Dell SC Series vs IBM System Storage DS8000 Series comparison

Dell Technologies and IBM are both solutions in the Frame-Based Disk Arrays category. Dell Technologies is ranked #3 with an average rating of 9.0, while IBM is ranked #2. Dell Technologies holds a 11.7% mindshare in FBDA, compared to IBM’s 34.4% mindshare. Additionally, 94% of Dell Technologies users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 85% of IBM users who would recommend it.

Dell SC Series

Read 54 Dell SC Series reviews

71 Views
60 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

IBM System Storage DS8000 S...

Read 6 IBM System Storage DS8000 Series reviews

225 Views
128 Comparison Views

85% willing to recommend

Dell SC Series

IBM System Storage DS8000 S...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Dell SC Series and IBM System Storage DS8000 Series based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Frame-Based Disk Arrays solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Dell SC Series vs. IBM System Storage DS8000 Series Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Dell SC Series vs. IBM System Storage DS8000 Series

March 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

Dell SC Series

Ranking in Frame-Based Disk Arrays

3rd

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

All-Flash Storage (18th)

IBM System Storage DS8000 S...

Ranking in Frame-Based Disk Arrays

2nd

Average Rating

9.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Frame-Based Disk Arrays category, the mindshare of Dell SC Series is 11.7%, down from 17.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM System Storage DS8000 Series is 34.4%, up from 28.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Frame-Based Disk Arrays

Featured Reviews

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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reviewer1392684

Solution Architect; Senior Manager Mainframe Technical Service at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Great Global Copy and Global Mirror features with an easy initial setup

We're just a customer. We don't have a business relationship with the company. I'm an outsourcing service provider and I've had a lot of experience using the solution. We have everything from DS8100 disc storage, all the way up to 8990s. I'd advise new users to read the implementation installation guide. Most of the questions are answered in there. People just tend to skim over it and don't get into the details. However, it's important in making everything run smoothly and understanding the solution. That's probably the best advice I've actually heard from anybody. At the end of the day, don't be someone who skips the instructions, and all of a sudden you have a pile of parts. I'd rate the solution nine 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 most valuable feature is the no-forklift upgrade. While the thing is running, I can change out the controllers one at a time and keep the customer up and running. I can add shelves and storage and SSD drives or spinning drives to the system, while it's running. I can bring all that in and rebalance the load across the new disks or, if we take disks away, rebalance the load across what's remaining, and it just works."

"This solution is easy to use."

"Everything is sub-5 MS for us. What I've found is that, with all-flash, when an app from my business is slow, I pretty much know it's them and not me. It leads to a performance conversation that has really hit an interesting threshold point where we are better than what they need. So now we get to have that "refactoring your application" conversation a lot quicker because now the performance on the infrastructure side isn't in question anymore."

"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."

"Its feature set is superior to some of the other platforms."

"I find this version to be more budget-friendly compared to products from other vendors. This aspect greatly benefits my customers. It's highly advantageous due to its affordability. The operational aspect is also noteworthy. Additionally, its availability and performance are commendable. The speaker are also equally powerful."

"The solution is stable; we've had no problems at all."

"With federation, you can have multiple systems across sites. You can treat them as one, and with a live migration, volumes don't go down. You can move them from site to site, doing maintenance, and keep your environment up."

More Dell SC Series pros

"The Global Copy and Global Mirror features are the solution's most valuable aspects."

"The high throughput feature is the most powerful thing in this product."

Cons

"In terms of additional features, I would like to see some kind of I/O meter, to indicate what we are using in terms of performance. I would like to see automation with that, where it would give me the trends. I want to know those things easily, to help me know where issues are going to occur."

"The lack of reporting would be the main issue."

"The ease of use could be improved. It took me a while to learn it."

"Technical support should respond more quickly because the turnaround time is very high."

"The lower model, the 3000, should have duplication. It doesn't right now. It's only from 5000 that this is offered, but it depends on the performance. It could be they don't offer it on lower models because the duplication is too much of a burden to the performance."

"The tool's pricing is high and not suitable for medium companies."

"The SC Series doesn't support NVMe storage."

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

More Dell SC Series cons

"The GUI isn't as user-friendly as other options."

"The solution should embedded replication switches into the hardware instead of using them externally."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It has a good price point and offers some value-added enterprise features."

"Pricing depends on varying life cycles."

"The SC Series was priced fairly. I wouldn't call it either expensive or cheap because we had a very tight budget, so if they were able to fit in that type of budget, they met our expectations."

"The pricing of Dell EMC Compellent is competitive."

"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."

"It's a very affordable solution."

"We were able to afford two tiers of flash storage at a price where the competition was giving us one tier or just a handful of discs."

"The maintenance is usually pretty good. It's not like some of the others where they increase it in the fourth, fifth, or sixth years."

More Dell SC Series pricing and cost advice

"The license is very expensive."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

22%

University

10%

Financial Services Firm

Government

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

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 my customers. It's highly advantageous due to its affordability. The operational...

See all answers

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 performance for less money. That said, the costs can vary.

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What needs improvement with Dell SC Series?

In the future, I want any box that comes on-premises to have the provision to integrate with cloud storage. If I want a second copy or need to replicate data from on-premises to the cloud, this pro...

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Dell SC Series

March 2025

Download Dell SC Series product report

Buyer's Guide

IBM System Storage DS8000 Series

March 2025

Download IBM System Storage DS8000 Series product report

Also Known As

SC Series Storage, Compellent

System Storage DS8000

Overview

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

IBMÂ System StorageÂ DS8000Â series is a high-performance, high-capacity series of disk storage that supports continuous operations. The DS8000 series includes theÂ DS8800 (Models 951 and 95E) and theÂ DS8700 (Models 941 and 94E).

IBM

Sample Customers

TGen, Frost Science, Gerrie Electric

Renfe, Park Nicollet Health Services, Ricoh Americas Corporation, SK Energy, SWK STADTWERKE KREFELD AG

Buyer's Guide

Dell SC Series vs. IBM System Storage DS8000 Series

March 2025

Free Report: Dell SC Series vs. IBM System Storage DS8000 Series

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