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Dell PowerScale (Isilon) 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 (Isilon)
Ranking in NAS
2nd
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
65
Ranking in other categories
File and Object Storage (3rd)
NetApp Private Storage
Ranking in NAS
15th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the NAS category, the mindshare of Dell PowerScale (Isilon) is 17.7%, up from 17.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetApp Private Storage is 1.7%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
NAS
 

Featured Reviews

Scott Taylor - PeerSpot reviewer
Manages large data sets efficiently with hybrid cloud integration
My organization is quite large, with about 30,000 employees. The growth has been substantial in areas such as radiology and genomics. One of the best features we've utilized recently is offload to cloud pools due to capacity constraints on-premise. We didn't want to expand Dell PowerScale (Isilon) straight away, so we utilized cloud pools to offload some data to Azure. That's really saved us in certain areas as we didn't have funding to expand Dell PowerScale (Isilon) until next year, which is why we utilized the cloud pools functionality to offload.
Pramod-Talekar - PeerSpot reviewer
Well-suited for virtualized environments and highly stable solution
We are in a VMware Intra environment, so we are utilizing NetApp Storage for our virtualization infrastructure NetApp offers multiple features that we utilize for our projects. At the moment, we are extensively using SnapMirror Flex. There is room for improvement in the support. It has been a…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable features of the solution are flexibility and ease of implementation."
"The recent introduction of inline deduplication and compression has drastically improved our efficiency ratios to make it an economical product. This solution has also had a positive impact on our employees' productivity because it reduces the amount of admin that our staff needs to handle."
"Dell has the AI to protect the EMA."
"Its most valuable feature is the DR capabilities replication."
"The guaranteed performance, combined with the scalability through its scale-out capability, makes it an excellent choice."
"The most valuable feature we started using, beyond the initial scope for the solution, is the multi-protocol system that allows you to access the same set of files using different network protocols like NFS or SMB. PowerScale’s Unified Permission Model ensures that data security and access permissions are honoured regardless of whether the client is a Windows desktop or a Linux server"
"There are also the policies that you set up on replication and purging files, and policies for something called WORM. That's a "write once, read many," where you can't overwrite certain files or certain data. It puts them in a "protected mode" where it becomes very difficult for someone to accidentally delete. We use that for certain files or certain directories, because we're dealing with video and some video has to be protected for chain-of-custody purposes. The WORM feature works great."
"On a scale of one to ten, with one being worst and ten being best, I would rate Dell PowerScale (Isilon) a ten."
"At the moment, we are extensively using SnapMirror."
"The solution scales well."
"Very stable and very scalable."
"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."
"NetApp is faster than other storage brands."
"NetApp has really added a lot of features over the years to improve the product and performance. They can do things now like control ingress. They can control egress."
"The solution is stable."
"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."
 

Cons

"The price of the solution could be reduced."
"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."
"The analytics could be improved."
"The cost of Dell PowerScale is currently high and there is room for improvement."
"We see room for improvement in Dell PowerScale (Isilon) because we need personnel to effectively utilize all our infrastructure; it's not easy to find skilled people to work on AI and data analysis."
"The solution’s interface and pricing could be improved."
"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 switch to a more efficient environment with all-flash."
"The solution can be integrated with an automation system. Dell uses another framework developed in-house. They can integrate it with machines."
"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 hardware does not last as long as it could with new software."
"There may actually be so many features that the end-user gets lost in the volume."
"I would like to have the Active-Active feature. Some competitors already have it. I would like NetApp to add it to stay competitive."
"The users find the new version's GUI complicated to use."
"The solution could improve by having better support experts. For example, they do not have clear instructions on configuration."
"NetApp Private Storage is still integrated into the ISCSI connectivity and the FC protocol. I would recommend them to migrate to the FCIP because the SAN switches are moving further to an FCIP, and are scaling out of the ISCSI connectivity. Sooner or later, that will be an issue for NetApp Private Storage. An NFCIP should be available to them moving three years down the line."
"It is not the fastest storage solution."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Pricing for this solution is reasonable."
"The price of the solution can fluctuate. The price can be competitive or other times not. The price of the solution could be better."
"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."
"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 product with a high storage capacity suitable for large data requirements."
"Dell PowerScale (Isilon) is an expensive solution."
"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."
"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,."
"The price of NetApp Private Storage is similar to other solutions. There is typically an annual license required for this solution."
"It is an expensive solution."
"The product is costly."
"The price could be lower."
"In general, I am pleased with the pricing, though it is a little high."
"NetApp Private Storage is cheaper here in India compared to other solutions, such as Dell."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Healthcare Company
8%
Computer Software Company
21%
Real Estate/Law Firm
13%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
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)?
We have to go through a certified reseller for Dell PowerScale (Isilon). From a value standpoint, it performs very well.
What needs improvement with Dell EMC PowerScale (Isilon)?
There will always be room for improvement with Dell PowerScale (Isilon). They should add some new services that should be for on-premises, and more analytics should be there for the data, allowing ...
What do you like most about NetApp Private Storage?
NetApp is faster than other storage brands.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetApp Private Storage?
The product is costly. Also, we need to pay for features like SnapMirror, etc. I rate its pricing a nine out of ten.
What needs improvement with NetApp Private Storage?
NetApp is a great storage device, but sometimes support is not accessible. Also, the current version has removed most of the dashboard features. We have to use the CLI for some tasks. Additionally,...
 

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 (Isilon) vs. NetApp Private Storage and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
861,524 professionals have used our research since 2012.