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

"It is fast and performs well."

"The most valuable feature is the ability to replicate. We are running a financial company and it needs to be available 24/7. We can't afford any downtime."

"We replicate between SAN to SAN for a lot of features and supportability. It also helps us when we want to upgrade to a newer SC Series or move the data from one data center to another."

"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."

"The solution is stable."

"Easy management of volumes: You can create volumes and easily assign them to VMware clusters, increasing their size."

"The performance benefits weren't surprising, we expected that. What we didn't expect were the densification benefits that we got out of going all-flash. We're able to put more applications on the arrays because of how all-flash performs. The way some of the application profiles have responded to all-flash has been really pleasing."

"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."

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

"From a performance point of view, it's getting a bit old."

"In the future, I want any box that comes on-premises to have the provision to integrate with cloud storage."

"Snapshots in VMware. You can’t do snapshots since the storage itself does that. Therefore, some apps (Veeam, for example) don’t work well with this kind of tiering storage."

"Dell could improve the upgrading process."

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

"I would like to improve the processing ability."

"In the future, I want any box that comes on-premises to have the provision to integrate with cloud storage."

"This solution could be improved if overall performance was improved and operated with a higher speed and supported a higher volume of RAM."

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

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

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

"The pricing of Dell EMC Compellent is competitive."

"This solution could be better priced in comparison with other vendors."

"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."

"It's absolutely affordable. Again, not having to do a forklift upgrade like some of the others have had to do in the past, it's very affordable for our customers and they continue to buy."

"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."

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...

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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 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

Find out what your peers are saying about Dell SC Series vs. IBM System Storage DS8000 Series and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.

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