FlexPod XCS vs IBM VersaStack comparison

FlexPod XCS
Read 295 FlexPod XCS reviews
  • 874 Views
  • 399 Comparison Views
96% willing to recommend
IBM VersaStack
Read 3 IBM VersaStack reviews
  • 147 Views
  • 75 Comparison Views
100% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary
We performed a comparison between FlexPod XCS and IBM VersaStack based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Converged Infrastructure solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

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To learn more, read our detailed FlexPod XCS vs. IBM VersaStack Report (Updated: May 2024).
Buyer's Guide
FlexPod XCS vs. IBM VersaStack
May 2024
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Categories and Ranking

FlexPod XCS
Ranking in Converged Infrastructure
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Number of Reviews
295
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
IBM VersaStack
Ranking in Converged Infrastructure
8th
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Market share comparison

As of June 2024, in the Converged Infrastructure category, the market share of FlexPod XCS is 14.8% and it increased by 69.9% compared to the previous year. The market share of IBM VersaStack is 3.4% and it increased by 17.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Converged Infrastructure
Unique Categories:
No other categories found
No other categories found
 

Featured Reviews

John Kevin - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 4, 2024
Enforces standardized setup procedures following Certified Validated Design (CVD) guidelines and offers greater flexibility and control over the system compared to traditional systems
The GUI setup follows the right setup, meaning we have to follow the CVDi.e. Certified Validated Design. Everything is clear, because you can build CI yourself, but without rules, it can be messy. With FlexPod, there are rules to follow, making it more standardized. This helps with troubleshooting and compatibility assessments, simplifying troubleshooting significantly. We also use FlexPod pre-validated architectures to validate the design. It is very, very important to us because we had a bad case in 2015 where separate items integrated poorly due to no version or firmware compatibility certification. Troubleshooting became a nightmare. So, standards are crucial for us, and everything entering production should be verified or at least documented for certification.
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CC
Dec 21, 2022
A very high IOPS that gives more I/O transactions per second
Scalability used to be an issue so at that time it was rated an eight out of ten. We have become OPEX-based and rent storage from them. Physical storage is about 200% of our requirements but we only pay for what we use. This resolved all of our scalability issues. When we reach a certain threshold like 100%, OPEX calls us and asks if we want to add more storage. Our total capacity right now is 300 terabytes but we are only using around 200 terabytes. We bought the storage two years ago and our projections are on par. We don't need more capacity now but have plans to increase in another two years. With our OPEX storage, scalability is rated 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

"Provides unified support: Being able to get a vendor from one company or another company on the line without having to go back through the call queue."
"When our clients choose to call NetApp or Cisco directly, the cooperative support model means they can get passed back and forth between the two organizations freely. It works really well."
"The most valuable features of this solution are the integration and ease of use."
"It runs our VMs. Our SQL databases are all on VMs, so everything is virtualized."
"It simplifies everything. It gives you a single place to go if you need support or if you need to expand."
"FlexPod impacted us by making things easier to deploy. The solution is a private, hybrid, and multi-cloud environment. That's very important to us. We're doing a lot of hybrid cloud."
"We initially started out with siloed clusters and now we've been able to cluster everything together so that we have multiple nodes in our clusters. We have multiples on different data in different data centers. We've able to do replication between data centers. That's been very beneficial for us as we look to derive a mature DR model."
"The solution has granular scalability."
More FlexPod XCS pros
"Replication and DR implementation became faster."
"The combination of Cisco's architecture and IBM's flash technology. Cisco provides FI technology which provides one simple architecture. IBM's flash technology is fast."
"The solution has high IOPS and the I/O is important because it gives us more transactions per second."
 

Cons

"NetApp has some tools that you can purchase to do performance management, or you can go with another vendor and buy a product which does the same thing. It would be nice if there was more of these features with the product, not add-ons."
"The procedure for contacting technical support could be simplified."
"One touch upgrades would be nice."
"Setting up a Cisco USC environment can be complex."
"The FlexPod service and support could be improved."
"They could improve their technical support team. They need to have a specific phone number for you to call in for the FlexPod solution. Some of the partner support knows if it is for FlexPod, they will get you to the right department."
"The FAS in it, with all its flexibility and scalability, it is much more complex and could be simplified."
"There were several different management consoles that we had to deal with: UCS, VMware, and separate ESXi installations. Maybe one interface council where we could manage everything from might be a little easier."
More FlexPod XCS cons
"Raw data mapping for storage should be a given option."
"The solution should improve deduplication to get a lot of savings."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The NetApp portion was a $5 million investment five years ago. That has served the customer well over five and a half years."
"As a startup, for the amount of budget we have and the amount we spend, we are getting what we expected."
"It is not cheap, but there is a return on investment in time saved and efficiency."
"The investment has been great. We put our money into it and it has given us something that we have been able to rely on for years."
"Pricing is always tough. We need to get to a point where the customer's happy. Then, as partners, we are also happy."
"If your company really needs to be up 100% of the time, and you need to do a private data center, I don't know if I could realistically actually recommend another blueprint."
"We fear high availability so we can't buy from different providers."
"We purchased FlexPod though Datalink."
More FlexPod XCS pricing and cost advice
"The solution is enterprise level so it is expensive."
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Comparison Review

it_user244362 - PeerSpot reviewer
Aug 30, 2015
Nutanix vs. VMware EVO:RAIL vs. FlexPod
Originally posted at www.storagegaga.com/dont-get-too-drunk-on-hyper-converged/ I hate the fact that I am bursting the big bubble brewing about Hyper Convergence (HC). I urge all to look past the hot air and hype frenzy that are going on, because in the end, the HC platforms have to be aligned…
Read full review
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
18%
Computer Software Company
15%
Government
8%
Educational Organization
8%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about FlexPod?
The system is designed for easy scaling. Because we define everything clearly. So when we plug the system in, we apply the profile, and it scales easily.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for FlexPod?
The pricing is not cheaper, but stability is more important for us now. We focus on business gains, not static numbers. Following XCS rules ensures a stable environment, which is crucial. For me, C...
See all answers
What needs improvement with FlexPod?
FlexPod should focus more on automation. Integrating an automation tool with FlexPod would enable customers to leverage automation capabilities. More automation would be helpful. Currently, we cont...
See all answers
What do you like most about IBM VersaStack?
The solution has high IOPS and the I/O is important because it gives us more transactions per second.
See all answers
What needs improvement with IBM VersaStack?
The solution should improve deduplication to get a lot of savings. To upgrade memory, you have to go through your license and that process is difficult. The solution should include IBM Spectrum Vir...
See all answers
What is your primary use case for IBM VersaStack?
Our company uses the solution as a financial system for core banking. We use the Flash 7200 which is the solution's newest version and different from the V9.
See all answers
 

Comparisons

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Dell PowerFlex vs FlexPod XCS
Compared 18% of the time
Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) vs FlexPod XCS Logo
Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) vs FlexPod XCS
Compared 14% of the time
VxRail vs FlexPod XCS Logo
VxRail vs FlexPod XCS
Compared 13% of the time
Oracle Exadata vs FlexPod XCS Logo
Oracle Exadata vs FlexPod XCS
Compared 11% of the time
Dell VxBlock System vs FlexPod XCS Logo
Dell VxBlock System vs FlexPod XCS
Compared 11% of the time
More FlexPod XCS Competitors
Dell VxBlock System vs IBM VersaStack Logo
Dell VxBlock System vs IBM VersaStack
Compared 100% of the time
More IBM VersaStack Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
FlexPod XCS
June 2024
FlexPod XCS reportDownload FlexPod XCS product report
Buyer's Guide
Converged Infrastructure
May 2024
IBM VersaStack reportDownload IBM VersaStack product report
 

Learn More

NetApp
Video not available
IBM
 

Overview

FlexPod XCS is the secure platform your applications need from edge to cloud. Easily manage your suite of cloud-native, edge, and enterprise apps. Integrate advanced cloud services without compromising performance, security, reliability, or scale.

VersaStack is a converged infrastructure solution of network, compute and storage designed for quick deployment and rapid time to value. The solution includes Cisco UCS integrated infrastructure together with IBM software- defined storage solutions to deliver extraordinary levels of agility and efficiency. VersaStack is backed by Cisco Validated Designs and IBM Redbooks application guides for faster infrastructure delivery as well as workload/ application deployment.

Designed for dynamic organizations that want to accelerate business growth while reducing costs, VersaStack incorporates IBM all-flash as well as hybrid storage technologies into the “single pane of glass” management environment provided by Cisco UCS Director. The solution offers quick deployment and execution of business applications—with the versatility to adapt as business priorities change. Providing an IT infrastructure that is easy, efficient and versatile, VersaStack helps accelerate data center infrastructure deployment and helps efficiently manage information and resources amid business change.

 

Sample Customers

University of Sao Paulo, WD-40, The Commonwell Mutual Insurance Group
Newhall Hospital, Medicat, JJ Haines, Sigmax
Buyer's Guide
FlexPod XCS vs. IBM VersaStack
May 2024
Free Report: FlexPod XCS vs. IBM VersaStack
Find out what your peers are saying about FlexPod XCS vs. IBM VersaStack and other solutions. Updated: May 2024.
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