Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series comparison

Hitachi Vantara and Lenovo are both solutions in the All-Flash Storage category. Hitachi Vantara is ranked #12 with an average rating of 8.1, while Lenovo is ranked #24 with an average rating of 9.3. Hitachi Vantara holds a 3.1% mindshare in AFS, compared to Lenovo’s 2.5% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of Hitachi Vantara users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Lenovo users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 18, 2024

Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform and Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series are strong competitors in storage solutions. Users are more satisfied with the performance and support of Hitachi, while Lenovo is favored for its cost-effectiveness and comprehensive features.

Features: Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform is praised for its high availability, scalability, and advanced data management. Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is noted for its ease of use, reliable performance, and integration with other Lenovo solutions. The primary difference is that Hitachi offers more advanced data management features, while Lenovo provides better integration and ease of use.

Room for Improvement: Users suggest improvements in Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform's initial setup complexity and cost. Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series users point out the need for enhanced features in data protection and performance analytics. Hitachi needs to simplify its setup, while Lenovo should focus on adding more advanced features.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform's deployment is more complex but supported by strong customer service. Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is easier to deploy, with moderate customer service support. Deployment is straightforward with Lenovo but more supported with Hitachi.

Pricing and ROI: Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform has higher setup costs but offers a high ROI due to its performance and features. Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series offers competitive pricing and a good ROI, favored for cost-conscious buyers. Hitachi users pay more upfront but gain more value over time, whereas Lenovo users benefit from lower costs and good returns.

To learn more, read our detailed Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series Report (Updated: January 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

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 February 2025, in the All-Flash Storage category, the mindshare of Pure FlashArray X NVMe is 0.7%, down from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform is 3.1%, up from 3.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is 2.5%, down from 2.6% 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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Ozair Amin

Sales Manager - Infrastructure at Synergy Computers

A robust and dependable product that ensures a 100 percent data availability guarantee

We don't encounter any challenges in selling these Hitachi VSPs to our customers. These products boast an exceptionally robust architecture, making them highly reliable. This reliability is the key reason behind our lack of challenges. However, when we delve into the realm of competition, particularly in the unified storage sector, we do face certain challenges. This is primarily due to the usage of gateways in their storage solutions by some competitors. Unlike other competitors such as NetApp and Huawei, who do not employ gateways, we contend with challenges related to these gateways within the context of unified products. Many customers have been utilizing Hitachi Vantara for several years, relying on its storage capabilities. They appreciate its reliable roadmaps, which facilitate long-term planning. This makes it an effortless choice for customers to opt for Hitachi Vantara, as the product seamlessly accommodates updates and future changes. The key focal point of the Hitachi Vantara roadmap for our clients is centered around future upgrades. Typically, customers undergo tech refresh cycles approximately every five years. Consequently, when they embark on a tech refresh initiative, they tend to prioritize options that facilitate a smooth transition of data to alternative storage solutions. In this context, Hitachi Vantara leverages its external storage virtualization platform to ensure a seamless data migration process. This approach proves to be highly advantageous for our customers, and it stands as a primary reason for their choice to engage with Hitachi Vantara's offerings. Our customers are highly satisfied with their choice to acquire Hitachi products and services. I have not observed any of our customers shifting away from the Hitachi brand. I would recommend Hitachi Vantara 100 percent of the time to others. There are tools that assist us in accessing the IOPS per second and latencies of Hitachi Vantara systems. One such tool is the CPK tool, accessible through the Hitachi Vantara portal. Whenever we configure a product and a customer requests information about the IOPS and latencies, we can provide them with a report from the portal. This report includes details about reads, writes, IOPS, and sequential operations, offering a comprehensive overview of the IOPS performance that Hitachi Vantara offers. The combination of low latency and high performance has consistently assisted customers in improving their production and enhancing their working experience. It also aids them in easily managing the product, giving them time to expand their knowledge and plan for the future, rather than dealing with storage-related issues. The cost comparison of IOPS between our solutions and those of competitors is favorable at present, but this wasn't always the case. In the Pakistani market, Huawei used to be highly competitive. However, our current partnership with Hitachi has allowed us to pose a strong challenge to Huawei. Additionally, when considering products from NetApp, EMC, and even IBM, Hitachi remains highly competitive. Hitachi offers flexible media options to support the consolidation of multiple uses within the same platform which is important to our customers. Most of our customers utilize Unified Storage, employing a two-tier storage approach that includes both NVMe and SSDs. However, current trends indicate a shift in customer preferences towards NVMe over SAAS or SSDs due to the heightened reliability and increased cost-effectiveness of NVMe technology. This transition is driving many customers to adopt a comprehensive NVMe solution. Nonetheless, a substantial number of large customers still adhere to the two-tier storage model. For their primary tier, they employ NVMe drives, while for the secondary tier, they opt for NFS drives or a SAAS-based large-scale service. The integration of various use cases into a unified platform to facilitate the transformation of data into business insights is highly valuable. We receive input from our customers regarding their workloads. Based on the nature of these workloads and their intended use for storage – whether for ERP solutions, archives, or backup purposes – we recommend the appropriate storage type. These steps outline our process for evaluating the intended storage workload. Following this workload assessment, we suggest either NAS Unified Storage or Document Storage solutions. In the portal, there is a tool that enables us to calculate Hitachi's guaranteed effective capacity. It is quite straightforward for customers to comprehend and identify the effective capacity ratio. This is because many customers in Pakistan are already familiar with and using effective capacity ratios. Explaining the concept of effective capacity to customers is not a challenging task. Customers typically appreciate the Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform due to its efficiency, easy product manageability, and product reliability, all of which offer significant benefits to the customers. This is crucial, especially in sectors like banking, where any breach or downtime could lead to substantial losses for customers. The uninterrupted operation of storage is paramount. This substantial benefit not only ensures customer satisfaction but also underscores the value derived from data utilization. Hitachi's adaptive data reduction technology assists in decreasing our client's storage footprint by around 50 percent. The majority of our customers were using storage from various vendors. We consolidated this storage into a single system using Hitachi Vantara.

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Gastone Canali

IT Consultant at Effegibi

Provides good stability and is reliable in terms of performance

The solution is reliable in terms of performance They should include a snapshot feature for the solution. We have been using the solution for two to three years. The solution is stable. We have 60 solution users in our organization. The solution's initial setup process is easy. It takes three…

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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 features of this solution are its ease of use and performance."

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

"Overall stability is very good. It is a very stable solution."

"The most valuable features of Pure FlashArray X NVMe are its superior performance compared to other flash tiers, as well as its ease of use, with an intuitive user interface that is simple to deploy and use."

"The system allows for seamless learning experiences, facilitating quick and easy cloning of environments within minutes."

"It has good, reliable, fast storage."

"I appreciate the performance."

"Technical support has been helpful and responsive."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pros

"In terms of performance and ability, the product can stand up against its competitors since the solution offers two controller systems to users."

"The most valuable features are external storage virtualization and the 100 percent data guaranteed availability."

"It is the most stable high-end solution in this area."

"The most valuable feature of Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform G Series is the platform and overall usage has been good. We have not had very many issues."

"The hybrid array provides scaleable, predictable, high performance with no capacity constraints."

"It is very flexible, and it is very useful when you want to virtualize different storage from different vendors."

"The most valuable features in Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform F Series are Shadowimage, easy to manage equipment, and upgrading the firewire is very simple."

"It's a state of the art solution in storage systems. High-availability and performance are the strongest aspects of these machines."

More Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform pros

"The solution is very easy to troubleshoot. It's one of the most valuable features. It also doesn't take long to deploy and normally it comes with a three-year warranty."

"The solution's initial setup process is easy."

"Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is quite an elementary box, no frills. It does not have all the functionality of the DM but it is acceptable, it does its task. It integrates pretty well."

"This solution is good for virtualization and meets the need for CPU and RAM requirements."

"Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is highly reliable, especially for block-level storage. It is stable, with minimal downtime and no issues beyond user errors."

"The solution is very easy to set up."

"Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is simple to use"

"We have been working with the solution for around a year and so far it has shown itself to be stable."

More Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series pros

Cons

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

"There are some challenges with data encryption and reduction."

"We have run into a couple of instances recently where we are running out of space. So we have had to buy some more packs for it and they have deployed fine and it has increased smoothly."

"It feels more suitable for small and medium-sized businesses rather than enterprises."

"We've seen that when we create a POD in synchronous mode, it increases the latency."

"I want to see Pure Storage not only be for fast storage, but I want to see it be for the entire data center."

"We need better data deduplication."

"Right now, the box itself is just strictly working as a backend storage system. It would be fantastic if we could access it directly like a NAS device through network access or SIS drives. I think they have an interface, but I am not sure how good it is. If we could address a box directly on the network without having to go through a server, it would be great. The replication schemas could be improved. We are not using replication on the storage level right now. We use a different type of replication. If their replication would be as good as the one that we have, I would probably run the replication schema because it might be faster, but I don't know that for a fact. So, I cannot say that they have good replication. All I can say is that they need to inform us better."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe cons

"In terms of what could be improved, it could use a better, faster web console and other consoles. It is so boring waiting, waiting and waiting for it to refresh."

"The solution is stable. However, there have been some software crashes where we had to restart the system. They could improve the hardware to prevent this type of issue."

"The complex setup, ease of use, and snapshot operations of this product need to be improved."

"It seemed like every time we turned around it was a statement of work and we'd have to pay for something that our previous vendors would not have billed us for."

"This product should be easier to install and set up."

"One improvement I am hoping for in the next release is unified storage."

"The embedded management for installation feature has neither simplified nor complicated the management process, therefore, there is room for improvement."

"Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform's GUI or interface for storage and management is a little bit difficult compared to Primera and HPE storage products."

More Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform cons

"Usually, when a part fails, we have to replace it and it takes a while. It would be better if the part could be available locally here in Kenya so we don't have to wait so long to repair the solution."

"Its performance could be faster."

"Improvements can be made to the product's performance."

"In the next release, I would like to see support for Hyper-converged infrastructure."

"There could be a snapshot feature in the solution."

"The features are limited."

"It would be useful to have structured solutions replicated to other sites."

"The product could support advanced software integrations."

More Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

"The product is expensive."

"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."

"Our licensing fees are $500,000+ USD."

"The tool is an investment that we've budgeted for. While the prices may be higher than those of other vendors, we see it as a market leader with benefits. We don't regret purchasing it."

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

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pricing and cost advice

"Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform G Series tools are highly specialized, such as management and performance tools and the overall solution is expensive. If customers want to have a lot of data in their hands, they need to purchase several solutions."

"I would rate the solution's pricing at around eight or nine on a scale of one to ten. While the solution may be priced higher than some competitors, we prioritize the quality and durability of the storage."

"Architecture-wise, it's actually at a competitive price point. It is not cheap."

"The price of the solution is reasonable. However, I have not done extensive comparative research on the price. If you want to upgrade the size of the disc you will need to purchase a license that accounts for the size."

"The product is reasonably priced."

"I would like to see better pricing and more discounts."

"The pricing we get is very competitive when compared to other vendors. Hitachi is working on their licensing model and it is improving but can be irksome when many different items are not bundled or enterprise size."

"Hitachi VSP's pricing is good compared to other brands."

More Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform pricing and cost advice

"The solution's price could be better."

"For an all-flash setup, the cost is around $20,000 for a decent configuration."

"We have a five-year contract for providing support."

"The pricing is fair and low compared to other products in this category."

"The best thing about this solution is its price, which reduces our costs."

"The price of the Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is a one-time purchase. There is a global price list available to find the price of the solution."

"All of the features are bundled together, and you can renew the bundle with all of the features included."

"It is an expensive solution."

More Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Government

Computer Software Company

20%

Financial Services Firm

19%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

19%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

University

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?

Adding some functions to the product would be beneficial. Storage replication should be essential, and the analytics ...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform?

For NVMe storage, the pricing is reasonable compared to competitors in India. However, for entry-level SAN storage or...

See all answers

What do you like most about Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform E990?

The product's reliability has been crucial for our company's operations.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform E990?

Hitachi should work on unified storage for the SMB market and entry-level NAS storage, similar to what HP or Dell off...

See all answers

What do you like most about Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series?

The solution's initial setup process is easy.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series?

For an all-flash setup, the cost is around $20,000 for a decent configuration.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series?

The product could support advanced software integrations.

See all answers

Comparisons

Dell PowerStore vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 33% of the time

TrueNAS R-Series vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 15% of the time

Pure Storage FlashBlade vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 14% of the time

IBM FlashSystem vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 11% of the time

Dell Unity XT vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 9% of the time

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Dell PowerStore vs Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform

Compared 13% of the time

IBM FlashSystem vs Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform

Compared 13% of the time

NetApp AFF vs Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform

Compared 12% of the time

HPE Alletra Storage vs Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform

Compared 7% of the time

Huawei OceanStor Dorado vs Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform

Compared 7% of the time

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Dell PowerStore vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

Compared 32% of the time

IBM FlashSystem vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

Compared 13% of the time

NetApp AFF vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

Compared 12% of the time

Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

Compared 11% of the time

Huawei OceanStor vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

Compared 2% of the time

More Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Pure FlashArray X NVMe

February 2025

Download Pure FlashArray X NVMe product report

Buyer's Guide

Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform

February 2025

Download Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform product report

Buyer's Guide

All-Flash Storage

January 2025

Download Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series product report

Also Known As

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

Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform F Series, 5000 Series, E Series, N Series, G Series

ThinkSystem DE Series

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

RETHINK YOUR DEFINITION OF SPEED AND PERFORMANCE

With adaptive, guaranteed data reduction and a 100% data-availability guarantee, Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform F series helps you tackle complicated business challenges. Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) VSP F series delivers up to 4.8M IOPS with sub-millisecond response times.
Featuring legendary Hitachi reliability, VSP F series arrays are backed by the industries only 100% availability guarantee. For these reasons, 80% of the Fortune 500 choose Hitachi all-flash arrays to accelerate the performance of mission-critical applications like Oracle, SAP, Virtualization, Microsoft apps etc. With over 350 patents in flash technology, Hitachi’s innovative mix of flash hardware and software accelerates ROI with enterprise-class reliability and performance.

Hitachi Vantara

The DE All-Flash Series delivers the performance of more than 2,000 15k rpm HDDs, yet requires only 2% of the rack space, power, and cooling. Because it consumes 98% less space and power, DE Series can significantly improve the overall efficiency of your IT operations while continuing to meet your performance requirements.

Lenovo

Sample Customers

Fremont Bank, Judson ISD, The Nielsen Company

Turkcell, Owens Corning, Region Nord, Net Credit Financial Group (NFC Group), Russian Railways

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

January 2025

Free Report: Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

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