IBM FlashSystem vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series comparison

IBM FlashSystem vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series

July 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:

ROI

Sentiment score

1.0

Organizations reduced costs and improved performance with Pure FlashArray X NVMe, achieving quick ROI and efficient resource management.

Sentiment score

6.7

IBM FlashSystem offers easy migration, improved performance, seamless integration, cost efficiency, and quick ROI, enhancing user satisfaction.

Sentiment score

2.8

Customers achieved cost savings and improved efficiency with Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series, benefiting from better data management and scalable solutions.

By opting for the gold subscription every three years, you get a free upgrade to the latest controller release.

IT System Specialist - Operations & Infrastructure at Daman

If you wait more than seven years to buy another one, you get a return on your investment.

For more quotes and insights, download the Pure FlashArray X NVMe report

Sales Manager at Multicomputos PR

The solution can comfortably be stretched from five to seven years without any failures, ensuring a long-lasting return.

For more quotes and insights, download the IBM FlashSystem report

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.

Ravikumar Boppani

Technical Lead at Tomia

No quotes available

For more quotes and insights, download the Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series report

Customer Service

Sentiment score

7.1

Pure FlashArray X NVMe's technical support is praised for responsiveness, despite occasional follow-up issues, earning high customer satisfaction.

Sentiment score

7.0

IBM FlashSystem support reviews are mixed, with praise for response speed but criticism for regional expertise and complex escalations.

Sentiment score

4.9

Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series customer service experiences are mixed, with some praising it and others citing poor support.

We also had one outage where a controller of one of the products had failed and had to be replaced on-site.

reviewer943512

System and Network administrator at Vodafone

Customers always have their issues resolved promptly.

For more quotes and insights, download the Pure FlashArray X NVMe report

Sales Manager at Multicomputos PR

Pure has good storage.

Gokhan Dikmen

Vice President of product at a tech services company with 51-200 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.

For more quotes and insights, download the IBM FlashSystem report

Manager, Technical Services, IBM Storage & Backup Solutions. at Thakral

No quotes available

For more quotes and insights, download the Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series report

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score

7.1

Pure FlashArray X NVMe offers scalable storage with low latency, easy upgrades, though capacity customization and high costs are noted.

Sentiment score

7.3

IBM FlashSystem is praised for its scalable, flexible expansion, suiting diverse enterprises and integrating well with current systems.

Sentiment score

6.4

Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series is highly scalable for medium to large enterprises, though costs and connections can limit expansion.

It is highly scalable.

Joerg Utesch

Sales Director at systemzwo group

It is suitable for both medium-sized and enterprise businesses.

Jaka Demšar

VAD PLSM Storage - Slovenia & Croatia at ASBIS

It hasn't broken down anytime in the last six to seven years, despite hurricanes, earthquakes, and power outages.

For more quotes and insights, download the Pure FlashArray X NVMe report

Sales Manager at Multicomputos PR

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.

For more quotes and insights, download the IBM FlashSystem report

Infrastructure Technical Specialist II at Clicks Group

Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series is scalable, and I would rate its scalability as a seven out of ten.

For more quotes and insights, download the Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series report

Service manager at Crescent Technologies

Stability Issues

Sentiment score

8.1

Pure Storage offers exceptional stability and reliability with outstanding support, consistently achieving high user ratings for performance and service.

Sentiment score

7.6

IBM FlashSystem is generally stable and reliable; however, some users experience issues due to specific configurations or hardware conditions.

Sentiment score

5.5

Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series is generally stable and reliable, though some users report occasional failures and resilience issues.

During the eight years, there have been no problems such as hardware failure or stopping.

Gokhan Dikmen

Vice President of product at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

I would rate the stability of the solution as a ten out of ten.

For more quotes and insights, download the Pure FlashArray X NVMe report

IT System Specialist - Operations & Infrastructure at Daman

I would rate the stability of the product at seven out of ten.

Gary Cheung

Project Manager at a government with 11-50 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.

For more quotes and insights, download the IBM FlashSystem report

Infrastructure Technical Specialist II at Clicks Group

If I have sold fifty boxes, about fifty percent of them experienced failure.

For more quotes and insights, download the Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series report

Service manager at Crescent Technologies

Room For Improvement

Pure FlashArray X requires cost-effective improvements in UI, integration, cloud features, multitenancy, analytics, backup, AI, and scalability.

IBM FlashSystem needs improvements in capacity, GUI, support, data reduction, cloud integration, and stability for better competitiveness.

Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series needs licensing flexibility, enhanced features, better service, and improved pricing and management.

We would appreciate a built-in transparent failover in the next release to eliminate the need for a separate metro cluster.

Joerg Utesch

Sales Director at systemzwo group

I'm eagerly anticipating the roadmap's promise of introducing multiple controllers, which could significantly boost scalability and resilience.

For more quotes and insights, download the Pure FlashArray X NVMe report

IT System Specialist - Operations & Infrastructure at Daman

We mostly rely on long-term releases. We don't need the most up-to-date features, but we need a reliable environment.

reviewer943512

System and Network administrator at Vodafone

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.

For more quotes and insights, download the IBM FlashSystem report

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.

Subodh Jaiswar

Storage Specialist at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Many customers have lost data while configuring it, indicating a need for improvement.

For more quotes and insights, download the Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series report

Service manager at Crescent Technologies

Setup Cost

Enterprise buyers see Pure FlashArray X NVMe as a justified premium investment due to performance and comprehensive licensing.

IBM FlashSystem pricing is competitive but can be higher; users stress evaluating total costs, including software and support.

Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series offers competitive pricing comparable to Dell and HPE but with complex cost calculations and optional features.

While the prices may be higher than those of other vendors, we see it as a market leader with benefits.

Enes SUZER

Manager, System Infrastructure & Security at Organik Kimya San. ve Tic. A.S.

The support can be a bit pricey, but the solution is more cost-effective than anything else out there.

Sales Manager at Multicomputos PR

I would give it a nine out of ten in terms of costliness.

For more quotes and insights, download the Pure FlashArray X NVMe report

IT System Specialist - Operations & Infrastructure at Daman

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.

For more quotes and insights, download the IBM FlashSystem report

Vice President Sales at BELOCAL LTD

There are extra expenses beyond the standard licensing fee for features such as replication and deduplication, which are available on demand.

For more quotes and insights, download the Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series report

Service manager at Crescent Technologies

Valuable Features

Pure FlashArray X NVMe offers exceptional performance, reliability, scalability, and seamless VMware integration, enhancing workload efficiency and user experience.

IBM FlashSystem, known for high performance and reliability, excels in storage virtualization and advanced features, enhancing data efficiency.

Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series is praised for FlexClone, cloud tiering, data efficiency, and ONTAP features, offering superior service.

Pure Storage has signature security technology, which cannot be deleted, even if you are an administrator.

Gokhan Dikmen

Vice President of product at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

The platform's robust features include excellent sustainability tracking, and a comprehensive dashboard offering insights into IOPS, bandwidth, performance, and virtual activities.

IT System Specialist - Operations & Infrastructure at Daman

Its data compression feature is the best that we have ever seen.

For more quotes and insights, download the Pure FlashArray X NVMe report

Sales Manager at Multicomputos PR

There is a significant amount of data reduction, achieving a ratio of one to three.

Subodh Jaiswar

Storage Specialist at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 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

When integrated properly into the environment and configured according to the guidelines, it provides a very solid infrastructure that does the job on demand.

For more quotes and insights, download the IBM FlashSystem report

Infrastructure Technical Specialist II at Clicks Group

One of the most valuable features of Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series is the snapshot feature.

For more quotes and insights, download the Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series report

Service manager at Crescent Technologies

Categories and Ranking

Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the All-Flash Storage category, the mindshare of Pure FlashArray X NVMe is 0.9%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM FlashSystem is 6.5%, down from 6.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series is 2.1%, down from 2.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

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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Offers high performance and dependable support for fast storage needs

Infrastructure Technical Specialist II at Clicks Group

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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Mark Richmond

Chief Technology Officer at Next Level Communications

Reliable and fast servers with good support

We use on-premise servers with Lenovo ThinkSystem. We set up Hyper-V and load multiple types of servers including a domain controller, a SQL Server, and application servers The solution provides fast servers that are reasonably priced. We set up RAID ten to ensure drive redundancy, leading to…

Read full review

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865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Government

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

23%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Retailer

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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.

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...

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 ...

What do you like most about IBM FlashSystem?

It is simple to make an update.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM FlashSystem?

Many factors affect purchasing directly from IBM, often involving a multi-step process. Customers, especially in bank...

What needs improvement with IBM FlashSystem?

The deduplication technology in IBM FlashSystem needs significant improvement. Other vendors like NetApp ( /products/...

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

There are extra expenses beyond the standard licensing fee for features such as replication and deduplication, which ...

What needs improvement with Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series?

The deployment process of Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series is very complicated compared to previous GUI systems. Many cus...

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

My primary use case for Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series ( /products/lenovo-thinksystem-dm-series-reviews ) is for storag...

Dell PowerStore vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

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Dell Unity XT vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

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Compared 22% of the time

HPE Alletra Storage vs IBM FlashSystem

Compared 9% of the time

Pure Storage FlashArray vs IBM FlashSystem

Compared 8% of the time

Huawei OceanStor Dorado vs IBM FlashSystem

Compared 8% of the time

NetApp AFF vs IBM FlashSystem

Compared 7% of the time

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Compared 38% of the time

NetApp FAS Series vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series

Compared 14% of the time

Dell PowerStore vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series

Compared 11% of the time

Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series

Compared 10% of the time

HPE Alletra Storage vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series

Compared 3% of the time

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Product Reports

Download Pure FlashArray X NVMe product report

Pure FlashArray X NVMe

August 2025

Download IBM FlashSystem product report

IBM FlashSystem

August 2025

Download Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series product report

All-Flash Storage

July 2025

Also Known As

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

IBM Storwize

ThinkSystem DM 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

To meet enterprise storage requirements, ThinkSystem All-Flash DM Series systems provide high performance, superior flexibility, and best-in-class data management. DM Series runs on ONTAP data management software, which gives customers unified storage across block-and-file workloads. It accelerates your business while improving the efficiency, flexibility, and reliability of your IT operations.

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