Dell EqualLogic PS series vs IBM FlashSystem comparison

Dell Technologies and IBM are both solutions in the Modular SAN (Storage Area Network) category. Dell Technologies is ranked #7 with an average rating of 9.0, while IBM is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.5. Dell Technologies holds a 1.9% mindshare in MS, compared to IBM’s 19.8% mindshare. Additionally, 77% of Dell Technologies users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 91% of IBM users who would recommend it.

Dell EqualLogic PS series

Read 18 Dell EqualLogic PS series reviews

336 Views
139 Comparison Views

77% willing to recommend

IBM FlashSystem

Read 110 IBM FlashSystem reviews

1,461 Views
1,109 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

Dell EqualLogic PS series

IBM FlashSystem

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 2, 2025

Dell EqualLogic PS series and IBM FlashSystem are competing products in data storage solutions. IBM FlashSystem has the upper hand in terms of advanced features and performance, while Dell EqualLogic PS series appeals with pricing and support.

Features: Dell EqualLogic PS series offers seamless scalability, automated load balancing, and excellent reliability. IBM FlashSystem provides low latency, advanced data reduction capabilities, and superior virtualization features.

Room for Improvement: Dell EqualLogic PS series could improve with more advanced data reduction and virtualization features, higher processing speed, and enhanced interface complexity handling. IBM FlashSystem may face challenges with better integration support, simpler deployment steps, and more budget-friendly options.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Dell EqualLogic PS series is known for its easy deployment process and reliable customer support, attracting organizations that prioritize user-friendly solutions. IBM FlashSystem requires a steeper learning curve but offers comprehensive resources and support for complex environments.

Pricing and ROI: Dell EqualLogic PS series is cost-effective and delivers a satisfactory ROI, making it an appealing choice for budget-conscious users. IBM FlashSystem, although more expensive initially, offers significant ROI through its advanced features and improved performance, making it valuable for long-term investments.

To learn more, read our detailed Dell EqualLogic PS series vs. IBM FlashSystem Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Dell EqualLogic PS series vs. IBM FlashSystem

March 2025

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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 EqualLogic PS series

Ranking in Modular SAN (Storage Area Network)

7th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

IBM FlashSystem

Ranking in Modular SAN (Storage Area Network)

4th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

110

Ranking in other categories

NAS (4th), All-Flash Storage (13th)

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Modular SAN (Storage Area Network) category, the mindshare of Dell EqualLogic PS series is 1.9%, down from 2.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM FlashSystem is 19.8%, up from 16.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Modular SAN (Storage Area Network)

Featured Reviews

Abdul Rehman Abid

Manager Enterprise Solutions at Megaplus

Useful auto tiering, excellent support, and highly reliable

The initial setup of the Dell EqualLogic PS series is simple. The physical connectivity and rack mounting time depend on the size of the deployment. For example, if we have five of the Dell EqualLogic PS series we can mount and do the cabling within two hours. The initial configuration can be done within an hour. The estimated time to deploy from start to finish in this scenario is four to five hours maximum. One person can do most of the deployment, such as configuration, but a helper is needed to do the mounting of the cables.

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Raanan Sitton

Vice President Sales at BELOCAL LTD

Offers cost-effective storage for small companies with budget constraints

IBM FlashSystem 5300 is offered at a very low cost in Israel, which is advantageous for small companies. However, other features like deduplication and compression do not perform effectively. The price sensitivity makes it a viable option for clients with budgetary constraints, as it allows us to secure deals based on the cost rather than advanced performance.

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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

"The product is very stable."

"If you have one datacenter fail, the VMs will start to run inside the other data center."

"Dell's technical support is very good."

"Its high availability. It has a lot of redundancy and good management software as well as good alerting."

"The most valuable feature of Dell EqualLogic PS series auto tiering by using this feature, the customer can get higher performance on a valuable budget."

"The technical support for EqualLogic has been universally outstanding."

"The solution can scale."

"The technical support is very good."

More Dell EqualLogic PS series pros

"When it comes to the interface of the solution we did not encounter any challenges. Additionally, the solution has good documentation."

"I would recommend it to other users."

"IBM FlashSystem is a powerful effective storage solution. Additionally, it is user-friendly, anyone can use it."

"The initial setup was really straightforward. It was not complex. Deployment took one month, due to the data migration duration."

"The most valuable features of IBM FlashSystem are performance and security."

"The all-flash storage has tier replication capabilities."

"The Flash core models offer amazing performance."

"The initial customer technical support was efficient and effective."

More IBM FlashSystem pros

Cons

"Dell EqualLogic PS series could improve the performance because in our hybrid configuration the read speed is faster than the write speed."

"Dell EqualLogic PS series could improve by providing fiber channel connectivity. Fiber channel connectivity is not supported, which is a requirement of advanced applications, such as SAP HANA. SAP HANA recommends fiber channel connectivity, but the Dell EqualLogic PS series is only an ISCSI data storage."

"If I need to have more space or more capacity, I need to replace the product. It would be ideal if we could scale without replacing the box itself."

"There is no inline deduplication capability."

"The searchable online documentation is missing."

"The performance isn't as good as, for example, Nimble."

"The product is reaching the end-of-lifecycle."

"I can't buy any more solutions provided by EqualLogic...Since I can't buy it anymore, I don't receive any updates on the solution. Also, this is the last year in which one can buy support for the solution."

More Dell EqualLogic PS series cons

"Replication features need improvement. Currently, they are there in the product, but I'm not sure as to how it works exactly."

"In the next release having the next level of high-speed performance would be great."

"The solution has a low number of NVME host attachments at 16 per IO group over the fiber channel."

"I would like to have a larger disk. Right now, you can get 57 terabytes in a shelf. Once they get the larger disk and you get larger capacities, it'll be even better."

"The product needs to improve their scalability."

"This product lacks some of the options we wanted. For example, expansion was difficult and it required a lot of patching to be done."

"The Data Reduction Pools (DRP) support could be better."

"The pricing needs to be more competitive."

More IBM FlashSystem cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It seemed expensive at first, but the durability lowered the cost of ownership dramatically over time."

"I don't think I would say that the product is less expensive...The product's price is not an issue for our company, considering the relationship we have with Dell and the customer support we receive."

"There are annual maintenance costs beyond the original licensing period."

"Licensing is pretty straightforward."

"Initial packages include all upgrades and services."

"All features are out of the box. The license will be in the virtual, OS, or application layer."

"Dell EqualLogic PS series can improve its scale-out feature. Sometimes the customer has a limited budget for storage expansion. When they want to expand their capacity, they need to buy a complete controller plus storage capacity, which sometimes is out of their budget. If Dell EqualLogic PS series support could scale up the environment in which only hard drive extension controllers should be supported, then customers can expand within a lower budget."

"I didn't buy it. It was another person seven years ago. So, I don't really know, but all storage platforms cost a lot of money. It is probably in the mid-range, but you get what you pay for."

More Dell EqualLogic PS series pricing and cost advice

"The cost is pretty high in terms of licensing. We pay at least $100,000 USD in licensing fees for the storage."

"The total storage capacity vs price is still quite high for the IBM Flash Array."

"Its price is very good."

"The tool is cost-efficient."

"You purchase it as a bundle and the price is comparable."

"The pricing is reasonable."

"This is an expensive product and if the price were reduced it would be better."

"The pricing may be a bit higher than other brands. If you compare the IBM FlashSystems in midrange with Dell EMC in midrange, IBM costs a bit more, but I prefer IBM because it has more specs that I can benefit from."

More IBM FlashSystem pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Computer Software Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Dell EqualLogic PS series?

The technical support for the solution was really good.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Dell EqualLogic PS series?

The main issue was that when there were new storage solutions technologies available on the market, Dell EqualLogic PS Series was not compatible with the latest products. Right now, we have a stora...

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What is your primary use case for Dell EqualLogic PS series?

I used the solution in my company since we had a virtual infrastructure, which served as our storage array with ESXi connections, which are also integrated with VMware solutions.

See all answers

What do you like most about IBM FlashSystem?

It is simple to make an update.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM FlashSystem?

Many factors affect purchasing directly from IBM, often involving a multi-step process. Customers, especially in banking, often use the latest devices as they are upgrading, indicating they do not ...

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM FlashSystem?

The GUI needs some improvement. An additional function that could be helpful is reducing the time it takes to delete volumes, especially if they are compressed or deduplicated.

See all answers

Comparisons

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Dell EqualLogic PS series

March 2025

Download Dell EqualLogic PS series product report

Buyer's Guide

IBM FlashSystem

March 2025

Download IBM FlashSystem product report

Also Known As

EqualLogic PS series

IBM Storwize

Overview

EqualLogic PS Series arrays bring a new level of performance to service more of your most demanding applications and virtualization requirements, while delivering the simplicity of the EqualLogic management experience. Featuring six array configurations, including 2U/2.5" drive options with All Flash and Hybrid Arrays, it is ideal for companies and organizations with growing data and performance needs.

Dell Technologies

IBM FlashSystem products are enterprise computer data storage systems that store data on flash memory chips. Unlike storage systems that use standard solid-state drives, IBM FlashSystem products incorporate custom hardware based on technology from the 2012 acquisition of Texas Memory Systems. This hardware provides performance, reliability, and efficiency benefits versus competitive offerings.

IBM

Sample Customers

FAW Foundry, AW Engineering, Unimat, eLongNet Information Technology, BDO Brasil, Odyssey Space Research

Celero, Friedhelm Loh Group, Clarks, Mingkang Natregro Health Food Group, Sofia, Etisalat Fights Fraud, UF Health Shands Hospital, Generali, Elecon Engineering Company Limited, Ventiv , Technology, CPFL Energia, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., SciQuest, Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated, Paddy Power, Kelsey-Seybold Clinic, Interconnect Services, Severstal IP-Only AB, PVU Group GmbH

Buyer's Guide

Dell EqualLogic PS series vs. IBM FlashSystem

March 2025

Free Report: Dell EqualLogic PS series vs. IBM FlashSystem

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