Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series comparison

Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series and Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series are both solutions in the All-Flash Storage category. Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is ranked #21 with an average rating of 10.0, while Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series is ranked #22 with an average rating of 9.0. Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series holds a 2.3% mindshare in AFS, compared to Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series’s 2.1% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 60% of Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 18, 2024

The Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series and Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series are competitive storage solutions focusing on high-performance and robust features. While the DM Series stands out for its scalability and hybrid capabilities, the DE Series is recognized for its value-driven performance and cost-effectiveness.

Features: The DM Series offers advanced data management with snapshots, cloning, and support for a hybrid cloud environment. Users appreciate its comprehensive data protection and flexibility. The DE Series stands out for its simplicity and efficient performance, catering to demanding workloads with reliable speed and lower initial costs.

Room for Improvement: Users suggest the DM Series could enhance its integration capabilities with third-party solutions and simplify its complexity. The DE Series may benefit from improvements in scalability options, better analytics insights, and more advanced features to match the DM Series' capabilities.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: The DM Series is reputed for straightforward deployment and effective customer support, ensuring a smooth setup and operational guidance. The DE Series is appreciated for easy installation but may have slightly less responsive customer service compared to the DM Series.

Pricing and ROI: The DM Series is viewed as a premium option with higher upfront costs but justifiable ROI due to its extensive feature set and performance benefits. The DE Series appeals to budget-conscious users, offering a solid ROI through lower initial costs and satisfactory performance, making it a more affordable solution overall.

To learn more, read our detailed Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series

September 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 November 2025, in the All-Flash Storage category, the mindshare of Pure FlashArray X NVMe is 1.1%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is 2.3%, down from 2.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series is 2.1%, down from 2.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

All-Flash Storage Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Pure FlashArray X NVMe	1.1%
Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series	2.3%
Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series	2.1%
Other	94.5%

All-Flash Storage

Featured Reviews

Jaehoon Oh

Chief Technology Officer at Lambda256

Supports efficient storage management through volume snapshots and offers reliable non-disruptive upgrades

I have no specific improvements to suggest for Pure FlashArray X NVMe at this time. The performance statistics could be enhanced. I can see the performance statistics in the Pure Storage console, but it does not show the performance by 4K byte unit. It displays IOPS and bandwidth, but IOPS is about real use, and I want to know how many IOPS are currently running in 4K byte units. I cannot see that IOPS because most storage systems report their performance by 4K byte unit. I want to see Pure Storage performance by 4K byte unit to compare with other storage or other internal NVMe SSD.

Read full review

Gastone Canali

IT Consultant at Effegibi

Provides good stability and is reliable in terms of performance

The solution is reliable in terms of performance They should include a snapshot feature for the solution. We have been using the solution for two to three years. The solution is stable. We have 60 solution users in our organization. The solution's initial setup process is easy. It takes three…

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Mark Richmond

Chief Technology Officer at Next Level Communications

Reliable and fast servers with good support

We use on-premise servers with Lenovo ThinkSystem. We set up Hyper-V and load multiple types of servers including a domain controller, a SQL Server, and application servers The solution provides fast servers that are reasonably priced. We set up RAID ten to ensure drive redundancy, leading to…

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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 Pure1 component is most valuable at this point in time when comparing it with EMC. Pure1 is where you can have your diagnostics in the cloud, so you can look at things from your mobile phone."

"The solution is very straightforward to set up."

"It has benefited my organization because it has reduced time to insights."

"The initial setup was extremely simple and straightforward."

"What I really like about this program, is that it is easy to use and easy to configurate."

"The latency is good."

"Offers excellent features like efficient data reduction, a reliable SafeMode, and a great support model for continuous assistance and updates."

"The most valuable feature of this solution is its ease of use."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pros

"Its initial setup process is easy."

"Fewer features is not necessarily a negative as it leads to simpler operation and lower price."

"The solution's initial setup process is easy."

"We have been working with the solution for around a year and so far it has shown itself to be stable."

"The solution is very easy to set up."

"This solution is good for virtualization and meets the need for CPU and RAM requirements."

"Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is simple to use"

"Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is highly reliable, especially for block-level storage. It is stable, with minimal downtime and no issues beyond user errors."

More Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series pros

"One of the most valuable features of Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series is the snapshot feature."

"The most valuable feature of the Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series is its ability to store data well."

"The servers are fast and affordable."

"The FlexClone feature is the solution's most valuable aspect."

"The product’s quality of service guarantees the performance of each workload."

"The solution offers very good reliable systems and storage for our clients."

"The value we derive from using it is greater than other alternatives like HPE and Dell."

"It has been a perfect fit for the workload that our customer is doing."

More Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series pros

Cons

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

"Our use cases require more multi-tenant capabilities and additional VLAN interfaces for separating different customers. We currently use it to provide storage, sometimes shared storage, to different customers, but it is less flexible in comparison to a dedicated solution."

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

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

"The UI for this solution needs to be improved."

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

"Right now, the box itself is just strictly working as a backend storage system. It would be fantastic if we could access it directly like a NAS device through network access or SIS drives. I think they have an interface, but I am not sure how good it is. If we could address a box directly on the network without having to go through a server, it would be great. The replication schemas could be improved. We are not using replication on the storage level right now. We use a different type of replication. If their replication would be as good as the one that we have, I would probably run the replication schema because it might be faster, but I don't know that for a fact. So, I cannot say that they have good replication. All I can say is that they need to inform us better."

"We have run into a couple of instances recently where we are running out of space. So we have had to buy some more packs for it and they have deployed fine and it has increased smoothly."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe cons

"ThinkSystem could be better integrated with backup software like Commvault, Veritas, or Symantec."

"The difficult part comes when dealing with the host. You have to enable multi-pathing and other aspects that are needed for proper configuration. I don't know if there is room for a more hyper-conversion structure to work with, but this would be easier."

"The product could support advanced software integrations."

"There could be a snapshot feature in the solution."

"The solution could be more scalable, although it suits our present needs."

"The type of connection that is used in Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series should be improved."

"Usually, when a part fails, we have to replace it and it takes a while. It would be better if the part could be available locally here in Kenya so we don't have to wait so long to repair the solution."

"Improvements can be made to the product's performance."

More Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series cons

"The tool's pricing is high."

"The solution needs a simpler licensing theme around the DM series. The problem is if you only need one of the features, you still have to buy the whole thing. The licensing needs to be more granular or flexible so you have the option to only license FlexCone or Inline Compression features."

"I would rate the support of Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series a four out of five."

"I would like Lenovo to add a feature like IBM Easy Tier to DM Series. This is a crucial feature for the customers."

"Lenovo could have a wider variety of storage solutions in the NAS space."

"This is an expensive solution."

"Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series could improve by having a snapshot feature. Additionally, there can be other features added to help restore the data faster."

"It takes a very long time to enter the management console, as well as to restart the system, and these are things that should be improved."

More Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"They can tout the functionality and cutting edge technology that they have, but that's where the price tag comes in. The cost is high, but I think as they grow their business and get more customers that it will probably go down a little bit."

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

"The tool's pricing is cheap; I rate it a six to seven out of ten. Most of our sales are not subscription-based. We sell the hardware, and customers keep using it. They only renew the service part annually. The support can be a bit pricey, but the solution is more cost-effective than anything else out there."

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

"The licensing is on a yearly basis."

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

"The support cost per array is about $20,000 a year for 24/7 support."

"The tool is an investment that we've budgeted for. While the prices may be higher than those of other vendors, we see it as a market leader with benefits. We don't regret purchasing it."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pricing and cost advice

"All of the features are bundled together, and you can renew the bundle with all of the features included."

"The pricing is fair and low compared to other products in this category."

"The best thing about this solution is its price, which reduces our costs."

"It is an expensive solution."

"We have a five-year contract for providing support."

"For an all-flash setup, the cost is around $20,000 for a decent configuration."

"The solution's price could be better."

"The pricing for this solution is good compared to HP or Dell EMC."

More Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series pricing and cost advice

"The solution's pricing is similar to Dell and HPE."

"The price of the Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series is good."

"Lenovo offers two software tiers for the DM Series: basic and premium. If you need more features like the MetroCluster, you must buy the premium version. You can stick to the basic software if you don't need MetroCluster or features like asynchronous replication. That makes DM Series a little cheaper."

"The solution is highly-priced."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Government

Computer Software Company

16%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

21%

Comms Service Provider

Retailer

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	15
Midsize Enterprise	11
Large Enterprise	12

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	10
Midsize Enterprise	3

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	13
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	2

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.

See all answers

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

The price of Pure FlashArray X NVMe is very expensive, though I do not know the actual price because I am using the E...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Pure FlashArray X NVMe?

I have no specific improvements to suggest for Pure FlashArray X NVMe at this time. The performance statistics could ...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series?

The price of Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is very good. We chose this type of storage for the performance and the price.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series?

The type of connection that is used in Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series should be improved.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series?

I use Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series to replace the old storage in our infrastructure. Additionally, I use it in custom...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series?

There are extra expenses beyond the standard licensing fee for features such as replication and deduplication, which ...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series?

The deployment process of Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series is very complicated compared to previous GUI systems. Many cus...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series?

My primary use case for Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series ( /products/lenovo-thinksystem-dm-series-reviews ) is for storag...

See all answers

Comparisons

Dell PowerStore vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 22% of the time

TrueNAS R-Series vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 16% of the time

Dell PowerMax vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 13% of the time

Pure Storage FlashBlade vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 11% of the time

HPE Alletra Storage vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 11% of the time

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Dell PowerStore vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

Compared 26% of the time

IBM FlashSystem vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

Compared 13% of the time

NetApp AFF vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

Compared 12% of the time

HPE Alletra Storage vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

Compared 10% of the time

Dell Unity XT vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

Compared 6% of the time

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NetApp AFF vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series

Compared 35% of the time

NetApp FAS Series vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series

Compared 16% of the time

Dell PowerStore vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series

Compared 12% of the time

Dell Unity XT vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series

Compared 6% of the time

IBM FlashSystem vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series

Compared 5% of the time

More Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Pure FlashArray X NVMe

October 2025

Download Pure FlashArray X NVMe product report

Buyer's Guide

All-Flash Storage

November 2025

Download Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series product report

Buyer's Guide

All-Flash Storage

November 2025

Download Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series product report

Also Known As

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

ThinkSystem DE Series

ThinkSystem DM Series

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

The DE All-Flash Series delivers the performance of more than 2,000 15k rpm HDDs, yet requires only 2% of the rack space, power, and cooling. Because it consumes 98% less space and power, DE Series can significantly improve the overall efficiency of your IT operations while continuing to meet your performance requirements.

Lenovo

To meet enterprise storage requirements, ThinkSystem All-Flash DM Series systems provide high performance, superior flexibility, and best-in-class data management. DM Series runs on ONTAP data management software, which gives customers unified storage across block-and-file workloads. It accelerates your business while improving the efficiency, flexibility, and reliability of your IT operations.

Lenovo

Sample Customers

Fremont Bank, Judson ISD, The Nielsen Company

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series

September 2025

Free Report: Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series

Find out what your peers are saying about Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.

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