Dell ObjectScale vs SwiftStack [EOL] comparison

Dell Technologies and NVIDIA are both solutions in the File and Object Storage category. Additionally, 96% of Dell Technologies users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of NVIDIA users who would recommend it.

Dell ObjectScale

Read 34 Dell ObjectScale reviews

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4,350 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

SwiftStack [EOL]

Read 8 SwiftStack [EOL] reviews

100% willing to recommend

Dell ObjectScale

SwiftStack [EOL]

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 26, 2025

SwiftStack [EOL] and Dell ObjectScale are competing in the object storage solutions market. Dell ObjectScale seems to have the upper hand due to its robust feature set, offering superior value with advanced data management and strong data distribution capabilities.

Features: SwiftStack [EOL] is characterized by scalability, easy integration with existing infrastructure, and multi-cloud environment support. Dell ObjectScale provides advanced data management, seamless scalability, and robust data distribution.

Room for Improvement: SwiftStack [EOL] could benefit from enhanced advanced features. It lacks the comprehensive capabilities found in more modern solutions. Dell ObjectScale might improve upon its complexity in initial deployment and simplify its integration process.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SwiftStack [EOL] is known for straightforward deployment and a focus on customer service aiding seamless integration. Dell ObjectScale offers a sophisticated deployment process with comprehensive documentation, appealing to larger, complex enterprise needs.

Pricing and ROI: SwiftStack [EOL] is appreciated for its attractive setup cost, providing fair ROI for those focusing on lowering initial expenses. Dell ObjectScale, while involving a higher setup investment, promises strong ROI through its advanced features, offering great value for long-term objectives.

To learn more, read our detailed File and Object Storage Report (Updated: March 2026).

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File and Object Storage

March 2026

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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

Dell ObjectScale

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

File and Object Storage (7th)

SwiftStack [EOL]

Average Rating

8.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Featured Reviews

Mahmoud Abuherra

Manager, Technical Services at AXS

Offers seamless protocol integration for diverse solutions with flexible API communication

We recommend Dell ECS to customers looking for GeoDrive, archiving, long-term retention solutions, or S3 protocol. It is proposed to sectors like government, education, and banking. Overall, I would rate Dell ECS eight out of ten, as it has shown a lot of enhancement compared to previous solutions like Centera and Atmos.

Read full review

reviewer1759539

System administrator at a library with 11-50 employees

A nicely-done product that provides a lot of graphs and reports to see what's happening in the background and makes configuration easier

It's very well done for what it's supposed to do, and I don't have anything to add, but I would like them to keep it available to the public. SwiftStack is going out of the market. NVIDIA purchased SwiftStack a couple of years ago, and they won't be making it available to the public anymore. Our license is up to March 31st.

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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

"Some of the best features with Dell ECS are that it's scale-out storage with compatibility, which are the main drivers, along with very good support from Dell EMC that usually makes customers happy."

"I have been satisfied with the stability."

"I like that the solution is easy to scale and that's its stable."

"Dell ECS is very easy to handle, primarily because the web UI dashboard and everything is very easy to manage for every customer."

"Dell ECS is a cost-effective solution that provides ease of use and availability."

"We face very few hardware failures."

"Dell ECS is a very stable solution and most of the S3 APIs are supported."

"The stability is the most valuable aspect of the solution."

More Dell ObjectScale pros

"The general consensus on what we've done is that the restores coming back from it have been faster than they were from our prior vendor. Ingest speeds are fine. The restore speeds have improved."

"It has helped us with the ability to distribute data to different data centers. As part of our DR strategy, we have nodes automatically replicating data from one data center to the other. This makes it easier for us to not have to shift tapes around."

"The graphs are most valuable. They have a lot of graphs and reports that you can run to see what's happening in the background to configure OpenStack Swift."

"The biggest feature, the biggest reason we went with SwiftStack, rather than deploying our own model with OpenStack Swift, was their deployment model. That was really the primary point in our purchase decision, back when we initially deployed. It took my installation time from days to hours, for deployment in our environment, versus deploying OpenStack Swift ourselves, manually."

"SwiftStack is also quite flexible when it comes to hardware. It depends, of course, on the use case and the kind of hardware you want to buy. But you have quite a bit of choice in hardware. The SwiftStack software itself does not impose anything on you."

"The SwiftStack Controller, which is the web UI, provides out of band management. This has been one of the best features of it. It allows us to be able to do upgrades and look at performance metrics. It is a top feature and reason to choose the product."

"The most valuable feature is its versatility. We use 1space and we can use it for almost anything: for our cloud service, for backups of VMs."

"The scalability is phenomenal. It seems infinite, as long as you put enough storage in place, add enough nodes."

More SwiftStack [EOL] pros

Cons

"They could provide centralized reports."

"However, hardware failures can impact the cluster, making it read-only."

"From an improvement perspective, Dell ECS should aim to offer a better pricing plan to its users."

"Dell ECS could improve the price of the solution. It is expensive."

"There are some limitations with integration with certain cloud providers, particularly with Google Cloud Platform in Saudi Arabia."

"There is room for improvement in the DPI reports, as they could be made more user-friendly."

"The solution needs to provide better integration between this solution and all other kinds of systems."

"Dell ECS needs to improve its performance."

More Dell ObjectScale cons

"The biggest room for improvement is the maturity of the proxyFS solution. That piece of code is relatively new, so most of our issues have been around the proxyFS."

"I would like to see better client integrations, support for a broader client library. SwiftStack could be a little bit more involved in the client side: Python, Java, C, etc."

"The file access needs improvement. The NFS was rolled out as a single service. It needs to be fully integrated into the proxy in a highly available fashion, like the regular proxy access is. I know it's on the roadmap."

"It's very well done for what it's supposed to do, and I don't have anything to add, but I would like them to keep it available to the public. SwiftStack is going out of the market. NVIDIA purchased SwiftStack a couple of years ago, and they won't be making it available to the public anymore. Our license is up to March 31st."

"At the moment we are using Erasure coding in an 8+4 setting. What would be nice is if, for some standard configurations like 15+4 and 8+4, there were more versatility so we could, for example, select 8+6, or the like."

"On the controller features, there needs to be a bit more clean up of the user interface. There are a lot of options available on the GUI which might be better organized or compartmentalized. There are times when you are going through the user interface and you have to look around for where the setting may be. A little bit more attention to the organization of the user interface would be helpful."

"[One] thing that I've been looking for, for years as an end user and customer, for any object store, including SwiftStack, is some type of automated method for data archiving. Something where you would have a metadata tagging policy engine and a data mover all built into a single system that would automatically be able to take your data off your primary and put it into an object store in a non-proprietary way - which is key."

"They should provide a more concise hardware calculator when you're putting your capacity together."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Dell ECS is a cost-effective solution."

"It is an inexpensive product."

"We are not paying for the license at this stage."

"The solution's cost is quite reasonable."

"We initially purchased all of the licenses at the same time."

"Dell EMC ECS is too expensive."

"It is an expensive solution. There is a need to make yearly payments towards the licensing costs attached to the product."

"It's a lease-based model, so it's capacity-based. We already negotiated the price a lot, but we're still doing that with Dell because somehow the product was not installed successfully, so there was a lot of struggle in the distributor territory between Dell and the environment itself. I would give the solution a 6 out of 10 for the pricing. There's a little room for improvement."

More Dell ObjectScale pricing and cost advice

"One of their advantages of being a commercial open source platform is, for the scale that they offer, the pricing is pretty competitive."

"The pricing and licensing are capacity-based, so it's hard to put my finger on them, because so many different vendors charge in different ways. We are still saving significantly over any of the other options that we evaluated because we can choose the best hardware at the best price, then put SwiftStack software on it. So, it's hard to complain, even though a part of me goes, "It would be nicer if it were less expensive.""

"COST_SAVING; We have had a 40 to 50 percent reduction in CAPEX on the acquisition of new hardware, which is probably conservative."

"The annual support and maintenance costs compared to our old solution for backups had about a two-thirds savings, so about a 60% annual savings on our support and maintenance contract. That savings funded additional expansion for what it was costing us for the support and maintenance contracts on old solution."

"The pricing model is great and makes sense. We have talked about how to get into more of a frequent billing cycle than once a year. That would be an interesting concept to add into the product, having the ability to have monthly billing instead of having to do a one-year licensing renewal. However, the way the license works by charging for storage consumed is definitely what makes them the most competitive."

"We find the pricing rather steep. Of course, you get quality for your money, that's absolutely true... [But] when you look at the prices of the licensing and the prices of your hardware, it's quite substantial."

"Dollar per gigabyte, it costs us more because we are storing more. However, if you look at it from a cost per gigabyte perspective, we have dropped our costs significantly."

"It's pricey for us because we're a nonprofit. I'm not privy to any amount or cost, but I have been told that it is pricey. There are no costs in addition to the licensing fees, and it seems to come with the support."

More SwiftStack [EOL] pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

19%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Computer Software Company

Government

Manufacturing Company

12%

Computer Software Company

10%

Performing Arts

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	12
Midsize Enterprise	12
Large Enterprise	11

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	3
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	3

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Dell EMC ECS?

The tool is easy to use.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell EMC ECS?

The pricing is moderate and at par with the market. As a service provider, we receive good margins, indicating a favorable price point.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Dell EMC ECS?

I cannot think of anything as an area for improvement with Dell ECS. I do not see any pricing or usability concerns.

See all answers

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Comparisons

Amazon AWS vs Dell ObjectScale

Compared 24% of the time

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Compared 11% of the time

Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs Dell ObjectScale

Compared 8% of the time

Everpure FlashBlade vs Dell ObjectScale

Compared 7% of the time

MinIO vs Dell ObjectScale

Compared 5% of the time

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Cloudian HyperStore vs SwiftStack [EOL]

Compared 24% of the time

Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS) vs SwiftStack [EOL]

Compared 23% of the time

More SwiftStack [EOL] Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Dell ObjectScale

March 2026

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Buyer's Guide

SwiftStack [EOL]

February 2026

Download SwiftStack [EOL] product report

Also Known As

EMC ECS, Dell EMC Elastic Cloud Storage (ECS)

No data available

Overview

Dell ObjectScale is a next-generation S3 object storage platform known for scalability, performance, and efficiency. It integrates with Dell EMC products, combining hardware and software for seamless user experience in the AI era.

Dell ObjectScale implements the S3 protocol, integrating smoothly with Dell EMC solutions like ISILON. Its architecture supports data compression and interoperates with multiple protocols for enhanced performance. Enterprise features include immutability, geo-replication, and user-friendly management. However, it needs better integration with other systems, enhanced security, and disaster recovery. Write performance and scalability improvements, competitive pricing, and documentation enhancements are key areas for progress. The interface could be more straightforward, with more remote management features and native analytics.

What features does Dell ObjectScale offer?

S3 Protocol Implementation: Brings industry-standard access with wide application compatibility
Seamless Dell EMC Integration: Ensures stability and ease of use with existing systems
Data Compression and Protocol Interoperability: Enhances performance and storage efficiency
Immutability and Geo-Replication: Provides enterprise-level data protection
Optimized Pricing: Balances cost with comprehensive support

What benefits should users look for in reviews?

Scalability: Supports expanding data requirements effectively
Integration Flexibility: Works with many existing systems for better interoperability
Ease of Management: Streamlines hardware and software operations
Enterprise-Level Features: Delivers advanced protection and efficiency

Industries leverage Dell ObjectScale for cloud-based object storage, archiving, and backups. It's favored for unstructured data management, CCTV integration, and document archiving. Strong in data analytics, it integrates well with high-capacity applications, enhancing data retention strategies across fields.

Dell Technologies

SwiftStack [EOL] offers robust cloud integration, rapid deployment, and hardware-agnostic capabilities, making it a preferred choice for organizations needing scalable and flexible storage solutions. It supports a variety of storage needs from object storage to enterprise-grade backup systems.

SwiftStack [EOL] is recognized for its seamless cloud integration and platform independence, enabling rapid deployment and superior scalability. Its metadata search, proxyFS, and 1space feature enhance versatility and backup efficiency. SwiftStack Controller provides an enhanced management experience with easy system upgrades and performance monitoring. While the management UI and ProxyFS maturity have room for improvement, users seek more organized interfaces and better REST API support. Enhancements in erasure coding configurations and data archiving, along with improved client library integrations, are highlighted needs. The demand for NFS integration improvements and options for data movement between storage policies is noted.

What are the key features of SwiftStack?

Rapid Deployment: Fast and efficient system setup.
Scalability: Easily adapts to growing storage needs.
Flexibility: Hardware-agnostic and platform independent.
Resiliency: Robust data protection mechanisms.
Cloud Integration: Seamlessly integrates with cloud services.
Metadata Search: Facilitates efficient data retrieval.
ProxyFS Capability: Offers versatile storage solutions.
1space Feature: Enhances backup efficiency.

What benefits and ROI should be expected in reviews?

Cost Efficiency: Reduces deployment and operational costs.
Performance: Fast data ingestion and access speed.
Enhanced Management: Simplifies system management with advanced tools.
Versatility: Supports diverse storage needs from backups to cloud services.

SwiftStack [EOL] is implemented in industries as a backup platform for Commvault and Veeam, cloud storage similar to Amazon S3 or Azure Blob. It's essential for SaaS platforms, data sharing in research, preproduction object storage, data center operations, and archival management for OpenStack Swift servers in educational and research institutions.

NVIDIA

Sample Customers

Atos

Pac-12 Networks, Georgia Institute of Technology, Budd Van Lines

Buyer's Guide

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March 2026

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