IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe vs NetApp NVMe AFF A800 comparison

IBM and NetApp are both solutions in the NVMe All-Flash Storage Arrays category. IBM is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.7, while NetApp is ranked #9 with an average rating of 8.5. IBM holds a 1.7% mindshare in N, compared to NetApp’s 2.8% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of NetApp users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 18, 2024

The NetApp NVMe AFF A800 and IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe are two leading data storage solutions, competing in the high-performance enterprise storage category. IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe has the upper hand due to its superior features and scalability.

Features: NetApp NVMe AFF A800 provides robust data management, ease of integration, and reliable performance. IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe is recognized for its high performance, scalability, and advanced data protection features.

Room for Improvement: NetApp NVMe AFF A800 needs better hybrid cloud integration, simplified updates, and more competitive pricing. IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe could benefit from an easier setup process, improved technical documentation, and more intuitive management tools.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: NetApp NVMe AFF A800 is noted for straightforward deployment and responsive support. IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe deployment can be complex, but the customer service is highly rated.

Pricing and ROI: NetApp NVMe AFF A800 users find the setup cost reasonable with solid ROI. IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe has higher initial costs but offers better long-term ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe vs. NetApp NVMe AFF A800 Report (Updated: February 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe vs. NetApp NVMe AFF A800

February 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 NVMe All-Flash Storage Arrays category, the mindshare of Pure FlashArray X NVMe is 2.5%, down from 3.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe is 1.7%, down from 2.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetApp NVMe AFF A800 is 2.8%, down from 3.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

NVMe All-Flash Storage Arrays

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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Mohamed-Hassan

Microfinance at a consultancy with 11-50 employees

Steady performance, responsive support, and high availability

If we add a shell, the scalability depends on a legacy protocol and not the IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe which is a setback. At the previous bank, I worked at we had approximately 9,000 users. We are using the solution at its full capacity. I rate the scalability of IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe a seven out of ten.

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Tanveer Rahman

Chief Technical Office at Novotel Ltd.

A scalable solution that serves as a storage for the cloud services opted by organizations

My company uses NetApp NVMe AFF A800 as storage for our cloud The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is a product that is fast and provides a fast I/O. The product's performance has some shortcomings, making it an area that could be a little better. I don't expect to see additional…

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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."

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

"Pure FlashArray X NVMe will quickly overcome all the hurdles you face, including network and latency issues."

"The latency is good."

"We are satisfied with the performance as it is significantly faster compared to traditional storage options."

"The initial setup was extremely simple and straightforward."

"I use the tool for Oracle databases, Oracle virtual machines, and Oracle Linux databases. I'm on the storage side, not a database administrator."

"What I really like about this program, is that it is easy to use and easy to configurate."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pros

"The storage serves the virtual environment. Most of our applications run in the virtual environment, and it serves nearly 30% of the bank's capacity."

"Its ease of use, performance, and hardware compression is very useful feature."

"The most valuable feature is the speed."

"It is a very stable solution."

"The FlashCore modules support more value to the architecture due to their unique characteristics."

"It is a very stable product. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten because we did not face any issues in the last three years."

"The solution is more available for IOPS warehousing, resolving issues, and reporting than other products."

"The high performance and high availability improved our overall processes."

More IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe pros

"NetApp NVMe AFF A800 is easier to use than some other solutions and the UI is very good to use for day-to-day activities. Overall, the solution has good technology."

"The storage features are valuable."

"During the use cases of the solution, its reliability and suitability are the best."

"The product can be scaled vertically as well as horizontally."

"Low latency is the most valuable feature."

"You can easily scale up, and scale-out."

"The most valuable features are stability and performance."

"Over the eight years, we've been using NetApp with ONTAP, we've never lost a bit of data, and we've only experienced a few minutes of downtime in that entire time."

More NetApp NVMe AFF A800 pros

Cons

"There is room for improvement in the pricing of the product."

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

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

"In terms of what needs improvement, the dashboard and management could be simplified."

"In the next release, I would like to see real-time analytics for further insight into consumption models."

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

"It is on the expensive side."

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

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe cons

"The ZIO interface could be improved."

"I would like to have replication functionality built directly in the product, rather than having to use a separate device for this."

"The storage system itself should have built-in capabilities for different ransomware attacks."

"Other vendors have included a block and file system. IBM doesn't include a file system. And yet, it's very necessary for all organizations' networks to have file systems. We have other systems for the file system, however, ideally, we would like to have one system with these features."

"The pricing should be more competitive."

"I would like to see IBM products become more affordable because they can be quite expensive, which limits their accessibility to a broader customer base."

"There could be a possibility of not requiring to buy a new box while upgrading to a newer version."

"The tool's architecture is complex. It also needs to add data utilization reports."

More IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe cons

"The product’s UI could be better."

"Increasing the RAM, and including physical cords would be beneficial."

"Stability is an area with a certain shortcoming where the solution needs to improve"

"The technical support has room for improvement."

"The initial setup is complex."

"The product's performance has some shortcomings, making it an area that could be a little better."

"The initial setup should be easier, and more like a plug-and-play approach."

"Sometimes, it takes a while to get somebody competent on the other end of the line. They do have engineers in multiple time zones around the world. However, their level-one support is not always the best."

More NetApp NVMe AFF A800 cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing is on a yearly basis."

"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."

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

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

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

"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."

"With Pure Storage, we would like to continue seeing price reductions with flash storage. I don't think we're any different than anybody else when we continue to look to the industry for price reductions of both NVMe and traditional SSD storage. We would like to see these prices continue to decline and erode, even displacing large spinning disks."

"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

"The product has an average cost."

"There are pricing options from the mid-rand to the high-range, of which the suitability depends upon the requirements."

"The price of IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMele can be considered affordable when taking into account the operating system that is required for it to function properly. This operating system, which is licensed by IBM, may carry a higher cost, but it is worth the investment for larger corporate entities, such as insurance companies, Fortune Five companies, and banks, who make up a significant portion of their target market. The FlashSystems are designed for larger corporations and multinational enterprises, and may not be the most cost-effective solution for smaller businesses."

"Compared to other solutions, the cost of IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe is reasonable, with a one-time payment of around $70,000. However, additional support is available for $25,000 for three years. The overall maintenance cost is steep."

"It's a lot less costly than cloud storage. People get surprised by the cost of cloud storage, which is extremely expensive and four or five times the cost of storage on-premises. People don't realize what they're spending on storage until they start getting bills from Amazon, Microsoft, and others. This is a good way to reduce your cloud storage expenses."

"Compared to its competitors, IBM's offering is the most cost-effective."

"The solution is priced well."

"The tool's pricing is competitive."

More IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe pricing and cost advice

"I rate the product’s pricing a seven out of ten."

"There are licenses for the use of this solution, such as commercial licenses."

"Though NetApp NVMe AFF A800 may seem like a highly-priced product, it is not extremely expensive."

"The solution is expensive."

"Considering the requirements and the situation, I don't feel that this is an expensive product."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Government

Computer Software Company

22%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Government

Manufacturing Company

23%

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

14%

Educational Organization

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 do you like most about IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe?

The storage serves the virtual environment. Most of our applications run in the virtual environment, and it serves ne...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe?

The tool is expensive, though I do not know the specific licensing costs.

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe?

The solution's compression needs to be improved, as it's not the best. Furthermore, support from the partner could al...

See all answers

What do you like most about NetApp NVMe AFF A800?

The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is a product that is fast and provides a fast I/O.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetApp NVMe AFF A800?

Though NetApp NVMe AFF A800 may seem like a highly-priced product, it is not extremely expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with NetApp NVMe AFF A800?

The product's performance has some shortcomings, making it an area that could be a little better. I don't expect to s...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 33% of the time

TrueNAS R-Series vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 16% 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 8% of the time

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Dell PowerStore vs IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe

Compared 32% of the time

Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform vs IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe

Compared 24% of the time

Dell PowerMax NVMe vs IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe

Compared 15% of the time

HPE Primera vs IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe

Compared 11% of the time

Pure Storage FlashArray vs IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe

Compared 9% of the time

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NetApp ASA vs NetApp NVMe AFF A800

Compared 31% of the time

Dell PowerStore vs NetApp NVMe AFF A800

Compared 19% of the time

Huawei OceanStor Dorado vs NetApp NVMe AFF A800

Compared 16% of the time

Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series vs NetApp NVMe AFF A800

Compared 10% of the time

IBM FlashSystem vs NetApp NVMe AFF A800

Compared 9% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Pure FlashArray X NVMe

March 2025

Download Pure FlashArray X NVMe product report

Buyer's Guide

IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe

March 2025

Download IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe product report

Buyer's Guide

NVMe All-Flash Storage Arrays

March 2025

Download NetApp NVMe AFF A800 product report

Also Known As

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

IBM FlashSystem 9100, FlashSystem 9100

No data available

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

IBM FlashSystem 9100 combines the performance of flash and Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) end-to-end with the reliability and innovation of IBM FlashCore technology and the rich features of IBM Spectrum Virtualize - all in a powerful 2U enterprise-class storage system. Providing intensive data driven multicloud storage capacity, FlashSystem 9100 is deeply integrated with the software defined capabilities of IBM Spectrum Storage allowing you to easily add in the multicloud solutions that best support your business.

IBM

Your data is a gold mine. Get the most out of it - faster - with AFF A800. Designed for NVMe media, further accelerated with NVMe/FC connectivity to the host, AFF A800 all-flash systems deliver an incredible sub-200 microsecond latency. Providing more than 11.4M IOPS and 300GB/s throughput in a single cluster, AFF A800 redefines the limit of what’s possible with artificial intelligence and deep learning.

NetApp

Sample Customers

Fremont Bank, Judson ISD, The Nielsen Company

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe vs. NetApp NVMe AFF A800

February 2025

Free Report: IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe vs. NetApp NVMe AFF A800

Find out what your peers are saying about IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe vs. NetApp NVMe AFF A800 and other solutions. Updated: February 2025.

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