Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

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
22nd
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
12th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
54
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Public Cloud Storage Services category, the mindshare of IBM SoftLayer is 0.4%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure Object Storage is 2.0%, up from 1.9% 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 stability is the solution's most valuable aspect for our organization."
"The ELT versus ETL extract, transform and load versus extract, load, and then transform, the ELT method is what really sells SoftLayer."
"The solution offers good documentation."
"The index search and block storage are valuable features."
"You can peer into different levels of the archive."
"Microsoft Azure Object Storage provides a platform for uploading or downloading big datasets."
"Object Storage's best feature is that it's easy to deploy."
"Microsoft Azure Object Storage is an easy-to-use and stable solution."
"The product has good accessibility."
"The metadata that the solution provides is quite valuable for us. If we need to analyze the latest data from a particular department or particular user, we can simply query through the metadata we store in Azure Object Storage and simply fetch those records which are maybe one day or one month old. this metadata storage is really handy for us."
 

Cons

"For us, the versioning was an issue."
"The interface is hard to use for us. It should be simplified."
"The efficiency depends on various operations, and therefore, it should involve multiple vendor support."
"The tool doesn't offer Microsoft Copilot and Microsoft AI."
"If we look at the different versions of that ADLS, it really does not have a hierarchical storage mechanism."
"The improvement needed for Microsoft Azure Object Storage is to reduce the transactional charges, as these read and write operation charges are higher."
"Microsoft Azure Object Storage needs to improve stability and cloud user interface."
"The cost of support is always expensive."
"I think if the tool puts features that only exist in the easy copying area through Azure Storage Explorer, so introducing such features in Microsoft Azure Object Storage can make it more user-friendly."
"We would like it if we did not have to use another encryption solution to encrypt the storage."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"I would rate the pricing a four out of ten because there is a lot of competition out there."
"The pricing is competitive."
"Microsoft Azure Object Storage requires a license. We are using a pay-as-you-go model and we have an enterprise subscription model as well."
"The pricing can be improved. There is an yearly licensing cost for the solution. There are some reserve instances that are additional to the licensing cost."
"Microsoft Azure Object Storage is an expensive solution."
"The cost should be reduced to make it more competitive."
"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."
"The cost is based on the amount of traffic and we paid approximately 18 lakh Rupees ($25,000 USD) last year."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Public Cloud Storage Services solutions are best for your needs.
860,168 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Computer Software Company
23%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Real Estate/Law Firm
10%
Insurance Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
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: June 2025.
860,168 professionals have used our research since 2012.