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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
94
Ranking in other categories
File and Object Storage (1st)
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 June 2026, in the NAS category, the mindshare of Dell PowerScale is 14.6%, down from 17.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetApp Private Storage is 3.0%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
NAS Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Dell PowerScale14.6%
NetApp Private Storage3.0%
Other82.4%
NAS
 

Featured Reviews

SK
Solutions Architect at a university with 10,001+ employees
Operates seamlessly and minimizes downtime while meeting enterprise file share demands
The features of Dell PowerScale (Isilon) that I appreciate the most include the scale of architecture and the way it is designed. These features benefit my company by providing less downtime and less overhead. While I have not calculated an exact number regarding the reduction in downtime, we have always been using the product, so we have no baseline to compare it to. However, it is a very good product. Dell PowerScale (Isilon) scales very well with the growing needs of my company.
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 inter-cluster replication feature, called SyncIQ, allows you to set up all of the jobs and move your data entirely, either timely or all at once."
"The solution in general has allowed us to move off of multiple Windows boxes where they had huge data stores, and we migrated it to the Isilon, making it easier and more cost-effective with just one point of contact."
"My favorite thing about Dell PowerScale is its scalability."
"Dell PowerScale (Isilon) has powerful security, which makes it a very reliable storage solution for our content, and also the support and observability of our system; the call home feature is fantastic because when it presents an issue, Dell automatically opens a ticket regarding any warnings or alerts, allowing us to have a complete view of our system's health."
"Its most valuable feature is the DR capabilities replication."
"The major advantages include data protection, ransomware protection, and cloud capabilities, and the primary advantage is the ability to use the entire cluster in one unified file system, which is a feature I have not observed in other products."
"PowerScale helps our clients consolidate data storage and multiple applications onto a single platform for easier manageability."
"I have absolutely seen ROI with Dell PowerScale, as the savings in staffing time and production from reducing a six-month job that could otherwise take years are substantial."
"The most valuable feature is integration."
"NetApp has its own dedicated operating system, so it will not be affected by any wireless piggybacking or malware. That's the beauty of NetApp's operating system."
"When it came time to replace, we evaluated EMC, NetApp, IBM again and chose NetApp and have not regretted it."
"The most valuable feature is integration."
"Really, I sell only NetApp because I know it and it's really good and very predictable."
"If your company has the budget for NetApp Private Storage I would recommend it."
"The most valuable feature of NetApp Private Storage is out-of-the-box integration with the SAN switches; they are much easier compared to Dell solutions, and the connector that comes with the solution that allows connection back to the Cisco SAN switches is very good."
"The most valuable feature of NetApp Private Storage is out-of-the-box integration with the SAN switches. They are much easier compared to Dell solutions. Additionally, the connector that comes with the solution that allows connection back to the Cisco SAN switches is very good. In Dell, I would need to use an FCIP or CIP port that is required."
 

Cons

"The solution lacks a cloud version."
"Dell PowerScale needs to reduce its price."
"The pricing could be reduced."
"Perhaps if there was a local chatbot built within the system or on the dashboard where we could directly ask for anything on the OneFS, it could help us."
"There aren't many templates still coming out for it. They need to provide templates so we can copy and paste what we've done in the past to future, new things."
"The product needs to improve CLI since commands are complex. The search option is also difficult since you must give the full path."
"The solution's rate structure or rate redundancy needs to be improved."
"The solution isn't suitable for small environments or small customers."
"The users find the new version's GUI complicated to use."
"I think that it should work better with Microsoft solutions, more integrated with Microsoft. We also need integrated NAS and block storage."
"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."
"There may actually be so many features that the end-user gets lost in the volume."
"The hardware does not last as long as it could with new software."
"The documentation could be improved."
"The solution could improve by having better support experts. For example, they do not have clear instructions on configuration."
"I would like to see the GUI management simplified in the next release."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This solution is priced slightly higher than others on the market but does offer good quality. With this solution's data reduction and compression, we were able to purchase less. Costs have dropped because of the data rate of compression and deduplication."
"It is a really expensive solution."
"The general cost for a system like this is expensive. The total cost depends on your use case. You need to pay for every additional feature that you use."
"It is an expensive product with a high storage capacity suitable for large data requirements."
"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."
"Dell PowerScale is an expensive solution compared to other products like Qumulo."
"The only drawback for us is that it's a large upfront investment. This was a huge decision for a startup company to make. It took a bit for us to get over the line on it, but we have not regretted it."
"In general, I am pleased with the pricing, though it is a little high."
"It is an expensive solution."
"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."
"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."
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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
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Construction Company
8%
Outsourcing 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 believe the support engineers need to improve their skills. In our case, the engineer provides adequate hardware support, but they lack expertise in supporting Dell PowerScale's API and Kubernete...
What is your primary use case for Dell EMC PowerScale (Isilon)?
Dell PowerScale's primary use case for our organization is server virtualization.
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.
896,563 professionals have used our research since 2012.