Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs HPE GreenLake for File Storage comparison

Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs. HPE GreenLake for File Storage

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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

Pure Storage FlashBlade

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the File and Object Storage category, the mindshare of Pure Storage FlashBlade is 5.8%, down from 6.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell PowerScale (Isilon) is 8.8%, up from 8.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HPE GreenLake for File Storage is 0.3%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

File and Object Storage

Featured Reviews

Eric Black

Solutions Architect at Recovery Point Systems

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.

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Eric Burgueño

High-Performance Computing Services Manager at The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited

Simplified data management, tremendously reducing our users’ cognitive overhead

The only thing that I think PowerScale could do better is improving the HTTP data access protocol. At the present, you cannot protect access to data via HTTP or HTTPS the same way that you can secure data access through other protocols like NFS or SMB. You can either access a file because it can be access by anyone in the organization, or you cannot at all. There is no in-between. HTTP is not considered a first-class data access protocol, so the Unified Permission Model that would allow a user to authenticate before being able to access a private file, does not apply. However, with the recent introduction of S3 starting from OneFS 9, I believe the necessary plumbing is already there for HTTPS to also be elevated to a first-class protocol in the future because both protocols sit behind a web server under the hood. It does not sound like it would be too complicated to implement, but it would be a valuable feature and it is currently missing.

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Saroj-Kumar

Assistant Manager at Genpact - Headstrong

It's a reliable-high performing solution that lets you customize file security

The file system arrays have multiple nodes, so one node automatically comes up if another goes down. The system should allow the primary node to remain the master node and the secondary node to function as a non-master node. HP has already deployed AI in GreenLake's cloud features, but they should also integrate them into the flash array. None of the HP arrays has a single console. They use two or more controllers, making it challenging to manage them all in a single array. If the controller or the console goes back into an embedded state, it's difficult to track or recover the system that failed.

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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

"FlashBlade offers low latency, high throughput, and seamless scalability."

"Using this solution has made our backups more reliable."

"The solution is able to handle workloads and is easy to use. It allows us to actually manage the boxes in less time."

"The solution provides many controllers."

"Pure Storage FlashBlade is user-friendly. It's replication feature is great because it has active replication and active DR. That's the beauty of the product. It's a perfect solution for block storage."

"What I like best about Pure Storage FlashBlade is its object storage functionality, plus it has fast underlying hardware. Pure Storage FlashBlade is also very stable. I find its stability one of its valuable features."

"We have integrated it with VMware. The integration process is pretty good. Especially with VMware, it helps with the capacity of it."

"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."

More Pure Storage FlashBlade pros

"The most valuable features of the solution are flexibility and ease of implementation."

"Customer service is absolutely satisfying, rating at least nine out of ten, as they have managed previous issues well."

"The guaranteed performance, combined with the scalability through its scale-out capability, makes it an excellent choice."

"The solution provides massive performance, scalability, efficiency, and ease of management."

"It assists with eliminating storage silos because it provides SMB and NFS protocols. PowerScale has also helped free up our employee's time to focus on other business priorities."

"The tool's most valuable features are high density and scalability."

"Dell PowerScale includes a wealth of features that are important from a security and recovery perspective."

"Ability to scale the number of nodes without having to build additional clusters."

More Dell PowerScale (Isilon) pros

"What I really appreciate about HPE GreenLake for File Storage is its well-organized, packaged platform for running enterprise workloads on the cloud."

"GreenLake for File Storage provides more security, allowing customized security for different file types. Block Storage can't do that. That's the most intriguing feature I have always looked for in a FlashArray or file system."

"GreenLake for File Storage provides more security, allowing customized security for different file types."

"For us, the utilization of cache when the data is traveling between media, from any location to any location or within that cluster, was seamless."

Cons

"We initially encountered challenges with the assembly process due to issues with the documentation required during setup, an area where Pure Storage needs improvement."

"Its configuration should be easier."

"In the realm of micro-services, I think that Pure Storage can do well if they start getting in there and making their arrays more micro-services ready."

"I want efficiency. FlashBlade doesn't have efficiency now."

"It would be nice if you could store file-based in the same box with the same technology."

"Pure Storage FlashBlade should improve on more cloud integration."

"It's on the expensive side, as expected for a niche product."

"The documentational aspect of FlashBlade needs improvement."

More Pure Storage FlashBlade cons

"PowerScale is not suitable for virtual environments."

"The solution's rate structure or rate redundancy needs to be improved."

"Dell PowerScale (Isilon) is a little bit pricey, and its pricing could be improved."

"The biggest weakness is small file handling. Small file compression options are not enabled out of the box. It would be good to have this enabled by default."

"The analytics could be improved."

"The replication could lend itself to some improvement around encryption in transit and managing the racing of large volumes of data. The process of file over and file back can be tedious. Hopefully, you never end up going into a DR. If you do go into a DR, you know the data is there on the remote site. However, in terms of the process of setting up the replicates and filing them back, that is just very tedious and could definitely do with some improvement."

"The solution can be a bit complex for those not well versed in the technology."

"Because of the magic that it does 'under the hood,' it is very difficult to find out within the system where all your storage is going. That's a little bit of a ding that we have on it. It does so much magic in order to protect itself from drive failures or multiple drive failures, that it automatically handles the provisioning and storage of your data. But by doing that, finding out why a file of a certain size, or a directory of a certain size, is using more storage than is being reported in InsightIQ, is very difficult to discern."

More Dell PowerScale (Isilon) cons

"From my standpoint, the single user interface could definitely be improved. It provides a fast head start, but when dealing with complex situations, it doesn't lead you effectively or offer direction on managing these complex workflows."

"There were instances where the system went down due to heavy IO or intense data flow."

"Some challenges with a multi-cloud environment due to some compatibility issues."

"The file system arrays have multiple nodes, so one node automatically comes up if another goes down. The system should allow the primary node to remain the master node and the secondary node to function as a non-master node. HP has already deployed AI in GreenLake's cloud features, but they should also integrate them into the flash array."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of this solution could be made more affordable."

"I feel that the price could always be lowered."

"Licensing fees are paid yearly."

"Our customers have seen a reduction in TCO."

"The price could be cheaper."

"Support is a separate line item. Support is a different cost, but whatever your support is now, that's what you're going to pay forever. If your support's $100 today, six years from now it's $100. It doesn't fluctuate unless you upgrade it, or change it, etc."

"In my opinion, we have paid the right price for the product. I don't think that it is too much or too little."

"The product is very expensive."

More Pure Storage FlashBlade pricing and cost advice

"It is an expensive product with a high storage capacity suitable for large data requirements."

"It is a really expensive solution."

"It's a high-cost offering amounting to three or four million Swedish kronor, or about $400,000 or euros, for approximately 480 terabytes of storage."

"Dell PowerScale (Isilon) is an expensive solution."

"The solution's licensing cost varies based on capacity and performance requirements."

"The pricing is expensive, but I think it's a fair value because it does manage itself. It definitely is much simpler than any of the other scale-out storage platforms that we've looked at in the past."

"We paid an additional fee to have Dell's ProDeploy Plus team implement it."

"I always want things to be less expensive. However, I would say the pricing is fair. Their costs are in alignment with their competitors. It is a good value for the money."

More Dell PowerScale (Isilon) pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

37%

Computer Software Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Educational Organization

23%

Computer Software Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

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 Pure Storage FlashBlade?

The tool's most valuable feature is its fast performance, especially in handling snapshots. It helps during power out...

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 per...

What needs improvement with Pure Storage FlashBlade?

Its configuration should be easier. There should be easier language for the configuration.

What do you like most about Dell EMC PowerScale (Isilon)?

The solution provides massive performance, scalability, efficiency, and ease of management.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell EMC PowerScale (Isilon)?

Every time we purchase a PowerScale solution, we buy four nodes for one data center and four for another, with five y...

What needs improvement with Dell EMC PowerScale (Isilon)?

Dell's customer service needs improvement. Specifically, hardware failures under warranty should be addressed within ...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HPE GreenLake for File Storage?

Pricing for HPE GreenLake for File Storage is competitive with market standards. It provides excellent pricing for ma...

What needs improvement with HPE GreenLake for File Storage?

From my standpoint, the single user interface could definitely be improved. It provides a fast head start, but when d...

What is your primary use case for HPE GreenLake for File Storage?

We use HPE GreenLake for File Storage for running our application workloads and data workloads.

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No data available

Product Reports

Pure Storage FlashBlade

Download Pure Storage FlashBlade product report

Dell PowerScale (Isilon)

Download Dell PowerScale (Isilon) product report

File and Object Storage

Download HPE GreenLake for File Storage product report

Also Known As

No data available

PowerScale, Dell EMC Isilon

No data available

Overview

FlashBlade is the industry’s most advanced scale-out storage for unstructured data, powered by a modern, massively parallel architecture to consolidate complex data silos (like backup appliances and data lakes) and accelerate tomorrow’s discoveries and insights.

Pure Storage

Dell EMC PowerScale (Isilon) storage solutions are designed to help manage data for enterprises of all types. Dell PowerScale systems are simple to install, manage, and scale to virtually any size and include a choice of all-flash, hybrid, or archive nodes. Dell PowerScale solutions stay flexible and reliable no matter how much storage capacity is added, how much performance is required, or how business needs change in the future.

With Dell PowerScale, your data lake always stays simple to manage, simple to grow, simple to protect, and simple enough to handle the most demanding current and future workloads.

Ideal for companies of any size, from small enterprises to multi-national ones, Dell PowerScale storage provides secure collaboration, modular scalability, flexible consumption models, and easy cloud integrations, all with management tools spanning multiple platforms.

Key Benefits of Dell EMC PowerScale Storage

Centralized management: Manage your storage infrastructure from a single unified platform.
Data protection: Dell PowerScale offers security, data protection and replication tools. Back up and protect your data from cyber-attacks with an integrated ransomware defense system.
Artificial intelligence: PowerScale is the foundation for building an integrated and optimized IT infrastructure for AI projects, from concept to production.
Cloud support: Store and manage your data on the cloud and move data between your data center and the cloud. Dell PowerScale runs data-intensive cloud workloads with no outbound traffic costs.
Long-term storage: Dell PowerScale offers highly efficient and resilient active archive storage or long-term data retention for large-scale data archives. With the proven scalability architecture of PowerScale, you can meet your growing archiving demands. Dell PowerScale has a wide variety of enterprise-grade data protection and security options to keep your archived data safe.

Reviews from Real Users

Dell EMC PowerScale storage stands out among its competitors for a number of reasons. Two major ones are its scalability capabilities and its user-friendly centralized management system.

Rachel B., a chief operations officer & acting CFO at Like a Photon, writes, "PowerScale allows us to manage storage without managing RAID groups or migrating volumes between controllers. It has really simplified things. We're not having to worry about the underlying infrastructure. That takes care of itself. We just worry about the data. It's really easy for deploying and managing storage at the petabyte scale."

Keith B., the director of IT at NatureFresh Farms, writes, "The single pane of glass for both IT and for the end-user is a valuable feature. On the IT side, I can actually control where things are stored, whether something is stored on solid-state drives or spinning drives... The single pane of glass makes it very easy to use and very easy to understand. We started at 100 terabytes, and we moved to 250 and it still feels like the exact same system and we're able to move data as needed."

Dell Technologies

HPE GreenLake for File Storage offers flexible, scalable storage solutions, catering to enterprise needs with on-premises services and a cloud-like experience. It aims to simplify data management while providing operational agility.

HPE GreenLake for File Storage empowers organizations with an on-premises cloud service model, offering a consumption-based approach that aligns costs with demand. It supports various workloads through quick deployment and efficient capacity management, making it suitable for enterprises seeking flexible data storage solutions. Businesses benefit from streamlined operations with a focus on optimizing performance and security.

What are the key features of HPE GreenLake for File Storage?

Flexible Deployment: Supports hybrid environments with on-premises and cloud capabilities.
Scalable Storage: Allows seamless capacity increase to manage data growth effectively.
Agile Infrastructure: Provides quick access to the latest storage technology solutions.
Consumption-Based Pricing: Enables cost efficiency by paying only for used resources.

What benefits and ROI should be assessed?

Cost Efficiency: Directly align storage expenses with usage to optimize expenditure.
Business Agility: Rapid service deployment supports dynamic business demands.
Operational Simplification: Reduces complexity in storage management and operation.
Security Assurance: Strong focus on safeguarding sensitive data across environments.

In financial services and healthcare sectors, HPE GreenLake for File Storage is implemented to manage large volumes of sensitive data. Its scalability and security features provide valuable support for compliance and data protection, while the consumption-based model ensures cost control and flexibility in data handling.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Sample Customers

ServiceNow, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, Dominos, Man AHL

OMRF, University of Utah, Translational Genetics Research Institute, Arcis, Geofizyka Torumn, Cyprus E&P Corporation, Colburn School, Columbia Sportswear, Harvard Medical School, University of Michigan, National Library of France,

Information Not Available

Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs. HPE GreenLake for File Storage