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IBM SoftLayer vs Microsoft Azure Object Storage comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 1, 2024

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 SoftLayer
Ranking in Public Cloud Storage Services
21st
Average Rating
8.6
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Azure Object Storage
Ranking in Public Cloud Storage Services
9th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
52
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Public Cloud Storage Services category, the mindshare of IBM SoftLayer is 0.3%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure Object Storage is 1.9%, down from 2.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Public Cloud Storage Services
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer1032702 - PeerSpot reviewer
Stable with excellent speed and agility
The most valuable aspect of the solution is simply to have the ability to host in a cloud form and out of the data center - the IBM big iron solution. It's the speed and the agility that really sell SoftLayer. The ELT versus ETL extract, transform and load versus extract, load, and then transform, the ELT method is what really sells SoftLayer. The ability to extract act from your current location, load into your future location, with limited change, and then be able to take the transfer actions slowly and methodically after you're in your new location is the part that really makes this awesome. The stability and scalability are quite good.
Akram Zabat - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides versatile data storage solutions with a simple setup and easy to use
It's similar to S3 for AWS. The ability to store everything inside Blob or Object storage and use it for archiving data is beneficial. For example, you can transform data from relational databases, flatten it, and store it in Object storage to save space within the databases. If I want to save data and do not require legacy access, it's a good solution, for instance, to migrate archives from databases to Object storage. This can also be used for business intelligence purposes. Having a storage solution for data makes it the best place to store it. Azure has its own solution for StatsQ Web Apps.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The ELT versus ETL extract, transform and load versus extract, load, and then transform, the ELT method is what really sells SoftLayer."
"The stability is the solution's most valuable aspect for our organization."
"The product has good accessibility."
"The tool's most valuable feature is performance."
"Azure cloud services are quite an easy solution with many tools to operate, such as the CLI, software development kit, and the portal."
"Object Storage's best features are the soft delete option and the retention period."
"The solution integrates well with Microsoft Office 365 and includes important features such as SIEM, storage, SQL, and Cosmos DB."
"One valuable feature of Microsoft Azure Object Storage is that it provides REST API access to your data, allowing easy data consumption."
"Technical support has been excellent."
"It is easy to use, and we use it for backup and remote desktop access. It is working fine."
 

Cons

"For us, the versioning was an issue."
"The interface is hard to use for us. It should be simplified."
"Microsoft Azure Object Storage is a pretty expensive solution."
"They could improve AI and ML-based modules. They should add more modules based on artificial intelligence and machine learning. Pricing is a little bit tricky with Microsoft Azure. They do provide the estimates, but it is not easy to guess the exact amount that we will be billed after a month or two because it is based on usage. This is a little confusing."
"Object re-use should be improved in order to get better performance and reduce the cost."
"Object Storage's integration with other backup software could be improved."
"Its user interface could be better."
"Technical support should be faster at resolving issues for tickets that we create."
"Microsoft Azure Object Storage needs to increase its response time from 25,000 per second to 40,000 or 50,000."
"Microsoft Azure Object Storage has had a number of failures last week due to the lack of hardware available to support the resources. However, it was only for a short time, approximately two days."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The pricing for Microsoft Azure Object Storage is high and needs some reduction. It's a seven out of ten, price-wise, because it currently limits your consumption, so the solution should have better pricing."
"The cost of this solution is high compared to others, although there are no costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."
"I'm not aware of the licensing cost, as my customer handles it. In Taiwan, it's reasonably priced."
"The licensing cost of Microsoft Azure Object Storage is monthly. We have two types of licenses. One is the EA enterprise license and the other is a CSP license."
"It has a pay-as-you-go model. So, you are only paying for what you store. It's an attractive model. You don't pay for a set; you pay for what you actually use."
"You can download the application from Microsoft free of charge."
"The pricing is competitive."
"The solution is not affordable for small businesses."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Computer Software Company
23%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Retailer
12%
Real Estate/Law Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Azure Object Storage?
I can't share a lot about the costs. I am focused on the technical aspect. It's a pay-per-use solution and a good idea for proof of concept and value. If I want to test a product before deploying i...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Azure Object Storage?
In terms of compliance and security, everything is fine. I do not know of any immediate needs for improvement. However, one potential area for improvement is the replication process. Some clients c...
 

Also Known As

CloudLayer
Microsoft Azure Blob Storage, Azure Object Storage, MS Azure Object Storage
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Whogohost Ltd., Skypicker, Infinity Computers and Communications Company, Grace Co. Ltd., Keyword, Uvionics Tech, Tennis Australia, immixGroup, Salesbox, Cxense ASA, Avnet Inc., Komsomolskaya Pravda, Seekr
Umbraco, Xbox, Radioshack, 343 Industries, McKesson
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM SoftLayer vs. Microsoft Azure Object Storage and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,963 professionals have used our research since 2012.