Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users
DBA0bbf - PeerSpot reviewer
DBA at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
A high-performance solution for our SQL Server, but automated copy data management is needed
Pros and Cons
  • "The amount of throughput that we're getting is really nice."
  • "In the next release of this solution, we would like to see automated copy data management for SQL Server."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use this solution for our SQL server in an on-premises deployment.

Having a dedicated array for our SQL server is very nice.

We are running VMware on Pure, and the main driver for that is because it is all-flash. Also, we wanted a dedicated solution for our SQL environment. Running on Pure has given us the ability to scale out our SQL environments. We tripled our environment in the past three years since implementing this solution, and we have not had any issues with the storage keeping up with the workloads.

We are making use of some of the VMware integrations that have been developed by Pure, but we are really waiting for the copy data management part.

What is most valuable?

We are really enjoying the speed of this solution. The amount of throughput that we're getting is really nice.

What needs improvement?

In the next release of this solution, we would like to see automated copy data management for SQL Server.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We have had zero issues with stability once it is in. However, we have had issues with migrations to different cabinets or different arrays. We had one instance with an eight-hour outage in our primary data center because the upgrade to the controller failed, and the controller redundancy didn't work. It was an odd issue that we now have under control.

Buyer's Guide
Pure Storage FlashArray
June 2025
Learn what your peers think about Pure Storage FlashArray. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: June 2025.
861,524 professionals have used our research since 2012.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

This solution scales well. The issue we had with stability is now under control, so we are able to scale out fine. We can just drop in new disks when we need them.

How are customer service and support?

When we've had issues, technical support has been really good about resolving them quickly. I was on the call with them when we had the issue with the controller, and they were very, very helpful.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Our older solution was not very good. Pure increased our speed a lot. We needed to increase our storage because we were filling up the array. Our SQL footprint has greatly increased over the past three years.

This solution was chosen because we happened to be doing a POC when our previous solution failed horribly, and we moved our production to Pure. It was able to pick it up, which was the selling point.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup of this solution was pretty straightforward. It was a vanilla, out-of-the-box setup with nothing out of the ordinary. 

What about the implementation team?

We used an integrator to assist us with the implementation and deployment of this solution. We were hands-off, but it seems that all went well because everybody is happy with it.

What was our ROI?

We have seen a good return on investment, mainly because we took our SQL Server workload out of the general population and we're able to get it separated, which is a huge advantage to us. The biggest boost is getting separation of duty.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I have used InfiniBand in the past. We are now looking at building a new data center, and the vendors on our shortlist are Pure and InfiniBand.

What other advice do I have?

We are now starting to look at some of the copy data management tools that come with the new array.

This is now my go-to product, and I was an InfiniBand guy before. I like how there are database integrators on the Pure team that are actually there to help you tune your database workloads with their solution. I don't see that in a lot of other vendors.

This is a good product and the overall day-to-day workflow within it is great, but some of the issues that we've had with migrations bump it down slightly. The product is good, but it could be better.

I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
SrITAnal8af3 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr IT Analyst at a local government
Real User
increases the overall speed of our systems and because all of our servers are virtual it helps keep our footprint small
Pros and Cons
  • "Pure is simple to set up and manage on a day-to-day basis."
  • "I had to contact customer support when a drive failed as I was doing a couple of OS upgrades."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use case of this solution is to manage our virtual environment and storage so our entire VMware environment runs on Pure. 

How has it helped my organization?

The solution increases the overall speed of our systems. We run our virtual desktops off of them and there was a noticeable improvement once we moved from our old sand to this new sand. One could tell, the minute we switched to this program, everything ran a lot faster.

VMware benefits our IT board because all our servers are virtual, so it helps keep our footprint small. We spend less on hardware because all our servers are virtual. 

What is most valuable?

I find the speed of the solution its most valuable feature. It is really fast and it is also very easy to use. You can basically set it up and forget about it. You don't have to manage it on a day-to-day basis. I also like the plugins that go into beta where you can see there. For instance, if I need to extend a datastore I can go straight to the plugin and extend the data store, refresh the VAs, and see the new store. I don't have to log in and use my credentials, so I save time and it is easy.

What needs improvement?

We only want to manage our virtual environment so this program has all the features we need. We're pretty straightforward customers. I don't see anything that needs to improve as we only use the standard features. 

For how long have I used the solution?

We've been using the solution for two and a half years now.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Once we've set everything up and running, we haven't really had an issue with it. So it's really stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Pure is our primary enterprise storage. We have a smaller one with about a 120 servers and a little over 400 virtual desktops. We have one 20 terabyte model and a 10 terabyte model. I believe it is scalable.

How are customer service and technical support?

I had to contact customer support when a drive failed as I was doing a couple of OS upgrades. The service was pretty good. They knew what the problem was and they were able to remove in by enabling remote features. They shipped out a replacement and we swapped it out and shipped it back. I am satisfied with the technical support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We used an older program, but it was too slow. The main reason for switching over to run our VMware on Pure was the speed and, after several meetings with other vendors, we decided to go with the all-flash model. We replace our programs every five years because we want the best performance.

How was the initial setup?

It was pretty easy to set everything up. We used an integrator from Pure and we had to fill in a worksheet beforehand, so we gave them all the information they needed, like IP addresses and ports. It took less than an hour. 

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We looked at Pure, NetApp and Nimble. Pure is simple to set up and manage on a day-to-day basis. If you want to upgrade, you can simply call in and they do everything on their side. NetApp, for instance, requires you to be on top of firmware, drivers and updating. You must initiate the upgrades, do the upgrades, follow all the steps. With NetApp, you need a lot of insight to manage it and it's difficult if you have only one person dedicated to that. 

What other advice do I have?

I am a firm believer that everything has room for improvement, so I rate this nine out of ten.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Pure Storage FlashArray
June 2025
Learn what your peers think about Pure Storage FlashArray. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: June 2025.
861,524 professionals have used our research since 2012.
CloudInfd4f4 - PeerSpot reviewer
Cloud Infra Manager at a university with 5,001-10,000 employees
Real User
Great for desktop virtualization, with an easy setup and excellent stability
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is easy to scale. I'm running two environments right now, so I need to scale. I'm running a part technology. I've got an A-side and a B-side."
  • "I'd like to see a move towards individual VMs for what the performance of each VM is in a VD infrastructure. I can see the overall volume, but I would love to see things in a more granular level on the VM side."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the solution for desktop virtualization.

I have IOPS and IOPS input/output. The reason that we have virtualization required for the media is because of high IOPS and we're able to maintain it with PR. The encryption is pretty high. We like the encryption right on the storage.

How has it helped my organization?

I was able to put up more VMs using Pure. I'm running almost 3,400 VMs and VDIs on Pure Storage. This improves our organization because we can just set it up and we forget about it. Everything works. We do not need to worry about storage or bandwidth issues. Its ease of use is also helpful. The setup is very easy with Pure.

What needs improvement?

I'd like to see a move towards individual VMs for what the performance of each VM is in a VD infrastructure. I can see the overall volume, but I would love to see things in a more granular level on the VM side. I'd like to say "Hey, this particular VDI, what is the performance on that? How much IO is it using, what are the issues, what is CPU?" etc. I'd like to see that layout in the portal. That would be great for us.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for the last four years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability of the solution is very good. After five years, I've had very few problems. In terms of problems, for example, sometimes I've seen some spikes in iOS. It came from our end, not from Pure.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is easy to scale. I'm running two environments right now, so I need to scale. I've got an A-side and a B-side.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was very straightforward. I did the GUI configuration after Pure finished their end, so it was very easy for me to set up. They just did the back end. I did the physical setup. They came back and did the configuration on the heads and I did the GUI set up with the network configuration, so everything else we set up ourselves. The setting up volume was very easy.

What about the implementation team?

Pure assisted us with the implementation. It was a beautiful experience because we had an older model on which the head had to be upgraded. They did it seamlessly. I had no drops in my VMs.

What was our ROI?

There has definitely been an ROI. In four years I've never seen another storage vendor that offers what's called an Evergreen solution. I should have my refresh next year, so I'm getting a brand new a controller with a minimal cost. By then we're going back and replacing the whole thing.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I did a POC with three different vendors. Pure won out due to its resiliency, adaptability and the IOS and the feature sets. I was able to pull up all three discs at the same time and it never failed.

What other advice do I have?

We are using the private cloud deployment model.

We are running VM on Pure. The main driver around VM on Pure is the number of IOPS I was able to get out of the two controllers. That was the main reason I chose Pure.

I'm not using any plugin with the vCenter or anything else like that.

The advice I would give to others considering implementation is to do your investigation, do a POC, and try it out. Find out which fits your needs. Also, isolate your workload. Don't mix your workloads if you want to do a successful VDI deployment.

I would give the solution nine out of ten.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
SrManage7091 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr Manager at a insurance company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Real User
Enables us to allocate resources as needed and manage our whole infrastructure that way
Pros and Cons
  • "The speed is the most valuable feature of this solution."
  • "We haven't seen ROI."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use case of this solution is for Citrix. 

We use the on-premise deployment model. 

How has it helped my organization?

Our previous SAN storage environment never performed with the same levels as this does. The performance levels and the storage have improved my organization. 

It has benefited our IT organization because we're a 95% virtualized environment and we're able to allocate resources as needed and manage our whole infrastructure that way.

We are running VMware on Pure. Our main driver for this was to isolate our Citrix environment from the general SAN storage board.

The joint solution has benefited my organization in the way that it isolates it, giving peak performance and does not share it with other environments that have any infrastructures or competing resources.

What is most valuable?

The speed is the most valuable feature of this solution. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It has been very reliable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have had no issues with scaling up to whatever demands that we have.

How are customer service and technical support?

I haven't had a lot of direct interaction with their support but VMware is very good.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We replaced another Legacy Solution. We wanted to maintain its isolated capabilities.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was straightforward. 

What was our ROI?

We haven't seen ROI. 

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We evaluated EMC and HP.  

What other advice do I have?

I would rate it an eight out of ten. The storage has been very good. I don't know that it's a large enough deployment across the boards to know how it would fit in the rest of the enterprise. 

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
TeamLeadc75a - PeerSpot reviewer
Team Lead at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Real User
A simple, reliable, and high-performance solution for hosting VMware workloads
Pros and Cons
  • "It is easy to deploy and it's all-flash, so it's very fast."
  • "As partners, we should have the option to download the software, rather than have to go back through Pure to obtain it."

What is our primary use case?

We are a system integrator and this is one of the solutions that we provide for our clients.

For our most recent customer, this solution is being used to host VMware workloads in an on-premises deployment.

How has it helped my organization?

Our customer has been able to migrate some of their cloud services back on-premises, which is of benefit because they were having some performance issues in the cloud.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature of this solution is its simplicity.

It is easy to deploy and it's all-flash, so it's very fast.

What needs improvement?

As partners, we should have the option to download the software, rather than have to go back through Pure to obtain it.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

This solution seems to be fairly reliable. I haven't had any issues personally, or outages or anything of that nature.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The flash array scales up well, but it doesn't really scale-out. I think that's more where Pure's FlashBlade comes into play. You'd have to replace it with the next model up controller, in order to scale.

How are customer service and technical support?

I haven't had much to do with technical support. Typically, we'll deploy it for our customer and hand it over, and then they'll manage it from there.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Prior to this solution, our customer used Dell EMC, but there were several problems. They were not happy with it because of the performance of the array, and also the complexities around engaging the support teams. Their solution had also reached end-of-life, so they had to move to a new platform anyway. Ultimately, they wanted to move to something simpler than their existing platform, so they moved to Pure.

How was the initial setup?

This initial setup and deployment are pretty straightforward.

For the setup, it is very simple to populate the information. We had a workbook that was provided by Pure to give to the customer to gather all of the details. That made the implementation very straightforward.

The one thing that was a little bit annoying was the fact that we still had to come back through Pure to get the software. A lot of our other partners, we can just download it ourselves, and as long as we've got the process, we can go and do it ourselves. But, in this scenario, we still had to come back through Pure to actually get the software.

What about the implementation team?

We implement this solution for our customers. We are a partner and we're certified to do deployments.

What was our ROI?

I think that our customer has seen ROI because their existing solution was getting into extended maintenance, so it was costing a lot of money for that service. Also, with less time spent managing that old array, they had more time to do other things.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

In addition to this solution, our customer considered another Dell EMC option, as well as one by Hitachi. They chose this because of the simplicity, and the fact that it is all-flash meant that they didn't have to worry about performance. 

What other advice do I have?

VMware benefits our IT organization because we are partners, so we deploy VMware services. It also helps our customers make their applications more readily available and reliable.

We are using the VMware plug-in for Pure. It's meant more rapid provisioning of volumes for VMware, and it gives the customer more visibility of the storage.

Both the ease of setup and the reliability of the array makes it quite simple to manage for the customer.

My advice to anybody who is researching this solution is to consider that things are changing a lot in the industry at the moment. So, obviously, looking for things that are going to take less time to manage, are easy to implement, and give a good return on investment are important success criteria.

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten. 

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner.
PeerSpot user
SeverEngd3fe - PeerSpot reviewer
Sever Engineer at a healthcare company with 11-50 employees
Real User
Drives down costs and allows us to migrate servers from one data center to another but they should always be improving IOPS speed
Pros and Cons
  • "Having fast storage allows actual servers to perform in high capacity so we don't have slowdowns on our applications."
  • "As long as they always improve on IOPS speed, that's all we're really looking for. The faster the storage can be the more we can do speed of application and speed of use."

What is our primary use case?

We use the on-premises deployment model of this solution. Our primary use case is for virtualization. 

How has it helped my organization?

Having fast storage allows actual servers to perform in high capacity so we don't have slowdowns on our applications.

It benefits our IT organization in the way that it drives down costs, allows us to migrate servers from one data center to another, and gives the flexibility that having bare metal servers wouldn't allow.

We run VMware on Pure and our main driver was for cost and performance.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature is the speed. 

We are taking advantage of the VMware integrations developed by Pure. 

What needs improvement?

As long as they always improve on IOPS speed, that's all we're really looking for. The faster the storage can be the more we can do speed of application and speed of use.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability seems good. It doesn't go down very often. 

How are customer service and technical support?

I haven't contacted their technical support firsthand. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

At the time we were evaluating a whole bunch of different solution platforms, and a lot of times it came down to use case, workload, and cost. 

We are using this solution in conjunction with EMC. We might still be using both for different workloads. 

What about the implementation team?

We used a reseller for the integration. 

What other advice do I have?

I would rate it a seven out of ten. It's a solid product but all products can improve. It's technology, it's not always going to do what you need it to do. It can go down from time to time, but it's been pretty solid so far.

I would advise someone considering this solution to talk to a Pure Storage engineer to see if it fits your needs. 

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
IctAndSebb6d - PeerSpot reviewer
ICT and Security Specialist at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Has a seamless integration into the public cloud, great support, and it's fast
Pros and Cons
  • "The performance and the ever-growing maintenance are the most valuable features of this solution."
  • "In the next release I would like to see integration into other third-party player providers like Google."

What is our primary use case?

We use the hybrid cloud deployment model of this solution and use both AWS and Microsoft Azure as our cloud providers. Our primary use case for this solution is for mixed workloads. 

We are running VMware on Pure. Pure gave us the storage because we're a partner so we're running on it.

How has it helped my organization?

The seamless integration into the public cloud has improved my organization. It also benefits my IT organization in many ways. We sell it, we use it, and it makes us faster.

The joint solution, VMware on Pure, has helped our organization. It's tested a lot of stuff and been put in production. It's also used for customers.

Our organization takes advantage of the VMware integrations developed by Pure, any APIs that are available to be using.

It offers seamless integrations and has made it easy for us to do. It's a simple product.

What is most valuable?

The performance and the Evergreen maintenance are the most valuable features of this solution.

What needs improvement?

In the next release I would like to see integration into other third-party player providers like Google.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is excellent. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability is excellent and is very easy. 

How are customer service and technical support?

Their support is very good, first-class. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We switched to this solution because of the timing. We are using this solution in conjunction with a solution from EMC. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was straightforward. It only took us a couple of days to set it up. It was so simple.

What about the implementation team?

We are an integrator and reseller so we did the implementation ourselves on one team.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We also evaluated NetApp. It was between NetApp and Pure. The reason we went with Pure Storage wasn't a technical decision, rather, it was just purely cost and the Evergreen maintenance that Pure provides. It just makes it easier when we have a new drive and a new chassis every three years.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate it a ten out of ten. It's simple. It's got great support and it's fast. It does what it's supposed to do. My advice to someone considering this solution would be to test it and build a proof of concept.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Reseller.
PeerSpot user
SystemsE5fd9 - PeerSpot reviewer
Systems Engineer at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Easy to use, great technical support, and saves us a lot of space
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature of this solution is the support."
  • "The price of this solution could be improved."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use for this solution is storage. We have a private cloud deployment.

How has it helped my organization?

Using this solution has improved our consolidation ratio and it saves us a lot of space. 

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature of this solution is the support.

This solution is easy to use.

What needs improvement?

The price of this solution could be improved.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

So far, the stability of this solution has been really good.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability of this solution is really good.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support for this solution is excellent.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Prior to this solution, we were using the IBM Storage Network. The support was not very good, and the feature set was very limited.

We needed something that was simpler to manage and maintain.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup of this solution was straightforward.

What about the implementation team?

We used an integrator for our deployment, and our experience with them was good.

What was our ROI?

In terms of space savings, we were able to save a lot of money.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We evaluated a second IBM-based storage solution, and after that, Pure was the second one that we looked at. We heard so many good things about it that we leaned towards that way.

What other advice do I have?

Using VMware has improved our IT organization by providing a stable virtualization platform.

We are running VMware on Pure, which was driven by our interest in consolidation. It has helped us by saving space over using less dense storage.

We have the Pure plug-in for the VMware environment. It has helped us with information monitoring.

For anybody comparing this solution to similar products, my advice is to look into the numbers. This product is definitely worth the price, and it is easy to use.

I would rate this solution a ten out of ten.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Pure Storage FlashArray Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: June 2025
Product Categories
All-Flash Storage
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Pure Storage FlashArray Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.