Dell SC Series vs HPE Primera comparison

Dell Technologies and Hewlett Packard Enterprise are both solutions in the All-Flash Storage category. Dell Technologies is ranked #27 with an average rating of 9.3, while Hewlett Packard Enterprise is ranked #11 with an average rating of 8.1. Dell Technologies holds a 0.9% mindshare in AFS, compared to Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s 3.8% mindshare. Additionally, 94% of Dell Technologies users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 94% of Hewlett Packard Enterprise users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 18, 2024

The Dell SC Series and HPE Primera are strong competitors in the storage solution market. Based on data comparisons, HPE Primera generally has the upper hand due to its advanced capabilities and high availability, despite the higher cost.

Features: Dell SC Series offers scalability, high performance, and competitive pricing, which resonate well with users. HPE Primera provides high availability, comprehensive integration with virtual environments, and a range of advanced features that make it a powerful choice.

Room for Improvement: Dell SC Series needs enhanced documentation, increased frequency of updates, and improved reliability. HPE Primera would benefit from reducing complexity, providing more user-friendly management tools, and streamlining configuration processes.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Dell SC Series is known for easy deployment with some initial configuration challenges and high responsiveness in customer service. HPE Primera, while requiring more expertise for deployment, offers comprehensive onboarding support which users find valuable for addressing complex issues.

Pricing and ROI: Dell SC Series has a lower initial setup cost and provides a quicker ROI, appealing to budget-conscious users. HPE Primera, with a higher cost, is seen as a worthwhile investment for its advanced features and long-term benefits. Satisfaction rates with pricing and ROI are higher for Dell SC Series, although those needing advanced functionality find HPE Primera’s costs justified.

To learn more, read our detailed Dell SC Series vs. HPE Primera Report (Updated: January 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Dell SC Series vs. HPE Primera

January 2025

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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

Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the All-Flash Storage category, the mindshare of Pure FlashArray X NVMe is 0.8%, down from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell SC Series is 0.9%, down from 1.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HPE Primera is 3.8%, down from 5.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

All-Flash Storage

Featured Reviews

Eugene Hemphill

Sales Manager at Multicomputos PR

Helps to save money and resources with the data compression feature

One point I'd like to improve is that the tool should start selling small boxes again. It discontinued some products and is focusing on bigger, more capable boxes, neglecting the SMB market. Even though it's not a big market, it shouldn't have removed them. One way to improve the product is to add an operational assistant that doesn't depend on VMware. It could also establish more alliances with other operational systems.

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Steven McClendon

Data Center Server & Storage Administrator at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees

Superior platform with excellent snapshots and cost-saving auto-tiering

I'm a big fan of the SC Series platform. Its feature set is superior to some of the other platforms. The snapshots on SC are excellent, allowing for multiple snapshot schedules for any one system. The auto-tiering functionality intelligently moves new data to the highest performance tier and then progresses it down to less expensive tiers over time, providing cost savings for customers.

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Taufeeq Rauf

Head of IT at NATIONAL INSTITUTIONAL FACILITATION TECHNOLOGIES (PVT.) LTD.

Offers a simple user interface and is useful for data replication

I use HPE Primera for mission-critical applications. My company uses the product as a storage solution for our machines. The availability of HPE Primera in our company is critical for us, considering that we operate in an HA environment where we can't have downtime since we need to deal with cheque clearance for banks. The product's interface is simple to use. I am satisfied with the user experience provided by the product. The ease of use of the product's interface has directly had an impact on our company's operations, along with the improvement in the availability and performance of machines. Compared to HPE Primera, I work with a much more reliable storage solution like Dell PowerStore. Compared to HPE Primera, Dell PowerStore's features related to deduplication are very good, and it also offers a physical storage capacity of eight TB, which can be expanded up to forty TB. I would recommend the product to others who plan to use it only after taking into consideration their usage and requirements. From the price and performance point of view, Dell PowerStore is a better choice. I rate the tool a seven out of ten.

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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 scalable."

"Offers excellent features like efficient data reduction, a reliable SafeMode, and a great support model for continuous assistance and updates."

"We are satisfied with the performance as it is significantly faster compared to traditional storage options."

"On a scale of one to ten, I rate Pure FlashArray as ten."

"One of the best features is the support, which is excellent."

"The most valuable feature of this solution is its ease of use."

"We're able to get higher-density workloads on the same infrastructure, and we have a smaller physical footprint. The performance is excellent – during our test the bottlenecks are never on the X array, it just keeps picking up the pace to match what you need. The real-time visibility is a differentiator in my opinion."

"The solution uses newer technology for deduplication and compression."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pros

"The setup is straightforward."

"Customers are most impressed with SC's provisioning because you don't need to buy a large amount of storage upfront. It's pay-as-you-grow. It also has solid compression and duplication features."

"What is most valuable about the Dell EMC SC Series system was its reliability."

"It was very easy to install, maintain, and provides excellent manageability."

"We see very low latency with very high IOPS for mixed workloads."

"The most valuable feature is the speed for the end-user."

"It had many features, like a snapshot, replication, on-the-file RAID levels, mix-and-match files, those kinds of things."

"Dell SC Series' most valuable features are performance and network facilities. We have no issues with its integration. The tool helps to visualize servers."

More Dell SC Series pros

"The initial setup is very straightforward. It's not overly complex."

"The most important thing that we had found when we purchased this product around six months back was its 100% availability and uptime."

"For over a year, I have not seen any downtime in the product."

"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."

"Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."

"The performance of the solution is good."

"The product has better replication features than the previous products."

"HPE Primera is stable."

More HPE Primera pros

Cons

"The tool's pricing is higher than competitors."

"We would like to see more visibility into garbage collection and CPU performance in the GUI."

"Efficiency improvements would always be welcome, but I'm not sure if they could get more efficient."

"We need better data deduplication."

"I would like to see some AI features that would allow arrays to intelligently identify threats or unusual behavior in the data pattern and give an alert."

"I'd like to see the product implement active replication for vehicles such as VMware."

"They could add more support for file storage and different types of storage."

"In the future, I would like to see integration with enterprise backup systems."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe cons

"Dell SC Series is no longer available, while Dell PowerStore, which supports NVMe over TCP, is different and not very affordable."

"The initial setup is somewhat complex and should be made simpler to do."

"What I understand is that this is a 13 year old architecture, so it has lived its life and they're phasing it out. Honestly, we were initially struggling with the integration with VMware (but it was fixed with the VMware 6.5) and, then, it was around a 10GB network. At that time, it had the longevity to go to 100GB as well. It got us thinking about, when we go into the containerized architecture, what do we need to do to fix the infrastructure?"

"I would like to have 100% functionality through the web app."

"I would like to see an integrated key manager in the controllers. Currently, it's an external product. It would be nice to have the option of having a built-in key for self-encrypting drive features."

"I would like to see higher compression, dedupe, faster I/O, and bigger drives."

"It would be helpful if the solution offered higher performance, at least on the back end."

"Dell could improve the upgrading process."

More Dell SC Series cons

"There are certain shortcomings in the technical support offered by HPE where improvements are required."

"The solution has good performance but it could improve further."

"We face challenges with false alarms, particularly daily alerts related to replication link breaks. I'm not happy with the customer service and support."

"Some application solutions can be more acceptable on the HPE Primera site."

"HPE Primera's deduplication area is not as good as the one offered by Dell PowerStore, making it an area where improvements are required."

"We would like to have more flash storage and its stability. This is an area of challenge for us."

"This solution would be expensive for small business and it could be priced more competitively for that market."

"Only HPE can manage the product."

More HPE Primera cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The support cost per array is about $20,000 a year for 24/7 support."

"Given its price, Pure is not the first option."

"As far as the licensing costs, everything is included in the license."

"The tool's pricing is cheap; I rate it a six to seven out of ten. Most of our sales are not subscription-based. We sell the hardware, and customers keep using it. They only renew the service part annually. The support can be a bit pricey, but the solution is more cost-effective than anything else out there."

"The licensing is on a yearly basis."

"Pure FlashArray X NVMe’s pricing is cheaper than other products."

"Its price could be better. It is not too expensive, but it is the high-end cost. It is kind of a Rolls-Royce. You pay a lot, but you get a lot out of it. So, the price pressure on the way down would be great, but at the end of the day, if you need to do the work, you just pay for it."

"Pretty much everything that you need is licensed when you buy the product. Licensing to me is different than the maintenance cost, but they can bleed into one another. We buy the product, and we expect three years of support bundled into what we negotiate on our storage arrays. I would start to see maintenance costs going into the fourth year, but we're not there yet."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pricing and cost advice

"We have found the solution to be affordable."

"Always keep in mind, this is not just a enclosure with disks is a complete SAN as a service. There is software, license, and storage in one single solution."

"The pricing is reasonable, but it is expensive."

"Compared to other solutions out there, it's affordable."

"It is one of the most cost effective systems for us. We have been able to run it longer than most, getting the most benefit and money out of it."

"We have the basic license for the use of this solution and it is a permanent license. The overall cost could be less, it is expensive."

"There are costs involving the solution, vendor fees and product safety which are additional."

"We have reviewed many platforms over the years. It is probably the best solution for its value."

More Dell SC Series pricing and cost advice

"It’s a reasonable choice. When compared to other options, we've found it to be accessible and within our means."

"I rate the product price a seven on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive."

"The product is expensive."

"HPE Primera service is cost-effective."

"The solution is cost-effective. I rate it an eight out of ten, with ten being excellent."

"Licensing fees are billed on a yearly basis and the cost of GreenLake service is included."

"I believe HPE Primera and Pure Storage are similar in price."

"The license for HPE Primera is all-inclusive."

More HPE Primera pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Manufacturing Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Government

Computer Software Company

22%

University

Financial Services Firm

Government

Educational Organization

46%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Pure FlashArray X NVMe?

Pure FlashArray X NVMe helps to improve our processing speed. It is user-friendly and easy to use.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Pure FlashArray X NVMe?

I am an engineer and am not aware of the setup cost.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Pure FlashArray X NVMe?

Maybe the price can be reduced since the solution is very expensive.

See all answers

What do you like most about Dell SC Series?

I find this version to be more budget-friendly compared to products from other vendors. This aspect greatly benefits ...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell SC Series?

Cost considerations are crucial when choosing between solutions like Dell and NetApp. Sometimes Dell offers better pe...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Dell SC Series?

If Dell SC Series could have supported the protocol NVMe over TCP, that would have been great. It does not. Additiona...

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Which would you choose - HPE Nimble Storage or HPE Primera?

HPE Nimble is a versatile synced WAN San solution. It is easy to use and doesn’t require much training for admins. Th...

See all answers

What's the difference between HPE 3PAR StoreServ and HPE Primera?

HPE Primera has many great features but one of the best is that it is very easy to deploy. From an overall perspectiv...

See all answers

What do you like most about HPE Primera?

For over a year, I have not seen any downtime in the product.

See all answers

Comparisons

Dell PowerStore vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 36% of the time

TrueNAS R-Series vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 16% of the time

Pure Storage FlashBlade vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 15% of the time

Dell Unity XT vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 11% of the time

Dell PowerMax NVMe vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 9% of the time

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe Competitors

Dell PowerStore vs Dell SC Series

Compared 64% of the time

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) vs Dell SC Series

Compared 11% of the time

Dell Unity XT vs Dell SC Series

Compared 11% of the time

IBM FlashSystem vs Dell SC Series

Compared 8% of the time

IBM System Storage DS8000 Series vs Dell SC Series

Compared 5% of the time

More Dell SC Series Competitors

HPE Alletra Storage vs HPE Primera

Compared 30% of the time

HPE 3PAR StoreServ vs HPE Primera

Compared 18% of the time

HPE Nimble Storage vs HPE Primera

Compared 12% of the time

Dell PowerStore vs HPE Primera

Compared 9% of the time

Dell Unity XT vs HPE Primera

Compared 5% of the time

More HPE Primera Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Pure FlashArray X NVMe

January 2025

Download Pure FlashArray X NVMe product report

Buyer's Guide

Dell SC Series

January 2025

Download Dell SC Series product report

Buyer's Guide

HPE Primera

January 2025

Download HPE Primera product report

Also Known As

Pure FlashArray//X NVMe, Pure FlashArray//X, FlashArray//X

SC Series Storage, Compellent

Primera

Overview

Pure Storage FlashArray//X is the world’s first enterprise-class, all-NVMe flash storage array. It represents a new class of storage – shared accelerated storage, which is a term coined by Gartner – that delivers major breakthroughs in performance, simplicity, and consolidation.

Pure Storage

Dell EMC SC Series arrays provide a unified platform for the ultimate in performance, adaptability and machine-driven efficiency. SC Series software delivers modern features that help you meet aggressive workload demands using the fewest drives necessary. With an open, future-ready design, SC Series storage integrates seamlessly with applications and infrastructure, enabling you to scale on a single platform and add capabilities without forklift upgrades.

Dell Technologies

HPE introduces HPE Primera, a new storage platform designed to deliver superior simplicity, availability, and performance for mission-critical applications
HPE Primera advances the HPE Intelligent Data Platform, a portfolio of products and solutions designed to help customers transition from delivering storage to unlocking business value with intelligent data

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Sample Customers

Fremont Bank, Judson ISD, The Nielsen Company

TGen, Frost Science, Gerrie Electric

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Dell SC Series vs. HPE Primera

January 2025

Free Report: Dell SC Series vs. HPE Primera

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