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Dell PowerFlex vs VMware vSAN comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 12, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
7.2
Dell PowerFlex cuts SQL licenses, reduces maintenance costs, offers bundled support, and boosts value with strategic human support.
Sentiment score
4.8
Organizations found VMware vSAN impacts varied, with cost savings and productivity gains, but faced challenges in precise financial measurement.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
4.3
Dell PowerFlex's customer service is mixed, with varied satisfaction in support, assistance, and issue resolution experiences.
Sentiment score
5.6
VMware vSAN support is generally praised for responsiveness and competence, though users note variability in response times and delays.
We do not have local Dell technical support.
I am not satisfied with VMware support, particularly with the reaction times, SLAs, and those kinds of issues.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
Dell PowerFlex offers excellent scalability and adaptability for enterprises, accommodating various applications and users with high user satisfaction.
Sentiment score
6.5
VMware vSAN offers flexible scaling, enabling efficient infrastructure expansion, appreciated for seamless storage and performance boost across workloads.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
9.0
Dell PowerFlex is praised for high stability and reliability, with users experiencing seamless, dependable operations in various environments.
Sentiment score
5.7
VMware vSAN is generally stable with high performance, though hardware compatibility and minor glitches are occasionally reported.
 

Room For Improvement

Dell PowerFlex needs better tools, support, and improvements in pricing, integration, UI, compatibility, AI, and deployment processes.
VMware vSAN requires improvements in management, compatibility, cost, monitoring, and stability, with challenges in user interface and integration.
They could have more AI functionality in the future.
Maybe incorporation of automation to build clusters in a more automated way would be beneficial.
 

Setup Cost

Dell PowerFlex is seen as cost-effective by some, but others perceive it as expensive, suggesting improved licensing flexibility.
VMware vSAN offers enterprise storage features with potential cost savings but can be costly for smaller businesses.
 

Valuable Features

Dell PowerFlex integrates with VMware for scalable, reliable, and efficient management, enhancing performance, stability, and cost savings.
VMware vSAN offers high performance, scalability, cost-efficiency, easy deployment, and integration, providing flexible storage for evolving business needs.
A one-stack solution from one vendor is the main benefit here.
 

Categories and Ranking

Dell PowerFlex
Ranking in HCI
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
27
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
VMware vSAN
Ranking in HCI
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
230
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the HCI category, the mindshare of Dell PowerFlex is 12.9%, up from 7.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware vSAN is 16.2%, down from 18.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
HCI
 

Featured Reviews

Serdar De - PeerSpot reviewer
Initial setup has been straightforward and it has reasonable pricing
We are new to this, so we are still learning about the valuable features The solution is okay overall. It could be easier to learn. We haven't had any issues. They could have more AI functionality in the future.  I have been using the solution for six months. I have not encountered any problems…
Lipaz Hessel - PeerSpot reviewer
Expensive solution that requires professional services for installation and implementation
I'm still using a different solution. I only took two servers with vSAN to support one application that needs one feature that only VMware has. If not for that feature, I wouldn't touch VMware. Now, I'm looking at products like Nutanix, Silver Peak, Flexione, and FortiGate. For products that I choose, I don't need a specialist of that vendor. In VMware, I need a specialist in VMware. That's the issue I have with VMware. It's not like I can take any IT person, and they will know what to do. I need to make sure he will do the call, get the certificate and time to practice.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Government
7%
Educational Organization
53%
Computer Software Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
5%
Financial Services Firm
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What are the major differences between VxRail and Dell EMC PowerFlex?
VxRail vs. Dell EMC PowerFlex VxRail provides stable solutions for technical problems while at the same time not being too expensive for a company to invest in. Even if the user is working with a l...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell EMC PowerFlex?
From my perspective, pricing is expensive. If they can reduce the pricing or offer more customer incentives, it would attract more users.
What Is The Biggest Difference Between vSAN And VxRail?
While both run on the vSAN technology from VMware, vSAN needs to be deployed on vSAN ready nodes while VxRail is an engineered system. The choice to choose which technology depends on two major fac...
Which would you choose - Nutanix Acropolis AOS or VMware vSAN?
We found the reduced power consumption with Nutanix Acropolis AOS a very attractive feature. We also like the interface that allows you to talk directly to your VM from the present software. We fou...
How does HPE Simplivity compare with VMware vSAN?
HPE SimpliVity is a hyper-converged infrastructure solution that is primarily geared to mid-sized companies. We researched VMware vSAN but found HPE was a better option for us. HPE SimpliVity has ...
 

Also Known As

VxFlex, VxRack FLEX, PowerFlex
vSAN
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Canopy, 8x8Inc., Atos, Canadian Pacific, City of Denton, CenturyLink, BNP Paribas, Asyaport, EDF, CSC, Fox Sports, Insight, Hunter, KPIT, Paetec, Rosetta Stone, Sonda, Xerox
Read Some Case Studies At Home Cloud CaribCINgroupDiscovery Check out the Rest of our Customer Stories Here
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell PowerFlex vs. VMware vSAN and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
838,533 professionals have used our research since 2012.