StarWind Virtual SAN vs Veritas Access comparison

StarWind and Veritas are both solutions in the Software Defined Storage (SDS) category. StarWind is ranked #1 with an average rating of 9.3, while Veritas is ranked #17 with an average rating of 9.0. StarWind holds a 6.1% mindshare in SDS, compared to Veritas’s 1.1% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of StarWind users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Veritas users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 5, 2024

StarWind Virtual SAN and Veritas Access are competing storage solutions in the data management and storage category. StarWind Virtual SAN often has the upper hand in pricing and ease of deployment, while Veritas Access tends to excel with its comprehensive features and enterprise-specific offerings.

Features: StarWind Virtual SAN provides simplified management, scalability, and straightforward virtualized storage implementation. Veritas Access offers advanced data management capabilities, extensive integration options, and a feature-rich interface.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: StarWind Virtual SAN is known for hassle-free deployment and a responsive support team, facilitating quick integration into existing infrastructures. Veritas Access may require a more complex setup process, but it offers robust service options tailored to enterprise needs.

Pricing and ROI: StarWind Virtual SAN is perceived as cost-effective, with lower setup costs leading to a faster ROI. Veritas Access may involve higher initial expenditure, but its expansive capabilities and long-term benefits can justify the cost for larger enterprises.

To learn more, read our detailed StarWind Virtual SAN vs. Veritas Access Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

StarWind Virtual SAN vs. Veritas Access

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 Storage FlashBlade

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Software Defined Storage (SDS) category, the mindshare of Pure Storage FlashBlade is 4.1%, down from 4.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of StarWind Virtual SAN is 6.1%, down from 8.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Veritas Access is 1.1%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Software Defined Storage (SDS) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
StarWind Virtual SAN	6.1%
Pure Storage FlashBlade	4.1%
Veritas Access	1.1%
Other	88.7%

Software Defined Storage (SDS)

Featured Reviews

Parul-Patel

Senior Network Engineer at Holy Redeemer Health System, Inc.

High performance and throughput enhance IT backup management

The multi-dimensional scale-out design feature of Pure Storage FlashBlade is not in use in our environment. Regarding data reduction technologies, we don't get much deduplication because the data is already deduplicated from our FlashArray before we get to backup, so there is no benefit of deduplication. Regarding the integration with cloud-native ecosystem tools, we are not on cloud; we are strictly an on-premises solution. Pure Storage FlashBlade is not used by any end-user; it's used only for IT backup, with only about four people in our group managing it. I cannot recommend Pure Storage FlashBlade to other users depending upon their financial situation because it's an expensive solution, and the cost is very high, including licensing and renewal every year. I rate Pure Storage FlashBlade an eight out of ten.

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Vladimir Simion

Pre Post Sales Engineer at Logiccomputer

Achieving seamless cost-saving implementation with exceptional support

The best features that StarWind Virtual SAN offers include the price because comparing to other virtual SAN solutions, this one is the best, and it also has a great support team behind it. My experience with their support has been positive, as their guides regarding the integration are very useful. They have some awesome guides online that show you exactly how to configure the product, how to do the initial setup, and you can speak with them directly. They will be able to connect and verify your setup, run its parameters and see exactly what's working and what is not, and they really help you with that. StarWind Virtual SAN has positively impacted my organization and my customer through initial cost saving. They use this product in a dark site, so I'm not able to provide any additional details about this, but they were really glad about it, they're still using it, and they asked for extending the capacity for it and the support. They really want to use it and are enjoying using it.

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Jayson Martin

Head IT Data Storage at a insurance company with 5,001-10,000 employees

Provides seamless integration within the existing infrastructure and has an easy deployment process

We leverage Veritas Access for efficient management of our extensive unstructured data. Its cost-effectiveness, notably providing the lowest cost per terabyte, has influenced our decision to use it for extended data retention periods. We aim to minimize yearly expenditure on capacity while ensuring high-performance levels. Despite focusing on long-term retention, it enables direct and efficient data recovery from the client, ensuring that accessibility is maintained. The most essential feature of Veritas Access for our storage needs is its support for both block and object storage. The data tiering capability of Veritas Access has had a positive impact on our storage efficiency by preventing unnecessary expenditures on capacity, especially in terms of backup operations. It provides seamless integration within the existing infrastructure. It helps us meet compliance and data retention requirements, particularly from an insurer's perspective. I rate the product a nine out of ten.

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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

"I would rate Pure Storage FlashBlade a ten out of ten."

"The initial setup is pretty quick."

"The onboarding and integrated monitoring tools are pretty good."

"The most valuable features of this solution are the rewrite speed and the nonstop services."

"The initial setup was straightforward. If you know how to plug in power and network you're pretty much qualified. They were on site to configure the network, the box to fit into our network architecture. Other than that, we self-managed from there."

"The most valuable features are the Metro clustering, and disaster recovery."

"The performance of FlashBlade is excellent. It does not necessarily leverage the SOS API that some of the newer products leverage, but I found its speed pretty much on par and comparable. It is fast, and it does what it is supposed to do."

"The main feature I have found to be product replication."

More Pure Storage FlashBlade pros

"We are running Hyper-V on twin servers in failover, and being able to manage servers from anywhere I need to, virtually, has been a game changer."

"Speed and high availability have been the most valuable for us."

"StarWind vSAN is a great solution to create a redundant two-node-only Hyper-V cluster, both for domain or workgroup scenarios."

"One of the most valuable features is the way it sets up the virtual SAN, because we don't have to buy a separate appliance for storage. It uses the existing storage on the servers, which is definitely a cost savings for us."

"StarWind was a great price to performance ratio and it had a great support team behind it that helped me configure the solution and also size it to the customer's needs for them not to overpay for it and not get something that was not useful for them."

"The product only requires two VMWare ESXi host servers versus three host servers for VMware's comparable solution."

"The solution offers easy one-click PowerShell scripts that are ready to run."

"Ten gigabit Ethernet compatibility, support, ease of use, and management are some positive features."

More StarWind Virtual SAN pros

"The product deployment is easy."

"Veritas Access is user-friendly and the NAS and SAN volumes are valuable."

"It has a huge deduplication ratio for backups of long-term archives."

Cons

"We haven't been able to use much of the cloud area of Pure Storage. We have a storage server and it would be better if it could integrate with other cloud features of this solution."

"It would be nice if you could store file-based in the same box with the same technology."

"Its configuration should be easier."

"The technical support needs to improve. When we open a case, it is auto assigned to a support tech person. Nine out of ten times, we get an email right back saying that person is off until tomorrow. I cannot handle that. They just did this over the weekend to us, too. I had to call our rep and have them do something about it."

"The feature that we're waiting on is better integration with the cell services."

"The speed could be improved."

"In the realm of micro-services, I think that Pure Storage can do well if they start getting in there and making their arrays more micro-services ready."

"To improve FlashBlade, some analysts suggest enhancing its handling of relational database management systems and SQL queries."

More Pure Storage FlashBlade cons

"Scalability should be further improved, especially considering the possibility that environments may grow exponentially."

"The only way I can see this product needing improvement is the consultation level of the StarWind sales and engineers."

"I would like to see more advanced free versions."

"At this moment, I have not seen a return on investment with StarWind Virtual SAN."

"We don't really have any issues with this product."

"Our company was hoping for deduplication and encryption across HCI. That is currently not supported."

"I would like to see options for automated notifications of any changes, including, for example, synchronization issues."

"The most disappointing side of the application is the free edition. There used to be GUI attached. That has recently changed to only CLI management of the application."

More StarWind Virtual SAN cons

"The downtime of Veritas Access could be improved."

"I would like to see Veritas Access included as an S3 target."

"They could improve additional fees for the platform's data capacity. It could be more cost-effective."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We used a reseller for the purchase."

"The pricing is relatively expensive due to the FlashBlade technology. However, for companies needing quick and reliable data access, the cost is justified."

"It is within reason for what you get. From what we have found comparing it to other vendors, it is in the same range as others. Given the choice, we would definitely redeploy it based on the cost."

"Licensing fees are paid yearly."

"I have seen ROI. It has allowed me to increase the density of my VMs without having to purchase anything additional."

"I feel that the price could always be lowered."

"I rate the tool's pricing a seven to eight out of ten."

"Our licensing is renewed annually."

More Pure Storage FlashBlade pricing and cost advice

"Their pricing seems pretty good, and their licensing structure is pretty straightforward."

"The licensing is straightforward, with free and trial versions available."

"Licensing is easy and the whole package is cost-effective."

"This solution is very accessible and the pro-level for support is well worth the cost."

"I think that purchasing StarWind Virtual SAN Professional Edition would be optimal for most."

"If you are looking at a traditional SAN for a small cluster, give StarWind vSAN because you will save thousands without any compromise."

"The Price/Performance ratio for this solution is outstanding!"

"StarWind is best price/performance for SMB."

More StarWind Virtual SAN pricing and cost advice

"This product is not cheap. The only extra cost is the licensing."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Computer Software Company

17%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Government

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	11
Midsize Enterprise	11
Large Enterprise	20

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	161
Midsize Enterprise	54
Large Enterprise	33

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Pure Storage FlashBlade?

The tool's most valuable feature is its fast performance, especially in handling snapshots. It helps during power out...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Pure Storage FlashBlade?

The pricing of Pure Storage FlashBlade is expensive compared to other products I used from other companies in the pas...

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What needs improvement with Pure Storage FlashBlade?

I believe there is not much improvement needed because they have everything we need, but the interface is a little bi...

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What do you like most about StarWind Virtual SAN?

It is easy to use and can monitor system synchronization and check Storage status. StarWind Virtual SAN (VSAN) combin...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for StarWind Virtual SAN?

My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for StarWind Virtual SAN was okay.

See all answers

What needs improvement with StarWind Virtual SAN?

Currently, StarWind Virtual SAN is working perfectly fine, so there are no changes I would suggest.

See all answers

What do you like most about Veritas Access?

The product deployment is easy.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Veritas Access?

They could improve additional fees for the platform's data capacity. It could be more cost-effective.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Veritas Access?

We use the product for long-term data retention.

See all answers

Comparisons

Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs Pure Storage FlashBlade

Compared 19% of the time

Pure Storage FlashArray vs Pure Storage FlashBlade

Compared 11% of the time

MinIO vs Pure Storage FlashBlade

Compared 10% of the time

Red Hat Ceph Storage vs Pure Storage FlashBlade

Compared 9% of the time

VAST Data vs Pure Storage FlashBlade

Compared 7% of the time

More Pure Storage FlashBlade Competitors

VMware vSAN vs StarWind Virtual SAN

Compared 20% of the time

DataCore SANsymphony vs StarWind Virtual SAN

Compared 17% of the time

Microsoft Storage Spaces Direct vs StarWind Virtual SAN

Compared 13% of the time

StorMagic SvSAN vs StarWind Virtual SAN

Compared 12% of the time

Red Hat Ceph Storage vs StarWind Virtual SAN

Compared 11% of the time

More StarWind Virtual SAN Competitors

Red Hat Gluster Storage vs Veritas Access

Compared 54% of the time

NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP vs Veritas Access

Compared 46% of the time

More Veritas Access Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Pure Storage FlashBlade

September 2025

Download Pure Storage FlashBlade product report

Buyer's Guide

StarWind Virtual SAN

September 2025

Download StarWind Virtual SAN product report

Buyer's Guide

Software Defined Storage (SDS)

September 2025

Download Veritas Access product report

Also Known As

No data available

StarWind SAN & NAS

No data available

Overview

FlashBlade is the industry’s most advanced scale-out storage for unstructured data, powered by a modern, massively parallel architecture to consolidate complex data silos (like backup appliances and data lakes) and accelerate tomorrow’s discoveries and insights.

Pure Storage

StarWind Virtual SAN provides high availability and fault tolerance for virtualized environments without the need for dedicated SAN hardware. It allows for real-time replication between servers, shared storage for Hyper-V clusters, and enables vMotion and High Availability features for VMware vSphere. The solution reduces costs and leverages existing hardware while providing a scalable and reliable infrastructure. Valuable features include ease of use, scalability, top-tier support, hardware agnosticism, and the ability to use off-the-shelf standard servers to increase storage space. StarWind VSAN has helped organizations improve performance, data availability, and data security while reducing downtime and providing cost-saving storage options.

StarWind

Veritas Access is a software-defined, scale-out network-attached storage (NAS) solution for unstructured data that uses intelligent policies to optimize data placement on-premise or on public clouds. Access provides resiliency, multi-protocol access and automated data movement to realize application performance, cost-effectiveness and scalability gains.

Veritas

Sample Customers

ServiceNow, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, Dominos, Man AHL

Baker Tilly BVI, CMS Internet, Board Harpeth Hall School

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

StarWind Virtual SAN vs. Veritas Access

September 2025

Free Report: StarWind Virtual SAN vs. Veritas Access

Find out what your peers are saying about StarWind Virtual SAN vs. Veritas Access and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.

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