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Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs IBM FlashSystem comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 7, 2024

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
7.0
Dell PowerScale provides scalable, efficient storage with automation, improved performance, reliability, and integrates seamlessly for better ROI.
Sentiment score
6.4
Despite higher costs, users valued IBM FlashSystem for performance, scalability, features, and integration, leading to increased satisfaction.
Despite being more expensive than Huawei, it is stable and most enterprises accept the price due to its stability.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
8.6
Dell PowerScale support is responsive and knowledgeable, though experiences vary, with reliable 24/7 service and technical assistance.
Sentiment score
7.0
IBM FlashSystem's customer service is highly rated, but technical support feedback varies with some efficiency and expertise issues.
They have managed previous issues well.
Dell provides support within four hours, and they always fulfill their promises.
Customers of alternatives like Dell and Hitachi enjoy more reliable and comprehensive support services directly from vendors rather than third-party subsidiaries.
IBM customer support is responsible, efficient, and responsive, though it is expensive.
The customer service is good, especially online.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
8.0
Dell PowerScale offers scalable storage solutions with easy expansion, strong infrastructure, and efficient handling of large data volumes.
Sentiment score
7.3
IBM FlashSystem offers seamless scalability for diverse enterprises, with easy capacity expansion, supporting vertical, horizontal, and clustering flexibility.
Due to both cost and the knowledge required to maintain and use them, there are considerations about scalability.
For larger enterprises, scalability is an issue as the price becomes prohibitive.
The problem arises when migrating data to a later IBM FlashSystem version due to issues with firmware compatibility.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.4
Dell PowerScale is highly stable, offering exceptional uptime and reliability, with minimal maintenance and robust performance for critical tasks.
Sentiment score
7.6
IBM FlashSystem is highly stable, appreciated for reliability, though occasional hardware issues are resolved with patches and upgrades.
Customers have infrastructure that is 100% stable.
 

Room For Improvement

Dell PowerScale needs pricing improvements, better cloud integration, enhanced redundancy, and user interface upgrades to address various performance issues.
IBM FlashSystem requires better scalability, user experience, integration options, and enhanced features, addressing costs, configurations, and security concerns.
Competitors offer more reliable data reduction with guaranteed results, sometimes providing additional capacity at no extra charge if performance ratios are not met.
There is room for improvement in the troubleshooting part, specifically related to IBM Spectrum for Insight.
An additional function that could be helpful is reducing the time it takes to delete volumes, especially if they are compressed or deduplicated.
 

Setup Cost

Dell PowerScale is costly but offers fair value; negotiable pricing, modular licensing, and scalability appeal to enterprises.
IBM FlashSystem offers competitive pricing with advanced features, but careful capacity planning and negotiation for discounts are recommended.
The pricing of Dell solutions is higher than that of Huawei.
To install or upgrade any software features, the cost is high, which makes it challenging for smaller companies who do not require advanced features like deduplication or compression typically needed by larger organizations.
 

Valuable Features

Dell PowerScale offers scalable, efficient storage management with robust data protection and seamless integration across diverse enterprise environments.
IBM FlashSystem is praised for high performance, user-friendly interface, and storage optimization with virtualization, compression, and fast speed.
Dell PowerScale offers high scalability and stability as well, making it a valuable solution for enterprises.
Eyeglass is used to monitor for malware, which is very useful for us.
There is a significant amount of data reduction, achieving a ratio of one to three.
There is built-in compression, a data reduction feature, and artificial intelligence-driven insights that calculate warnings and errors to redirect to customers automatically.
IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe is offered at a very low cost in Israel, which is advantageous for small companies.
 

Categories and Ranking

Dell PowerScale (Isilon)
Ranking in NAS
1st
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
54
Ranking in other categories
File and Object Storage (3rd)
IBM FlashSystem
Ranking in NAS
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
110
Ranking in other categories
Modular SAN (Storage Area Network) (4th), All-Flash Storage (13th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the NAS category, the mindshare of Dell PowerScale (Isilon) is 24.1%, up from 22.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM FlashSystem is 7.6%, up from 7.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
NAS
 

Featured Reviews

Eric Burgueño - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Raanan Sitton - PeerSpot reviewer
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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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
25%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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 years of maintenance covered by Dell. It's a high-cost offering amounting to thre...
What needs improvement with Dell EMC PowerScale (Isilon)?
Improvements could be made to reduce the costs and the high level of knowledge needed to maintain and use them. We had old hard drives with moving parts in Dell PowerScale, and due to this, we must...
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 ...
What needs improvement with IBM FlashSystem?
There is room for improvement in the troubleshooting part, specifically related to IBM Spectrum for Insight. Customers are uncomfortable with remote access, which affects automated remote support. ...
 

Also Known As

PowerScale, Dell EMC Isilon
IBM Storwize
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

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,
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
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs. IBM FlashSystem and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
831,158 professionals have used our research since 2012.