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IBM FlashSystem vs VMware vSAN 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
7.2
IBM FlashSystem users reported improved performance, scalability, and integration, valuing ROI, enhanced features, and minimal downtime despite increased pricing.
Sentiment score
6.6
Enterprises save costs with local drives, reducing storage needs and boosting efficiency and productivity while simplifying infrastructure.
The solution can comfortably be stretched from five to seven years without any failures, ensuring a long-lasting return.
Starting with a smaller infrastructure and scaling as required allows us to save costs initially.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.1
IBM FlashSystem's customer service is praised for responsiveness and expertise, though regional response times and costs vary.
Sentiment score
7.1
VMware vSAN support varies; praised for advanced help but criticized for slow responses from initial contacts and escalation delays.
Customers of alternatives like Dell and Hitachi enjoy more reliable and comprehensive support services directly from vendors rather than third-party subsidiaries.
I rate the technical support from IBM as a ten.
IBM customer support is responsible, efficient, and responsive, though it is expensive.
I would rate their support nine points.
I am not satisfied with VMware support, particularly with the reaction times, SLAs, and those kinds of issues.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
IBM FlashSystem offers strong scalability and flexibility, supporting expansion with virtualization despite occasional complexity and costs.
Sentiment score
7.3
VMware vSAN offers scalable growth with robust performance, though some seek improved node integration despite easy resource expansion.
For larger enterprises, scalability is an issue as the price becomes prohibitive.
The problem arises when migrating data to a later IBM FlashSystem version due to issues with firmware compatibility.
The scalability of IBM FlashSystem is exceptional, and I rate it as a nine.
It supports up to 64 nodes in a cluster, allowing us to add nodes and expand the cluster as needed.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
IBM FlashSystem is highly reliable with exceptional stability, praised for resilience and quick resolution of occasional issues.
Sentiment score
7.2
VMware vSAN offers reliable performance and stability when adhering to hardware compatibility, with noted improvements in recent versions.
Customers have infrastructure that is 100% stable.
The firmware and software engine have fewer bugs, which enhances operational efficiency.
In terms of stability, I give VMware vSAN nine points.
 

Room For Improvement

IBM FlashSystem needs better storage, stability, GUI, scalability, support, integration, pricing, configurations, data reduction, cloud, and analytics.
VMware vSAN needs improvements in customization, hardware compatibility, cost efficiency, scalability, integration, monitoring tools, and user-friendliness.
Other vendors like NetApp offer better deduplication technology, which is noticeably advanced compared to IBM FlashSystem.
An additional function that could be helpful is reducing the time it takes to delete volumes, especially if they are compressed or deduplicated.
There is room for improvement in the troubleshooting part, specifically related to IBM Spectrum for Insight.
A proper monitoring tool that encompasses both applications and infrastructure would help in quickly resolving issues.
Maybe incorporation of automation to build clusters in a more automated way would be beneficial.
 

Setup Cost

IBM FlashSystem pricing is competitive but variable, with negotiable discounts and potentially high ongoing costs for smaller organizations.
Enterprise buyers consider VMware vSAN competitively priced with long-term savings, yet worry about future price changes post-Broadcom acquisition.
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.
This has resulted in a slight cost increase.
 

Valuable Features

IBM FlashSystem offers high performance, ease of use, and advanced storage features, making it ideal for efficient business solutions.
VMware vSAN provides efficient, scalable storage management, integrating seamlessly with vSphere, praised for performance, simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and flexibility.
There is a significant amount of data reduction, achieving a ratio of one to three.
When integrated properly into the environment and configured according to the guidelines, it provides a very solid infrastructure that does the job on demand.
There is built-in compression, a data reduction feature, and artificial intelligence-driven insights that calculate warnings and errors to redirect to customers automatically.
Hot add features are available by default in vSphere, allowing us to immediately increase memory, CPU, and hard drive without any downtime.
A one-stack solution from one vendor is the main benefit here.
 

Categories and Ranking

IBM FlashSystem
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
111
Ranking in other categories
NAS (4th), Modular SAN (Storage Area Network) (3rd), All-Flash Storage (12th)
VMware vSAN
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
231
Ranking in other categories
HCI (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Storage Solutions solutions, they serve different purposes. IBM FlashSystem is designed for NAS and holds a mindshare of 13.2%, down 13.5% compared to last year.
VMware vSAN, on the other hand, focuses on HCI, holds 15.0% mindshare, down 18.4% since last year.
NAS
HCI
 

Featured Reviews

Raanan Sitton - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Pramod-Talekar - PeerSpot reviewer
Enables efficient multi-environment cluster deployment and resource management with versatile features
While VMware vSAN is quite comprehensive, if we are running multiple infrastructures, applications, databases, and other elements, having a diagnostic tool to identify the actual problem area, whether application-side or infrastructure-side, would be beneficial. A proper monitoring tool that encompasses both applications and infrastructure would help in quickly resolving issues.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
Educational Organization
50%
Computer Software Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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 banking, often use the latest devices as they are upgrading, indicating they do not ...
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 volumes, especially if they are compressed or deduplicated.
What Is The Biggest Difference Between vSAN And VxRail?
While both run on the vSAN technology from VMware, vSAN needs to be deployed on vSAN ready nodes while VxRail is an engineered system. The choice to choose which technology depends on two major fac...
Which would you choose - Nutanix Acropolis AOS or VMware vSAN?
We found the reduced power consumption with Nutanix Acropolis AOS a very attractive feature. We also like the interface that allows you to talk directly to your VM from the present software. We fou...
How does HPE Simplivity compare with VMware vSAN?
HPE SimpliVity is a hyper-converged infrastructure solution that is primarily geared to mid-sized companies. We researched VMware vSAN but found HPE was a better option for us. HPE SimpliVity has ...
 

Also Known As

IBM Storwize
vSAN
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

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
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Find out what your peers are saying about Dell Technologies, NetApp, IBM and others in NAS. Updated: May 2025.
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