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HPE 3PAR StoreServ vs HPE MSA comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

HPE 3PAR StoreServ
Ranking in Modular SAN (Storage Area Network)
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
301
Ranking in other categories
NAS (7th), All-Flash Storage (8th)
HPE MSA
Ranking in Modular SAN (Storage Area Network)
5th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
23
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Modular SAN (Storage Area Network) category, the mindshare of HPE 3PAR StoreServ is 10.3%, down from 12.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HPE MSA is 18.7%, up from 17.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Modular SAN (Storage Area Network)
 

Featured Reviews

Wayne Cross - PeerSpot reviewer
Very stable and scales quickly, allowing us to roll out new services
At one point, we had HPE EVAs and when we were changing them out we didn't just look at 3PAR, we looked at all the solutions. We actually started out with a V400 which is an older version of the 3PAR - they didn't have the 7400s as yet - at our data center. Eventually, when the V400 became end-of-life, we looked at all the EVAs and by that time, they had come out with the 7400 and 7200, which are a lot less expensive and a better fit for a smaller organization. We were able to throw any workload on it and not worry about performance. It certainly made my job easy and my team's job easy in terms of maintenance and management of the platform.
Pragnesh Sachania - PeerSpot reviewer
Scalable, easy to manage, and used for virtualization environments
We didn't face any issues with the technical functionality. However, we faced a lot of challenges with our custom configuration. The HPE support person who did the installation was very technical. He answered all the queries, and we resolved the entire setup. We set up the storage as per our requirements. We previously used a physical server instead of virtualization. With the help of an HPE engineer and partners, we prepared a strategy for migrating the entire physical servers to our virtualization infrastructure. It took two days to deploy the solution. Six people were involved in the solution's deployment, including two from HPE and four from our IT team.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I like the integration with VMware and the provisioning. We also use data compression but not for any of the critical applications."
"The most valuable features for me are the simple management of the platform and its performance."
"The features which are most valuable are the availability of the system and the management."
"The solution has increased our performance by about 40 percent."
"The new StoreServ Management Console (SSMC) tool is more user-friendly."
"Whatever failures you have, there is no single point of failure. So, any failure, you get an alert, you have time, you plan the fix, the replacement, and so on. So your operations are intact."
"This solution has allowed for massive performance acceleration of all workloads and massively increased availability (with peer persistence/transparent failover feature)."
"This solution has given us improved application uptime and performance."
"I like StorageWorks' snapshots for our backup system. We had a pool of SSD and traditional drives. StorageWorks has a feature that transfers the hot data to high-performing drives."
"It has notably provided scalability benefits."
"The cost to performance for HPE StorageWorks MSA is good."
"The most valuable features are the storage levels and snapshot features."
"Monitoring is a very big thing. Other great features include block storage; volume creation and the data reliability scalability, which makes the solution really good."
"The solution is scalable and easy to manage."
"The most valuable feature of HPE StorageWorks MSA is its flexibility."
"The solution is pretty transparent and works well."
 

Cons

"The setup was complex from the perspective of the employees having to go through five days of training. If they simplified the administrative process of maintaining the unit, that would go a long way."
"I need flexibility for interoperability across multiple platforms, not just HPE."
"I would like an easier user interface and setup to help with deployment. There were many areas of the setup where I was like, “Why don't we do it this way?” Therefore, some of the things in the user interface could have been more refined, so you don't have to click in 5000 different places to accomplish one goal. Less clicks means more efficiency."
"I would like them to improve it so I can do firmware upgrades without downtime."
"There is a slight difference between what we expected and what was delivered."
"The availability of technical resources within HPE is becoming a challenge due to availability."
"It would also help if they integrate current technologies, newer technologies, and more efficient technologies, as time progresses. For example, integrate the fourth level of NAND devices."
"There are issues formulating the upgraded disk."
"The solution could improve by adding configuration tools."
"The solution's license should be integrated and not separate."
"The platform’s monitoring capabilities could be enhanced."
"The solution requires hardware."
"This product is getting a little bit older, so new features like deduplication are not included."
"HPE StorageWorks MSA could maybe include a pay-top of texture feature or something like job replication."
"It should show more options for cloud backup support."
"The support contract is expensive, although they are very responsive."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We have seen ROI. We are able to see more patients now, bringing more money into the practice."
"This solution is expensive. We pay every year for support. It's a lump sum because we pay for data center support services, and everything is included in one."
"3PAR was quite a bit less money than EMC, and that was one of the deciding factors."
"It is quite difficult to decide on the cost. At one point, I was the project lead to cover with some people, but the price was important and we had its compression calculated. At that moment, it was fair because that was one of the things moving their product due to the cost of HPE 3PAR StoreServ as they were competing with Hitachi and IBM A9000, which I'm not sure if is still available."
"Its price is a bit high for adding another tree, but when we purchased it, it was okay with us. We had compared it with EMC and other solutions, and it was okay at that point in time. Our storage has a lifespan of seven to eight years. When you purchase it, you need to keep a headroom of around 40% to 50%. After three to four years, you generally plan for an upgrade. The price is not so bad today for two years or so, and within a year, I might find that I have to upgrade or increase the storage. This usually happens when there is a radical change or a new application has come that is consuming a lot of data, but generally, there is a plan for the amount of data that we generate and the storage upgrade."
"They have added features, such as the compression and duplication, which have further increased our ROI."
"The cost is reasonable given that the licensing is all included once you purchase it."
"We purchased the total package for approximately $60,000."
"The solution’s pricing is reasonable."
"When we bought this solution it was very reasonably priced and they were willing to deal."
"The solution can be a bit expensive."
"This solution is quite expensive; they should lower the cost."
"I would rate the pricing as nine out of ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive."
"This solution involves a one-time CapEx payment, followed by warranty extensions."
"The price of the solution is a little high and they should provide more competitive pricing. If you want to increases the storage size there are additional fees."
"HPE StorageWorks MSA's licensing is perpetual and not integrated."
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Comparison Review

it_user182013 - PeerSpot reviewer
May 1, 2015
Measuring Up: EMC XtremIO and HP 3PAR
Leading up to EMC World 2015, IT Central Station asked how I would compare EMC XtremIO and HP 3PAR. Until recently, the flash storage conversation in my organization and many others has centered on XtremIO and Pure Storage, the leaders of the all-flash array (AFA) space. To that end, I've written a…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
85%
Computer Software Company
2%
Manufacturing Company
2%
Financial Services Firm
2%
Computer Software Company
21%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Government
8%
Healthcare Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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 perspective, it is reliable, easy to set up, stable, and offers quality block storage. All...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HPE 3PAR StoreServ?
The tool’s price is higher compared to other products. The solution is 20% more expensive than other storage.
What do you like most about HPE StorageWorks MSA?
The most valuable feature of HPE StorageWorks MSA is its flexibility.
What needs improvement with HPE StorageWorks MSA?
It needs more details on how to integrate with the cloud for backup scenarios. It should show more options for cloud backup support.
 

Also Known As

HPE 3PAR Flash Storage, InServ, Storeserv, 3PAR Flash Storage, HP Enterprise Storage, 3PAR Flash Array, HP 3PAR Flash Storage
HP StorageWorks MSA
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Just Energy, Latisys, team AG, DreamWorks, BlueShore Financial, Erasmus MC
Femsa CSC, TTX, Rabobank
Find out what your peers are saying about HPE 3PAR StoreServ vs. HPE MSA and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
831,020 professionals have used our research since 2012.