IBM SoftLayer vs Microsoft Azure Object Storage comparison

IBM and Microsoft are both solutions in the Public Cloud Storage Services category. IBM is ranked #22, while Microsoft is ranked #10 with an average rating of 8.0. IBM holds a 1.2% mindshare in PCSS, compared to Microsoft’s 3.0% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 88% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

IBM SoftLayer

Read 2 IBM SoftLayer reviews

298 Views
197 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Microsoft Azure Object Storage

Read 57 Microsoft Azure Object Storage reviews

844 Views
827 Comparison Views

88% willing to recommend

IBM SoftLayer

Microsoft Azure Object Storage

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 1, 2024

IBM SoftLayer and Microsoft Azure Object Storage are two key players in cloud storage. While IBM SoftLayer wins on customer service, Microsoft Azure Object Storage has the upper hand in scalability and advanced features.

Features: IBM SoftLayer users highlight robust security features, high performance, and reliability. Microsoft Azure Object Storage reviews frequently mention scalability, integration capabilities, and advanced analytics.

Room for Improvement: IBM SoftLayer users suggest enhancing its interface, improving API capabilities, and better cost management. Microsoft Azure Object Storage reviews indicate a need for better cost management, simplified billing processes, and improved customer support efficiency.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM SoftLayer is praised for its straightforward deployment model and responsive customer support. Microsoft Azure Object Storage offers a flexible deployment model but receives mixed reviews on support efficiency.

Pricing and ROI: IBM SoftLayer users report fair setup costs and satisfactory ROI but express concerns about long-term expenses. Microsoft Azure Object Storage is seen as more expensive initially, but the extensive features and long-term benefits justify the investment.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM SoftLayer vs. Microsoft Azure Object Storage Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM SoftLayer vs. Microsoft Azure Object Storage

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

IBM SoftLayer

Ranking in Public Cloud Storage Services

22nd

Average Rating

8.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Microsoft Azure Object Storage

Ranking in Public Cloud Storage Services

10th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Public Cloud Storage Services category, the mindshare of IBM SoftLayer is 1.2%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure Object Storage is 3.0%, up from 2.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Public Cloud Storage Services Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Microsoft Azure Object Storage	3.0%
IBM SoftLayer	1.2%
Other	95.8%

Public Cloud Storage Services

Featured Reviews

reviewer1032702

Global Principal Cloud Architect at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees

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.

Read full review

Akram Zabat

Consultant - Architecture Solution at Onepoint

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.

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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

"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 best thing is it's on the cloud. It's easily accessible to everyone through a mobile device, tablet, or laptop. Secondly, it's secure. Like any URL shared will not work after a few hours. Only the person concerned who has that URL can use it within a few hours to download the document. After that, it expires. Thirdly, we all keep an archive. For example, if there are old documents, they are still stored over there. Another nice Azure feature is that they have the regional set up for that storage, and there's no downtime, and I'm grateful for that. We don't have to worry, because it's secure. If something goes down, they have other copies of it on a separate server, and it's accessible."

"We have had a good experience with customer service and support."

"Azure cloud services are quite an easy solution with many tools to operate, such as the CLI, software development kit, and the portal."

"This product is very reliable and all of the security that our client requires is available."

"The solution is stable. It works fine for us."

"The most valuable feature is the API because it is very flexible."

"With Microsoft Azure Object Storage, they are an open market."

"The solution integrates well with Microsoft Office 365 and includes important features such as SIEM, storage, SQL, and Cosmos DB."

More Microsoft Azure Object Storage pros

Cons

"For us, the versioning was an issue."

"The interface is hard to use for us. It should be simplified."

"The pricing of the solution can be improved."

"A more comprehensive training option is needed."

"The setup process could always be a bit easier."

"The initial setup could be more straightforward. It would be best if you had a little bit of training or an understanding of the concepts. It's important because if you don't do that, then you might end up not following the best practices. Then you will learn it the hard way by making mistakes and then know that you shouldn't have done this or that. It's better to attend workshops and take a hands-on approach."

"One of the things that are currently important is consistency. To achieve this, another database called Cosmos DB is available. We want to have a similar consistency to the one in Cosmos DB but at a cheaper price."

"One potential area for improvement is the replication process."

"Technical support should be a little bit faster."

"The solution needs to improve the custom domain integration with static web pages. Even though Blog Storage is providing the static content hosting feature, due to the custom domain availability, the integration is not available. In most cases, we withdraw from that service and use our app service to host our static data feeds."

More Microsoft Azure Object Storage cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"Object Storage is competitively 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."

"I'm not aware of the licensing cost, as my customer handles it. In Taiwan, it's reasonably priced."

"I think we pay per bit as per usage. There is a billing pattern for the subscription, and we get a monthly bill. I've seen that happen over there. I haven't seen any fixed costs. It always depends on what we're using and how much the servers are running. The breakdown appears on the bill."

"The cost of this solution is high compared to others, although there are no costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."

"Pricing is always confusing for all Microsoft products. For this solution, they do provide the estimates, but it is not easy to guess the exact amount that we will be billed."

"The pricing is competitive."

"The tool's licensing costs are annual. It should be made reasonable."

More Microsoft Azure Object Storage pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Manufacturing Company

16%

Computer Software Company

13%

Comms Service Provider

Healthcare Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	23
Midsize Enterprise	11
Large Enterprise	21

Questions from the Community

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What do you like most about Microsoft Azure Object Storage?

The layout of Microsoft is professional.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Azure Object Storage?

My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Microsoft Azure Object Storage is very good.

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What needs improvement with Microsoft Azure Object Storage?

The customer support for Microsoft Azure Object Storage is not good. If a good engineer is assigned, then it functions well. However, every time we are doing troubleshooting, it is not Microsoft.

See all answers

Comparisons

Amazon AWS vs IBM SoftLayer

Compared 35% of the time

Oracle Cloud Software Appliance vs IBM SoftLayer

Compared 35% of the time

Amazon S3 Glacier vs IBM SoftLayer

Compared 31% of the time

More IBM SoftLayer Competitors

Amazon S3 vs Microsoft Azure Object Storage

Compared 28% of the time

Oracle Cloud Object Storage vs Microsoft Azure Object Storage

Compared 27% of the time

Amazon S3 Glacier vs Microsoft Azure Object Storage

Compared 13% of the time

NetApp Cloud Volumes Service for Google Cloud vs Microsoft Azure Object Storage

Compared 13% of the time

Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS) vs Microsoft Azure Object Storage

Compared 12% of the time

More Microsoft Azure Object Storage Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Public Cloud Storage Services

January 2026

Download IBM SoftLayer product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Azure Object Storage

January 2026

Download Microsoft Azure Object Storage product report

Also Known As

CloudLayer

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

Overview

SoftLayer provides cloud infrastructure as a service from a growing number of data centers and network points of presence around the world. Our customers range from Web startups to global enterprises.

Products and services include bare metal and virtual servers, networking, turnkey big data solutions, private cloud solutions, and more. Our unique advantages include the industry's first Network-Within-a-Network topology for true out-of-band access, and an easy-to-use customer portal and robust API for full remote-access of all product and service management options.

IBM

REST-based object storage for unstructured data in the cloud

Store infrequently accessed data in a low-cost cool storage tier
Store frequently accessed application data in a hot storage tier
Stream video, audio, and other media to web, mobile, or desktop applications
Power big data analytics
Access your data more securely, both over the wire and at rest

Microsoft

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

Buyer's Guide

IBM SoftLayer vs. Microsoft Azure Object Storage

December 2025

Free Report: IBM SoftLayer vs. Microsoft Azure Object Storage

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