HPE Alletra Storage vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series comparison

Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Lenovo are both solutions in the All-Flash Storage category. Hewlett Packard Enterprise is ranked #5 with an average rating of 9.1, while Lenovo is ranked #25 with an average rating of 8.7. Hewlett Packard Enterprise holds a 8.0% mindshare in AFS, compared to Lenovo’s 2.3% mindshare. Additionally, 97% of Hewlett Packard Enterprise users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 60% of Lenovo users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 18, 2024

Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series and HPE Alletra Storage compete in the enterprise storage category. Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series has the upper hand in scalability and reliability, while HPE Alletra Storage leads with technological integrations and efficiency.

Features: Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series is praised for its robust data management, seamless integration capabilities, and straightforward functionality. HPE Alletra Storage stands out with advanced analytics, AI-driven performance optimizations, and superior technological enhancements.

Room for Improvement: Users of Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series suggest enhancements in backup functionalities, better cloud connectivity, and more comprehensive backup solutions. HPE Alletra Storage users call for improvements in documentation, a more intuitive setup process, and clearer installation aids.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series is noted for its efficient deployment process and responsive customer support. HPE Alletra Storage excels in deployment speed but occasionally faces criticism for customer service response times.

Pricing and ROI: Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series offers competitive pricing and strong ROI. HPE Alletra Storage, while more expensive, provides a high ROI due to its advanced feature set.

To learn more, read our detailed HPE Alletra Storage vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series Report (Updated: January 2025).

Buyer's Guide

HPE Alletra Storage vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem DM 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 March 2025, in the All-Flash Storage category, the mindshare of Pure FlashArray X NVMe is 0.8%, down from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HPE Alletra Storage is 8.0%. The mindshare of Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series is 2.3%, down from 2.9% 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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Lisa Whalen

System Engineer at University of Nebraska

Provides a cloud-like operation model on-prem for managing data infrastructure

I've always said I love that it's easy to use. At one point in time, we had a 3PAR. And with 3PAR, I always thought it was a little more difficult. There was so much more to maintaining it, setting it up, and everything. With the [HPE] Alletra [Storage], it's just easy. It's easy to provision space to use and to set up. InfoSight is invaluable to me. With it, I can just quickly go out there and see what is going on. Alletra provides a cloud-like operation model on-prem for managing data infrastructure. [HPE] Alletra [Storage] is very good for predicting problems and preventing them before they occur. InfoSight has really helped with that. I honestly don't have to look at it much. However, there's the alerting and everything that will tell us what's going on. That said, I check InfoSight every once in a while. [HPE Alletra Storage] reduced the time spent on storage provision. It's so much easier than the 3PAR. It's just so much easier. I don't spend time in there at all. The product improved our storage performance experience in terms of IOPS. Our end users that use the SAP environment were a little concerned at first. We said we were going to switch over from the 3PAR to the Alletra since they've always been more familiar with the 3PAR. However, when we moved them over, they noticed a performance increase.

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Mark Richmond

Chief Technology Officer at Next Level Communications

Reliable and fast servers with good support

We use on-premise servers with Lenovo ThinkSystem. We set up Hyper-V and load multiple types of servers including a domain controller, a SQL Server, and application servers The solution provides fast servers that are reasonably priced. We set up RAID ten to ensure drive redundancy, leading to…

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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

"Everything, especially the VMs inside, is pretty fast."

"It offers competitive performance, and the Evergreen storage model of Pure fits well with my organization."

"The solution is scalable."

"Technical support has been helpful and responsive."

"The duplication algorithm allows us to get a lot more use out of less storage. We're running a five terabyte array right now and we're running probably about 30 terabytes on it. So the duplication rate is pretty phenomenal, without a cost to performance. It still runs pretty smoothly."

"The tool's valuable features are speed, security, data compression, and reliability. Its data compression feature is the best that we have ever seen. It helps us to save money and resources."

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

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

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pros

"It's easy to deploy and maintain and it's made everything faster."

"There is ease of use for junior admins. We have VMware integrations for data stores, cloning operations of existing data stores, and InfoSight analytics."

"The ease of setup was huge for me, as I'm the only storage admin for our company."

"The uptime is excellent."

"It's really easy to use."

"One of the best benefits I can think of is that the support team is top-tier."

"The deduplication feature is great."

"The all-flash system we have is incredibly fast."

More HPE Alletra Storage pros

"The solution offers very good reliable systems and storage for our clients."

"The servers are fast and affordable."

"Ability to cluster two storages together with HA availability."

"The most valuable feature of Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series is its capability to tier to the cloud, such as Microsoft Azure or Amazon AWS. Additionally, the integration is good and they are user-friendly."

"The product’s quality of service guarantees the performance of each workload."

"It has been a perfect fit for the workload that our customer is doing."

"The value we derive from using it is greater than other alternatives like HPE and Dell."

"The most valuable feature of the Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series is its ability to store data well."

More Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series pros

Cons

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

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

"There is room for improvement in catering to midrange storage needs, especially for customers seeking Enterprise-class features."

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

"The tool's portfolio is minimal. It is expensive."

"I would like to see replication and DR features in the next release of this solution."

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

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

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe cons

"Everything is performing well with no major problems or complaints and complete data protection. However, it could benefit from integrating an AI assistant module to streamline data migration between different vendor arrays in a more automated fashion."

"I would like to see some form of direct connect fiber channel options."

"I'd like to see a smaller chassis in the hybrid arrays."

"It would be better if there were an option to incorporate the NVMe feature alongside other storage tiers. Currently, the system operates on Autotier but can manually peer and mix different types of drives, such as SAS and SATA drives."

"I'm not sure if I've gone through all the features. There's always room for improvement."

"Since it's a slightly cutting-edge technology, we had to put in quite a lot of new fabric and stuff for it. That's probably the only thing people need to be aware of—to make sure you've got everything sorted out upfront to make the implementation smooth and fast."

"Sometimes, with HP, there may be language barriers, and they seem to cycle through tech a lot more. That said, overall, I always get the answers I need."

"Maybe they could just reduce the number of racks and the amount of rack space."

More HPE Alletra Storage cons

"Many people do not realize that Lenovo has a storage solution, so better marketing from the vendor is needed."

"The Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series was very hard to configure. Installation of the product was very hard. These are its areas for improvement."

"I would like Lenovo to add a feature like IBM Easy Tier to DM Series. This is a crucial feature for the customers."

"It takes a very long time to enter the management console, as well as to restart the system, and these are things that should be improved."

"Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series could improve by having a snapshot feature. Additionally, there can be other features added to help restore the data faster."

"The solution needs a simpler licensing theme around the DM series. The problem is if you only need one of the features, you still have to buy the whole thing. The licensing needs to be more granular or flexible so you have the option to only license FlexCone or Inline Compression features."

"This is an expensive solution."

"The tool's pricing is high."

More Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

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

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

"We pay approximately $50,000 USD per year in licensing fees."

"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."

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

"The licensing is on a yearly basis."

"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."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pricing and cost advice

"There is a license. HPE Alletra uses a cloud-based model."

"HPE was a clear winner on price per terabyte. It was very smooth."

"So far, so good."

"Its licensing is good. Pricing-wise, there can be a little bit more flexibility. It would help to have different sizes. However, it fits into the budget that we have, so we are happy."

"Overall, it was good. It had a good price per gigabyte."

"It is reasonably priced."

"The solution is expensive and can cost around five lakhs."

"It is fairly priced. It is in line with industry standard pricing and cost models."

More HPE Alletra Storage pricing and cost advice

"The solution is highly-priced."

"Lenovo offers two software tiers for the DM Series: basic and premium. If you need more features like the MetroCluster, you must buy the premium version. You can stick to the basic software if you don't need MetroCluster or features like asynchronous replication. That makes DM Series a little cheaper."

"The solution's pricing is similar to Dell and HPE."

"The price of the Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series is good."

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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

19%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Government

Computer Software Company

20%

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

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 ...

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What do you like most about HPE Alletra?

It offers rich features and high speed for transferring data.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HPE Alletra?

Its pricing is very competitive.

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What needs improvement with HPE Alletra?

I do not have any areas of improvement as such. We have achieved all our defined objectives and metrics. Everything i...

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What do you like most about Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series?

The product’s quality of service guarantees the performance of each workload.

See all answers

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

The pricing is cost-effective and less expensive compared to HP servers.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series?

There might be improvements needed in drive throughput as disk speed has been a limitation on Windows servers. Althou...

See all answers

Comparisons

Dell PowerStore vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 34% 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

HPE Nimble Storage vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 5% of the time

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe Competitors

Dell PowerStore vs HPE Alletra Storage

Compared 29% of the time

HPE Primera vs HPE Alletra Storage

Compared 16% of the time

Pure Storage FlashArray vs HPE Alletra Storage

Compared 9% of the time

HPE 3PAR StoreServ vs HPE Alletra Storage

Compared 8% of the time

IBM FlashSystem vs HPE Alletra Storage

Compared 6% of the time

More HPE Alletra Storage Competitors

NetApp AFF vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series

Compared 40% of the time

NetApp FAS Series vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series

Compared 12% of the time

Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series

Compared 12% of the time

Dell Unity XT vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series

Compared 10% of the time

HPE Nimble Storage vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series

Compared 2% of the time

More Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Pure FlashArray X NVMe

February 2025

Download Pure FlashArray X NVMe product report

Buyer's Guide

HPE Alletra Storage

February 2025

Download HPE Alletra Storage product report

Buyer's Guide

All-Flash Storage

March 2025

Download Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series product report

Also Known As

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

No data available

ThinkSystem DM 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

HPE Alletra Storage is designed for high-performance virtualization, data centers, and hyper-converged infrastructures, supporting applications with block storage and databases across sectors like healthcare and finance.

HPE Alletra Storage excels in delivering low-latency, high-I/O operations and data reduction capabilities. It integrates seamlessly with VMware and vCenter, handling large SQL databases and multiple virtual machines efficiently. Its features, such as NVMe drives and predictive analytics with InfoSight, offer a streamlined management experience. However, users seek improvements in NVMe tier integration, a more compact chassis design, and better energy efficiency. The operational efficiency is increased by reducing data provisioning time and enhancing storage performance for complex environments.

What are the key features of HPE Alletra Storage?

Seamless vCenter Integration: Enhances virtualization management.
High IOPS NVMe Drives: Delivers high-speed and low-latency access.
Deduplication & Replication: Increases storage efficiency and protection.
Cloud-like Models: Simplifies operations with intuitive management.
InfoSight Analytics: Provides predictive diagnostics and proactive problem-solving.

What benefits and ROI can users expect?

Reduced Provisioning Time: Accelerates deployment processes.
100% Data Availability: Ensures uninterrupted access to data.
Simplified Management: Streamlines storage operations and enhances satisfaction.
Reliability and Performance: Supports demanding applications with reliable performance.

In healthcare and financial industries, HPE Alletra Storage supports the storage of sensitive data and operations of critical applications, facilitating quick access to information and maintaining high availability. However, users recommend improvements in training resources, energy efficiency, and integration with backup solutions like Veeam to enhance implementation efficiency and cost management.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

To meet enterprise storage requirements, ThinkSystem All-Flash DM Series systems provide high performance, superior flexibility, and best-in-class data management. DM Series runs on ONTAP data management software, which gives customers unified storage across block-and-file workloads. It accelerates your business while improving the efficiency, flexibility, and reliability of your IT operations.

Lenovo

Sample Customers

Fremont Bank, Judson ISD, The Nielsen Company

Accenture, Aetna, AIG, Airbus, Allianz, American Express, ATT, Bank of America, Barclays, BASF, Bayer, Berkshire Hathaway, Boeing, BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Coca Cola, Comcast, Credit Suisse, Dell, Deutsche Bank, ExxonMobil, Ford Motor Company, General Electric, Google, HSBC, IBM, Intel, JPMorgan Chase, Kroger, L'Oreal, Merck

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

HPE Alletra Storage vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series

January 2025

Free Report: HPE Alletra Storage vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series

Find out what your peers are saying about HPE Alletra Storage vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.

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