IBM FlashSystem vs NetApp NVMe AFF A800 comparison

IBM and NetApp are both solutions in the All-Flash Storage category. IBM is ranked #13 with an average rating of 8.5, while NetApp is ranked #19 with an average rating of 8.5. IBM holds a 6.6% mindshare in AFS, compared to NetApp’s 0.8% mindshare. Additionally, 91% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of NetApp users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 18, 2024

IBM FlashSystem and NetApp NVMe AFF A800 are high-performance storage solutions. IBM FlashSystem is preferred for pricing and support, while NetApp NVMe AFF A800 has an edge in features despite higher costs.

Features: IBM FlashSystem offers efficient data reduction capabilities, high performance, and scalability. NetApp NVMe AFF A800 provides superior throughput, low latency, and comprehensive data management features.

Room for Improvement: IBM FlashSystem could improve its integration processes and analytics capabilities. NetApp NVMe AFF A800 users suggest enhancements in software updates and reducing complexity.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM FlashSystem is noted for its straightforward deployment process and responsive customer service. NetApp NVMe AFF A800 has mixed feedback on customer service with some indicating longer response times.

Pricing and ROI: IBM FlashSystem is viewed favorably for its better pricing and quicker ROI. NetApp NVMe AFF A800, despite higher costs, offers long-term value due to its extensive features.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM FlashSystem vs. NetApp NVMe AFF A800 Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM FlashSystem vs. NetApp NVMe AFF A800

April 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 May 2025, in the All-Flash Storage category, the mindshare of Pure FlashArray X NVMe is 0.8%, down from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM FlashSystem is 6.6%, down from 6.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetApp NVMe AFF A800 is 0.8%, down from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

All-Flash Storage

Featured Reviews

Eugene Hemphill

Sales Manager at Multicomputos PR

Helps to save money and resources with the data compression feature

One point I'd like to improve is that the tool should start selling small boxes again. It discontinued some products and is focusing on bigger, more capable boxes, neglecting the SMB market. Even though it's not a big market, it shouldn't have removed them. One way to improve the product is to add an operational assistant that doesn't depend on VMware. It could also establish more alliances with other operational systems.

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Raanan Sitton

Vice President Sales at BELOCAL LTD

Offers cost-effective storage for small companies with budget constraints

IBM FlashSystem 5300 is offered at a very low cost in Israel, which is advantageous for small companies. However, other features like deduplication and compression do not perform effectively. The price sensitivity makes it a viable option for clients with budgetary constraints, as it allows us to secure deals based on the cost rather than advanced performance.

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Tanveer Rahman

Chief Technical Office at Novotel Ltd.

A scalable solution that serves as a storage for the cloud services opted by organizations

My company uses NetApp NVMe AFF A800 as storage for our cloud The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is a product that is fast and provides a fast I/O. The product's performance has some shortcomings, making it an area that could be a little better. I don't expect to see additional…

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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

"I appreciate the performance."

"The solution is scalable."

"It has good, reliable, fast storage."

"It's incredibly easy to use and greatly simplified our ability to both deploy and manage our storage subsystems."

"The solution uses newer technology for deduplication and compression."

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

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

"The most valuable features of Pure FlashArray X NVMe are its superior performance compared to other flash tiers, as well as its ease of use, with an intuitive user interface that is simple to deploy and use."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pros

"It is simple to make an update."

"The feature I find most valuable, is the deduplication, because the nature of the data that we are using in our current environment, has a lot of replicated data."

"The most valuable feature is that is supports a high IOPS rate."

"The maintenance service and support from IBM is very good."

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

"The speed, performance, and stability are the best features of IBM FlashSystem."

"At the FlashSystem level, customers are especially fond of multi-tier and distributed rate systems, particularly the dynamic rate six arrays."

"The storage system is one of the best in the world."

More IBM FlashSystem pros

"The product can be scaled vertically as well as horizontally."

"The storage features are valuable."

"Over the eight years, we've been using NetApp with ONTAP, we've never lost a bit of data, and we've only experienced a few minutes of downtime in that entire time."

"You can easily scale up, and scale-out."

"Low latency is the most valuable feature."

"NetApp NVMe AFF A800 is easier to use than some other solutions and the UI is very good to use for day-to-day activities. Overall, the solution has good technology."

"The most valuable features are stability and performance."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is a product that is fast and provides a fast I/O."

More NetApp NVMe AFF A800 pros

Cons

"We would like to see VNC integration or be able to use Pure Storage with VNC."

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

"Efficiency improvements would always be welcome, but I'm not sure if they could get more efficient."

"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."

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

"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."

"Adding some functions to the product would be beneficial."

"We would like to see more visibility into garbage collection and CPU performance in the GUI."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe cons

"Cloud file sharing is an area that needs improvement."

"The solution is not able to replicate data in one-to-many scenario."

"The deduplication and compression ratio is not very good. It's not reaching a very high ratio."

"The only issue my team faced was transferring the data from the old system to IBM FlashSystem, which is an area for improvement in the solution."

"When you provision a datastore auto-format takes a long time"

"The solution should improve its pricing and the mechanism in the reduction pool."

"The solution has a low number of NVME host attachments at 16 per IO group over the fiber channel."

"We had issues when attempting to do a flash, we hope to resolve it soon."

More IBM FlashSystem cons

"The support can take a few days to have a response. However, the response that we do receive is very informative."

"The product’s UI could be better."

"Increasing the RAM, and including physical cords would be beneficial."

"Sometimes, it takes a while to get somebody competent on the other end of the line. They do have engineers in multiple time zones around the world. However, their level-one support is not always the best."

"The technical support has room for improvement."

"The initial setup is complex."

"The cost of the solution is quite high. It would be ideal if they could adjust it so that it's a but less."

"The initial setup should be easier, and more like a plug-and-play approach."

More NetApp NVMe AFF A800 cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

"The product is expensive."

"Its price could be better. It is not too expensive, but it is the high-end cost. It is kind of a Rolls-Royce. You pay a lot, but you get a lot out of it. So, the price pressure on the way down would be great, but at the end of the day, if you need to do the work, you just pay for it."

"Pure FlashArray X NVMe’s pricing is cheaper than other products."

"The licensing is on a yearly basis."

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

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

"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."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pricing and cost advice

"Regarding licensing make sure you add at least three years software maintenance from IBM at the beginning, because you will not be able to download firmware updates or any fixes/patches without this."

"There are no licensing fees, it is a one-time purchase of the IBM FlashSystem."

"I price of IBM FlashSystem is reasonable and competitive."

"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."

"Our customers would like IMB FlashSystem to be less expensive."

"The price is a little bit high so is rated a six out of ten."

"The total storage capacity vs price is still quite high for the IBM Flash Array."

"Overall the price of the solution is expensive and this includes the license."

More IBM FlashSystem pricing and cost advice

"The solution is expensive."

"I rate the product’s pricing a seven out of ten."

"Though NetApp NVMe AFF A800 may seem like a highly-priced product, it is not extremely expensive."

"Considering the requirements and the situation, I don't feel that this is an expensive product."

"There are licenses for the use of this solution, such as commercial licenses."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Government

Computer Software Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Manufacturing Company

23%

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

15%

Educational Organization

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.

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

I am an engineer and am not aware of the setup cost.

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What needs improvement with Pure FlashArray X NVMe?

Adding some functions to the product would be beneficial. Storage replication should be essential, and the analytics ...

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What do you like most about IBM FlashSystem?

It is simple to make an update.

See all answers

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...

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM FlashSystem?

The GUI needs some improvement. An additional function that could be helpful is reducing the time it takes to delete ...

See all answers

What do you like most about NetApp NVMe AFF A800?

The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is a product that is fast and provides a fast I/O.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetApp NVMe AFF A800?

Though NetApp NVMe AFF A800 may seem like a highly-priced product, it is not extremely expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with NetApp NVMe AFF A800?

The product's performance has some shortcomings, making it an area that could be a little better. I don't expect to s...

See all answers

Comparisons

Dell PowerStore vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 30% of the time

TrueNAS R-Series vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 17% of the time

Pure Storage FlashBlade vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 15% of the time

HPE Alletra Storage vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 8% of the time

Dell Unity XT vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 7% of the time

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Dell PowerStore vs IBM FlashSystem

Compared 23% of the time

Huawei OceanStor Dorado 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

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NetApp ASA vs NetApp NVMe AFF A800

Compared 25% of the time

Dell PowerStore vs NetApp NVMe AFF A800

Compared 18% of the time

Huawei OceanStor Dorado vs NetApp NVMe AFF A800

Compared 16% of the time

Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series vs NetApp NVMe AFF A800

Compared 10% of the time

Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform vs NetApp NVMe AFF A800

Compared 7% of the time

More NetApp NVMe AFF A800 Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Pure FlashArray X NVMe

April 2025

Download Pure FlashArray X NVMe product report

Buyer's Guide

IBM FlashSystem

April 2025

Download IBM FlashSystem product report

Buyer's Guide

NVMe All-Flash Storage Arrays

April 2025

Download NetApp NVMe AFF A800 product report

Also Known As

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

IBM Storwize

No data available

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

Your data is a gold mine. Get the most out of it - faster - with AFF A800. Designed for NVMe media, further accelerated with NVMe/FC connectivity to the host, AFF A800 all-flash systems deliver an incredible sub-200 microsecond latency. Providing more than 11.4M IOPS and 300GB/s throughput in a single cluster, AFF A800 redefines the limit of what’s possible with artificial intelligence and deep learning.

NetApp

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. NetApp NVMe AFF A800

April 2025

Free Report: IBM FlashSystem vs. NetApp NVMe AFF A800

Find out what your peers are saying about IBM FlashSystem vs. NetApp NVMe AFF A800 and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.

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