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Dell PowerVault pros and cons

4.2 out of 5
Badge Ranked 1

Pros & Cons summary

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Prominent pros & cons

PROS

Dell PowerVault is easy to manage and provides reliable and stable performance.
The initial setup of Dell PowerVault is straightforward, making deployment hassle-free.
Dell PowerVault is cost-effective, offering competitive pricing and good ROI over time.
Dell PowerVault provides valuable features like data deduplication and replication in its free software.
Dell PowerVault offers flexible storage options, including full flash storage, making it suitable for various applications.

CONS

In the next release, deduplication, compression, and flash technology should be included.
Dell PowerVault lacks integration with Active Directory and only offers SAN, not unified storage like other competitors.
Increasing memory cache capacity and adding cloud data export capabilities would improve Dell PowerVault.
The price of Dell PowerVault is high compared to competitors such as Hitachi or IBM.
Data migration is limited due to non-expandable disk group configurations in Dell PowerVault, affecting scalability.
 

Dell PowerVault Pros review quotes

VK
Jul 31, 2025
We've even used PowerVault series that we intended to use for five years for almost eight years, and it was still working fine, providing good ROI compared to any other brand, which are the overall advantages of Dell PowerVault.
SigfridCecillon - PeerSpot reviewer
Aug 22, 2023
The stability is quite good. Once you deploy all the equipment, it's very stable.
Gehad Said - PeerSpot reviewer
Aug 4, 2025
Dell PowerVault is cost-effective as a storage solution, and I see it has competitive pricing with other vendors.
Learn what your peers think about Dell PowerVault. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: September 2025.
867,370 professionals have used our research since 2012.
RichardLynch - PeerSpot reviewer
Sep 2, 2025
I would say my favorite features of Dell PowerVault are that it's pretty easy to use, it has been pretty stable, firmware updates have been pretty easy to install, and replacing a bad drive is fairly simple.
JK
Aug 4, 2022
The most valuable features are that it's easy to set up PowerVault. I also like the provisioning of storage.
MinaMagdy1 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jun 2, 2023
PowerVault comes with free software that performs functions like data deduplication and replication, which is cost-effective and delivers added value to the product.
Nipuna Nakandala - PeerSpot reviewer
Aug 31, 2022
The storage has been good.
Abdul Rehman Abid - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 9, 2023
The most valuable feature of Dell PowerVault is its ability to provide small to medium-range storage. It doesn't have any specific standout features, but it's great for applications, such as surveillance where a large number of videos need to be recorded and performance isn't a priority.
GP
Oct 3, 2023
Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.
PM
Jul 20, 2023
The Dell warranty is the most valuable feature.
 

Dell PowerVault Cons review quotes

VK
Jul 31, 2025
If you do not have an existing relationship with Dell or are exploring the market for the first time, the initial acquisition cost of Dell PowerVault is high compared to competitors such as Hitachi or IBM, which often undercut prices.
SigfridCecillon - PeerSpot reviewer
Aug 22, 2023
We could set up the installation through a web server, but it's not very reactive on the web server. For example, when you launch a task, and you don't know exactly if the task has begun or if the task is in progress, or if it's finished. You have to wait for three to five to ten minutes to be sure that the task is running or in progress or finished. So at that point, it's not very good.
RichardLynch - PeerSpot reviewer
Sep 2, 2025
There is room for improvement with Dell PowerVault as we did have some promises about dedupe and compression that did not turn out as promised, but Dell trued up and gave us more storage for no cost.
Learn what your peers think about Dell PowerVault. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: September 2025.
867,370 professionals have used our research since 2012.
JK
Aug 4, 2022
I would like Dell to improve on the configuration of the disk groups. Only one group is expandable. Once you configure the other disk group types, you cannot expand them. It limits scalability. If you want maybe to grow a disk group, you lose information, and then you need to build it up again, which is not a good use case for customers.
MinaMagdy1 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jun 2, 2023
PowerVault doesn't integrate with Active Directory. Other storage solutions offer SAN and NAS unified storage in a single appliance, but PowerVault is only SAN.
Nipuna Nakandala - PeerSpot reviewer
Aug 31, 2022
The implementation process takes a while.
Abdul Rehman Abid - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 9, 2023
Dell PowerVault could improve by having a higher cache and file protocol support added.
GP
Oct 3, 2023
The high prices of the solution are an area of concern where improvements are required.
PM
Jul 20, 2023
In most instances, clients are using Dell PowerVault with tape drives, but we want to transition them away from tape drives due to the risk of data loss.
Dragan Knezevic - PeerSpot reviewer
Jun 1, 2023
Dell PowerVault is block-oriented storage only.