we normally get very high discounts. We are not a big customer of Pure Storage. We don't buy that much from Pure Storage per year. Everything is included in the price. There is no extra license for different functions."

"I would rate the pricing of this solution a four out of five."

More IBM FlashSystem pricing and cost advice

"The solution's price could be better."

"We have a five-year contract for providing support."

"The best thing about this solution is its price, which reduces our costs."

"For an all-flash setup, the cost is around $20,000 for a decent configuration."

"The pricing is fair and low compared to other products in this category."

"The pricing for this solution is good compared to HP or Dell EMC."

"It is an expensive solution."

"All of the features are bundled together, and you can renew the bundle with all of the features included."

More Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Government

Computer Software Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

17%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	15
Midsize Enterprise	11
Large Enterprise	12

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	47
Midsize Enterprise	21
Large Enterprise	59

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	10
Midsize Enterprise	3

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Pure FlashArray X NVMe?

Pure FlashArray X NVMe helps to improve our processing speed. It is user-friendly and easy to use.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Pure FlashArray X NVMe?

The price of Pure FlashArray X NVMe is very expensive, though I do not know the actual price because I am using the E...

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What needs improvement with Pure FlashArray X NVMe?

I have no specific improvements to suggest for Pure FlashArray X NVMe at this time. The performance statistics could ...

See all answers

What do you like most about IBM FlashSystem?

It is simple to make an update.

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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 ...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series?

The price of Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is very good. We chose this type of storage for the performance and the price.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series?

The type of connection that is used in Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series should be improved.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series?

I use Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series to replace the old storage in our infrastructure. Additionally, I use it in custom...

See all answers

Comparisons

Dell PowerStore vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 18% of the time

Dell PowerMax vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 12% of the time

HPE Alletra Storage vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 11% of the time

TrueNAS R-Series vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 10% of the time

Dell Unity XT vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 6% of the time

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe Competitors

Dell PowerStore vs IBM FlashSystem

Compared 19% of the time

NetApp AFF vs IBM FlashSystem

Compared 8% of the time

Pure Storage FlashArray vs IBM FlashSystem

Compared 8% of the time

HPE Alletra Storage vs IBM FlashSystem

Compared 8% of the time

NetApp FAS Series vs IBM FlashSystem

Compared 3% of the time

More IBM FlashSystem Competitors

Dell PowerStore vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

Compared 23% of the time

NetApp AFF vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

Compared 10% of the time

Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

Compared 9% of the time

HPE Alletra Storage vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

Compared 8% of the time

Dell Unity XT vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

Compared 6% of the time

More Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Pure FlashArray X NVMe

January 2026

Download Pure FlashArray X NVMe product report

Buyer's Guide

IBM FlashSystem

January 2026

Download IBM FlashSystem product report

Buyer's Guide

All-Flash Storage

January 2026

Download Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series product report

Also Known As

Pure FlashArray//X NVMe, Pure FlashArray//X, FlashArray//X

IBM Storwize

ThinkSystem DE Series

Overview

Pure Storage FlashArray//X is the world’s first enterprise-class, all-NVMe flash storage array. It represents a new class of storage – shared accelerated storage, which is a term coined by Gartner – that delivers major breakthroughs in performance, simplicity, and consolidation.

Pure Storage

IBM FlashSystem products are enterprise computer data storage systems that store data on flash memory chips. Unlike storage systems that use standard solid-state drives, IBM FlashSystem products incorporate custom hardware based on technology from the 2012 acquisition of Texas Memory Systems. This hardware provides performance, reliability, and efficiency benefits versus competitive offerings.

IBM

The DE All-Flash Series delivers the performance of more than 2,000 15k rpm HDDs, yet requires only 2% of the rack space, power, and cooling. Because it consumes 98% less space and power, DE Series can significantly improve the overall efficiency of your IT operations while continuing to meet your performance requirements.

Lenovo

Sample Customers

Fremont Bank, Judson ISD, The Nielsen Company

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

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

IBM FlashSystem vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

December 2025

Free Report: IBM FlashSystem vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

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