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Dell PowerScale vs NetApp Private Storage 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Dell PowerScale
Ranking in NAS
1st
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
92
Ranking in other categories
File and Object Storage (2nd)
NetApp Private Storage
Ranking in NAS
11th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the NAS category, the mindshare of Dell PowerScale is 14.5%, down from 17.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetApp Private Storage is 2.8%, up from 1.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
NAS Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Dell PowerScale (Isilon)14.5%
NetApp Private Storage2.8%
Other82.7%
NAS
 

Featured Reviews

BE
Systems Engineer at Unisity LLC
Flexibility and reliability have supported seamless data growth
I cannot think of anything to improve about Dell PowerScale (Isilon). The hardest challenge we have is due to how we've bought things over time. The way that we moved to the PowerEdge platform for the newer systems creates a scale problem as I still buy the older style systems, which are more dense storage. They're different chassis, so the problem we run into in the data center is the depth of the actual equipment. The newer equipment, if we buy an FX910 or a 900, it's a lot shorter in scale than if I buy an 83,000, which is much bigger. This makes it more complicated for deployment.
Atilla Celiloglu - PeerSpot reviewer
Broadcast Technology Director at tv8
Has supported continuous broadcasting with reliable performance and consistent operations
They can make more solutions for cloud integration in NetApp Private Storage. It should be easier to use the cloud S3 integration, maybe from a NetApp interface, where users can choose the type of storage before sending to S3. I would like to see more audit and performance logs via cloud integrations and ONTAP. Without the need for separate software.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The features that I have mentioned improve my company through the reliability of the storage; it is always available, and it works, which is the important thing."
"Dell PowerScale (Isilon) helps improve the way the organization functions through massive scalability, high performance, a single file system, high availability and reliability, flexible protocols, support for NFS, SMB, HDFS, strong security, cloud integration, efficiency, data protection, snapshot, queue, and sync queue, optimized for unstructured data."
"PowerScale helps our clients consolidate data storage and multiple applications onto a single platform for easier manageability."
"This has been a valuable solution for our business overall. It offers business continuity and replication features."
"Since it can scale so easily, as long as I have money to buy more nodes, I can grow it as big as I need to. That is important in our business. As sequencing technologies continue to evolve, and as those technologies evolve, the amount of data generation never gets smaller. It just always seems to get bigger. This is one of the absolute key aspects: We can grow on demand without having to forklift stuff."
"I rate Dell PowerScale (Isilon) a ten out of ten, and we continue to keep buying it."
"Dell PowerScale aligns with our organization's strategic goals of improving operational efficiency because we are able to provide a centralized location for file systems."
"I assess the stability and reliability of Dell PowerScale (Isilon) as perfect, as we haven't had any hiccups with it so far."
"Integration with other NetApp solutions and merging them is manageable."
"Very stable and very scalable."
"The most valuable feature is integration."
"For recording and stability, NetApp Private Storage is the best."
"Disaster recovery. And I like the security very much. I think they have the needed options for security. Can manage NPS using the same tools and process that we use today."
"At the moment, we are extensively using SnapMirror."
"We get our data faster and it's very reliable; we don't go down."
"In terms of quality and uptime, it is the thing to have."
 

Cons

"The solution’s interface and pricing could be improved."
"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 said, for the other security features, it would be helpful if Tenable - and I know it's outside the scope of this question itself - had Isilon-specific plugins."
"An example of something that is problematic at the moment or that I would want to see improved is that there needs to be further delineation between access zones and settings."
"A recent development is, that there's a key feature coming out in OneFS 9.3, however, when you then try to get to 9.3 or 9.4 of the OneFS, it's been pulled from the download of the Dell website and we're referring back to 9.2.1 as the target code."
"My experience with customer service and technical support has been challenging. The reason is that it is difficult to find subject matter experts around the solution."
"I would like to see increased reporting and statistics functionalities."
"The management and monitoring tools comprise a disparate suite of products and the roadmap is very unclear. We've got four different products that look after the Isilon, management-wise, and it's a bit of a mess."
"I'm not sure how easy it is to use on the cloud versus on-prem."
"I'm not sure how easy it is to use on the cloud versus on-prem. If they have different user experiences, they should work to make the two as similar as possible to make it easy for a user to understand both even if they only deal mainly with one."
"I think that it should work better with Microsoft solutions, more integrated with Microsoft. We also need integrated NAS and block storage."
"If you overthink provisioning, if you over-allocate, if it gets full, or if something crazy happens and you haven't been watching, then you can lose data."
"This product is probably one of the most complex to set up on the market."
"We had to write a number of custom tools or scripts ourselves to use it as a staging area between our on-premises datacenter and our cloud installation."
"The solution could improve by having better support experts. For example, they do not have clear instructions on configuration."
"The solution could improve by having better support experts. For example, they do not have clear instructions on configuration."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Price was also a significant factor in our decision to go with PowerScale. The team at EMC, now Dell EMC, came through with a highly competitive offer that tipped the scales towards their solution. There was only one other solution around the same price point, but it could not match PowerScale on features. That other solution is no longer on the market."
"Dealing with the product costs and licensing areas is getting easier since Dell is simplifying the licensing process and licensing packages offered to users."
"It is an expensive solution."
"Dell PowerScale is an expensive solution compared to other products like Qumulo."
"The platform is not cheap. However, on the software side, you can choose what you want license. So, you can start your licensing with the features that you need, then after buying the platform add some other features."
"Dell PowerScale is expensive on the start-up side but we can recoup those costs quickly by not having to reapply the savings to other equipment."
"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."
"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."
"We negotiate whatever deal we can get on the type of storage that it is, but it's totally under our control,."
"NetApp Private Storage is cheaper here in India compared to other solutions, such as Dell."
"The product is costly."
"The price of NetApp Private Storage is similar to other solutions. There is typically an annual license required for this solution."
"The price could be lower."
"In general, I am pleased with the pricing, though it is a little high."
"It is an expensive solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Construction Company
8%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business25
Midsize Enterprise23
Large Enterprise51
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise7
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Dell EMC PowerScale (Isilon)?
I think Dell PowerScale (Isilon) could improve some functions such as Apache S3 or containerized storage support, as these aspects are not well-developed. Their support system is weak; many issues ...
What is your primary use case for Dell EMC PowerScale (Isilon)?
Our primary use cases include virtualization storage and external storage via NFS.
What needs improvement with NetApp Private Storage?
They can make more solutions for cloud integration in NetApp Private Storage. It should be easier to use the cloud S3 integration, maybe from a NetApp interface, where users can choose the type of ...
What is your primary use case for NetApp Private Storage?
It consists of a large production company and national television channels broadcasting 24/7. We wanted to choose a stable product with flawless SLA levels for an organization that broadcasts 24/7....
What advice do you have for others considering NetApp Private Storage?
I believe it will deliver the expected performance and stability for television channels and production studios. On a scale of 1-10, I rate NetApp Private Storage an 8.
 

Also Known As

PowerScale, Dell EMC Isilon
NPS
 

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,
ASE IT, Concerto Cloud
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell PowerScale vs. NetApp Private Storage and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
895,891 professionals have used our research since 2012.