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Dell ECS vs Pure Storage FlashBlade comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 4, 2024

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

Dell ECS
Ranking in File and Object Storage
5th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
28
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Pure Storage FlashBlade
Ranking in File and Object Storage
6th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.9
Number of Reviews
37
Ranking in other categories
All-Flash Storage (17th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the File and Object Storage category, the mindshare of Dell ECS is 8.8%, down from 10.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Pure Storage FlashBlade is 6.3%, up from 6.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
File and Object Storage
 

Featured Reviews

Muhammad Alihyder Bhuiyan - PeerSpot reviewer
Enables multiple protocol support, but its IOPS functionality needs improvement in terms of performance
Dell ECS enables multiple protocol support, and we recommend it to other users. Anyone can purchase it depending on specific storage quantity requirements. There are certain IOPS limitations in terms of performance. A loss in IOPS can lead to decreased performance across various aspects, including general system performance, production, and overall functionality. In comparison, IBM has no IOPS limitations and relies on web controllers. I rate the product a seven out of ten. IBM and NetApp also provide good storage and a lot of features.
Eric Black - PeerSpot reviewer
The ability to leverage multi-tenancy along with immutability is a huge benefit for us
The only thing I feel FlashBlade is missing is the SOS API. If it had SOS API, that would put it well over the top. Veeam Backup specifically has started to streamline their API, and they are doing that with SOS API. They have optimized it. Any of the S3 devices out there that support this SOS API can have far more API calls at once. On our side, that translates to better restoration. With SOS API, it can leverage far more restorations at a single given time or read from the device in simple terms. That results in maximizing the output and throughput from the device itself.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The support is good."
"Dell's technical support team is good."
"This product is very competitive."
"The stability is the most valuable aspect of the solution."
"The performance is good."
"What I like best about Dell ECS is its stability. I also like that you can use it for large-scale data purposes. The solution works fine for me, and I haven't encountered any issues with it."
"The scalability is good."
"Competitive object storage platform that's stable and scalable."
"The snapshots, replication, and the ability to have immutable blades are the most valuable features. You're putting data snapshots out in those blades, and they cannot be touched. Its performance is great."
"It uses the same platform for connectivity so integration is seamless."
"The product is scalable and easy to expand."
"The tool's most valuable feature is its fast performance, especially in handling snapshots. It helps during power outages when we need to quickly move data between different data centers. It ensures efficient replication and helps maintain our data centers' uptime."
"Among its most appealing features are its ease of handling and minimal maintenance requirements."
"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."
"FlashBlade offers low latency, high throughput, and seamless scalability."
"The initial setup is pretty quick."
 

Cons

"Technical support needs to be improved."
"We have had issues when the ECS is expiring or the NetBackup is expiring images."
"It is a good solution, except for the cost."
"One area for product improvement would be the garbage collection process. It takes longer than expected, so speeding up that process would be beneficial."
"Dell ECS needs to improve its performance."
"The initial setup is not so easy."
"The major weakness in the solution is that there is no cloud version for Dell ECS."
"The solution could be more cost-effective and secure."
"Commvault has mainly driven the Analytics, providing data and reports. However, the product has room for improvement, especially regarding storage analytics. Upgrading firmware has caused issues, requiring feature disabling to revert to traditional backups. The firmware upgrades sometimes affect Commvault backups."
"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."
"File storage needs a lot of improvement. Mainframe connectivity also needs improvement because it requires additional components to be integrated with Pure Storage FlashBlade. If you want to keep your backup data, then this becomes an even more expensive solution because Pure Storage FlashBlade will not be able to meet your backup needs."
"It's on the expensive side, as expected for a niche product."
"Pure Storage FlashBlade should improve on more cloud integration."
"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."
"I would like to see the licensing fees improved as well as the price per terabytes."
"On our dedupe during our initial buy, we were expecting a number a little higher like 4x. However, we are getting about 3.6. While it is close enough, it doesn't quite hit the numbers. So, this has been a challenge."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Dell ECS is a cost-effective solution."
"The price of Dell ECS should be reduced."
"If I remember correctly, Dell ECS is an appliance, so if you buy Dell ECS, you also have to buy the hardware, while IBM is standalone software, so you can buy IBM as software only without needing to buy the hardware. On a scale of one to five, I'm rating the pricing for Dell ECS a four."
"Dell EMC ECS is too expensive."
"The charges for this solution are made in blocks of models, which are purchased depending on what features an organization requires."
"It is an inexpensive product."
"The solution's cost is quite reasonable."
"It is an expensive solution. There is a need to make yearly payments towards the licensing costs attached to the product."
"Our licensing is renewed annually."
"In my opinion, we have paid the right price for the product. I don't think that it is too much or too little."
"Our customers have seen a reduction in TCO."
"I have seen ROI. It has allowed me to increase the density of my VMs without having to purchase anything additional."
"The product is very expensive."
"The pricing for FlashBlade is between cheap and moderate."
"I understand that it is competitively priced compared to other brands."
"I feel that the price could always be lowered."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
21%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
8%
Educational Organization
38%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell EMC ECS?
The pricing model is on the higher side compared to other vendors, indicating a need for more flexibility.
What needs improvement with Dell EMC ECS?
The graphical user interface should offer more options, and the documentation with respect to administration could be improved, as it is quite weak in this product. Additionally, the log viewer sho...
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 outages when we need to quickly move data between different data centers. It ensure...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Pure Storage FlashBlade?
The pricing for FlashBlade is between cheap and moderate. FlashBlade is worth the money due to the experience and performance it delivers, including quick response times.
What needs improvement with Pure Storage FlashBlade?
Its configuration should be easier. There should be easier language for the configuration.
 

Also Known As

EMC ECS, Dell EMC Elastic Cloud Storage, EMC Elastic Cloud Storage
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Atos
ServiceNow, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, Dominos, Man AHL
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell ECS vs. Pure Storage FlashBlade and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
831,997 professionals have used our research since 2012.