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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
87
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 solution is stable."
"Dell PowerScale includes a wealth of features that are important from a security and recovery perspective."
"Dell PowerScale's performance is good."
"It's easy to manage. The web UI is very intuitive, and there's CLI also that you can use to manage it."
"The most valuable feature for me is SyncIQ."
"The best thing is that it works. We don't have to maintain it too much; we usually upgrade once a year."
"The most valuable feature of Dell PowerScale is its scalability."
"I would rate Dell PowerScale (Isilon) as a product a ten out of ten."
"The solution scales well."
"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."
"Integration with other NetApp solutions and merging them is manageable."
"The beauty is it's worth it."
"The most valuable feature is integration."
"It gave us a platform which could clearly arrange all our files and volumes."
"For recording and stability, NetApp Private Storage is the best."
"When it came time to replace, we evaluated EMC, NetApp, IBM again and chose NetApp and have not regretted it."
 

Cons

"The deployment of Dell PowerScale (Isilon) is not really complex but depends on the hardware deployment."
"The legacy file system for Epsilon didn't scale into the cloud and didn't have a separate OS. It would be key if this was made possible."
"It would be nice to see tools like Superna Eyeglass built into PowerScale."
"Dell PowerScale (Isilon) certainly has room for improvement; since it does not provide SAN at the moment, I would look for Dell to create a complete unified solution just like NetApp."
"We're struggling with the UID mapping and how to configure mapping-related things."
"There are some missing features in the product, especially when our company needs to do some tape backup, and we see that the tool doesn't have integration capabilities."
"If I could improve one thing on Dell PowerScale (Isilon), it would be better object storage as it recently breached into S3, and that capability could be broadened."
"It is a bit higher priced than some of the other systems."
"The one thing I've noticed with NetApp when you buy hardware and you can use it for a while and then you have to get new hardware."
"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 have the Active-Active feature. Some competitors, like Nutanix, already have it."
"I think that it should work better with Microsoft solutions, more integrated with Microsoft. We also need integrated NAS and block storage."
"I'm not sure how easy it is to use on the cloud versus on-prem."
"I would like to see the GUI management simplified in the next release."
"The hardware does not last as long as it could with new software."
"I would like to have the Active-Active feature. Some competitors already have it. I would like NetApp to add it to stay competitive."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of the solution is high."
"Dell PowerScale is an expensive solution compared to other products like Qumulo."
"The solution's licensing cost varies based on capacity and performance requirements."
"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."
"We paid an additional fee to have Dell's ProDeploy Plus team implement it."
"Our company finds the pricing high, but it decreases over time."
"The price of Dell PowerScale (Isilon) is reasonable."
"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 solution."
"The price could be lower."
"In general, I am pleased with the pricing, though it is a little high."
"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."
"NetApp Private Storage is cheaper here in India compared to other solutions, such as Dell."
"We negotiate whatever deal we can get on the type of storage that it is, but it's totally under our control,."
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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 Business23
Midsize Enterprise21
Large Enterprise49
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.
895,151 professionals have used our research since 2012.