IBM FlashSystem vs IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe comparison

IBM FlashSystem and IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe are both solutions in the All-Flash Storage category. IBM FlashSystem is ranked #13 with an average rating of 8.4, while IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe is ranked #20 with an average rating of 8.6. IBM FlashSystem holds a 6.5% mindshare in AFS, compared to IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe’s 0.5% mindshare. Additionally, 91% of IBM FlashSystem users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 18, 2024

IBM FlashSystem series and IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe offer advanced storage solutions in the high-performance storage category. Based on the comparison, IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe stands out for its superior features despite a higher cost.

Features: IBM FlashSystem is valued for its reliability, ease of use, and integration capabilities. IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe is praised for its NVMe architecture, scalability, and speed, making it a standout choice.

Room for Improvement: IBM FlashSystem needs better management tools, enhanced documentation, and improved user interface. IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe requires better scalability, enhanced customer support, and refined software updates.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM FlashSystem is praised for its straightforward deployment and robust customer service. IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe is easy to deploy but receives mixed reviews on customer service, with some users finding it less satisfactory compared to IBM FlashSystem.

Pricing and ROI: IBM FlashSystem offers a favorable setup cost and substantial ROI. IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe has a higher setup cost but delivers strong ROI due to its advanced features and performance, justifying the higher initial investment.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM FlashSystem vs. IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM FlashSystem vs. IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe

July 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 July 2025, in the All-Flash Storage category, the mindshare of Pure FlashArray X NVMe is 0.8%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM FlashSystem is 6.5%, down from 6.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe is 0.5%, down from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

All-Flash Storage

Featured Reviews

Jaehoon Oh

Chief Technology Officer at Lambda256

Supports efficient storage management through volume snapshots and offers reliable non-disruptive upgrades

I have no specific improvements to suggest for Pure FlashArray X NVMe at this time. The performance statistics could be enhanced. I can see the performance statistics in the Pure Storage console, but it does not show the performance by 4K byte unit. It displays IOPS and bandwidth, but IOPS is about real use, and I want to know how many IOPS are currently running in 4K byte units. I cannot see that IOPS because most storage systems report their performance by 4K byte unit. I want to see Pure Storage performance by 4K byte unit to compare with other storage or other internal NVMe SSD.

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OmarIsmail1

Infrastructure Technical Specialist II at Clicks Group

Offers high performance and dependable support for fast storage needs

The most valuable feature of IBM FlashSystem ( /products/ibm-flashsystem-reviews ) is its robust back code. When integrated properly into the environment and configured according to the guidelines, it provides a very solid infrastructure that does the job on demand. Additionally, IBM FlashSystem offers competitive pricing and reliable performance. The hardware is dependable, ensuring that it functions effectively when the setup is done correctly.

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MohammedIsmail

Datacenter Manager at Tracker Connect

Enhanced storage performance and an easy setup with compression challenges

We use IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe as a storage device in the IT industry The features I find most valuable include its use for storage and performance. The solution's compression needs to be improved, as it's not the best. Furthermore, support from the partner could also be improved as it's been…

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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

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

"FlashArray has some fresh efficiency features. I've never seen a storage solution with a compression rating this high before. It's at least 4-to-1 on Oracle databases. It's the best flash storage for Oracle."

"The database workloads are pretty fast because I frequently move data from here to there."

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

"Offers excellent features like efficient data reduction, a reliable SafeMode, and a great support model for continuous assistance and updates."

"The most valuable feature of this solution is reliability."

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

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

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pros

"The ability to create LUNs and modify them are the most valuable features of this solution."

"The valuable features of IBM FlashSystem include flash copy mapping, which is a procedure to collect instant point-in-time data for testing real data."

"This solution is really user friendly. It also offers good performance and is highly reliable."

"The feature I find most valuable, is the deduplication, because the nature of the data that we are using in our current environment, has a lot of replicated data."

"The valuable features for us are the extra add-ons, such as the FIM provisioning, the compression, the disaster recovery capabilities, and the storage pooling functions."

"IBM FlashSystem is flexible, quick, and has a solid design."

"IBM's technical support do excellent work."

"Speed (IOPS/second) – It is most vital for applications that need low latency and high speed for transferring the data."

More IBM FlashSystem pros

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

"IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe is one of the leading storage systems in the world...I rate the solution's stability a ten out of ten."

"The features I find most valuable include its use for storage and performance."

"It's easy to use, has good stability, and many features."

"IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe is easy to use and comes with good performance."

"Good performance with a user-friendly UI."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is its upgrades, as we don't have to do much homework because of its different controllers."

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

More IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe pros

Cons

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

"The tool's pricing is higher than competitors."

"We would like to see more visibility into garbage collection and CPU performance in the GUI."

"It is on the expensive side."

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

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

"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."

"I would like to see some AI features that would allow arrays to intelligently identify threats or unusual behavior in the data pattern and give an alert."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe cons

"The interface of this solution could be improved."

"Additional licenses might be added for the fundamental licenses, such as those for copying and flash copies."

"Our customers have raised concerns about the limitations of the FlashSystem 5200 and 7300, which only offer a 32-gigabyte connection."

"There could be some extra features added."

"The GUI for monitoring performance metrics could provide better visibility. For example, it doesn't let me segregate the IOPS per volume."

"One area for improvement is in the GUI, where host clusters are not properly dealt with. With Hypervisor host clusters, all hosts must see the same volumes in the same order. Using the concept of a “host-group” has been around (even with IBM) for many years, so why not with the V7000?"

"When you provision a datastore auto-format takes a long time"

"I would like to see an improvement in the handling of large amounts of rights."

More IBM FlashSystem cons

"The ZIO interface could be improved."

"The solution's compression needs to be improved, as it's not the best."

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

"The efficacy of the GUI in IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe could be enhanced, and it would be beneficial to include a feature that can prevent ransomware attacks."

"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."

"IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe is an expensive solution, and its pricing could be improved."

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

"The support could be better."

More IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing is on a yearly basis."

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

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

"Given its price, Pure is not the first option."

"They can tout the functionality and cutting edge technology that they have, but that's where the price tag comes in. The cost is high, but I think as they grow their business and get more customers that it will probably go down a little bit."

"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."

"With VMware, we pay $300,000 annually."

"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."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pricing and cost advice

"We have no issues with the price as it is very competitive."

"This is an expensive product and if the price were reduced it would be better."

"Pricing can be considered as per market competition."

"Regarding licensing make sure you add at least three years software maintenance from IBM at the beginning, because you will not be able to download firmware updates or any fixes/patches without this."

"Among IBM, Dell EMC, and Pure Storage, IBM is the cheapest. The price is also based on our location, the size of our entity, and our regular annual purchases from them. We are a very big IBM customer, so we normally get very high discounts. We are not a big customer of Pure Storage. We don't buy that much from Pure Storage per year. Everything is included in the price. There is no extra license for different functions."

"The price is a little bit high so is rated a six out of ten."

"The cost is pretty high in terms of licensing. We pay at least $100,000 USD in licensing fees for the storage."

"This solution is expensive compared to other solutions."

More IBM FlashSystem pricing and cost advice

"The solution is priced well."

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

"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."

"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."

"The product has an average cost."

"Price-wise, the solution offers excellent pricing to its users. In short, the prices offered by the solution are competitive compared to similar solutions."

"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."

"The price of IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe is less than Dell. For upgrades, the Dell solutions are more expensive."

More IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Government

Computer Software Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

18%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

Recreational Facilities/Services 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 ...

See all answers

What do you like most about IBM FlashSystem?

It is simple to make an update.

See all answers

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

Many factors affect purchasing directly from IBM, often involving a multi-step process. Customers, especially in bank...

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What needs improvement with IBM FlashSystem?

The deduplication technology in IBM FlashSystem needs significant improvement. Other vendors like NetApp ( /products/...

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

Comparisons

Dell PowerStore vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 28% of the time

TrueNAS R-Series vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 19% of the time

Pure Storage FlashBlade vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 14% of the time

HPE Alletra Storage vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 9% 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

Compared 22% of the time

HPE Alletra Storage vs IBM FlashSystem

Compared 9% of the time

Pure Storage FlashArray vs IBM FlashSystem

Compared 8% of the time

Huawei OceanStor Dorado vs IBM FlashSystem

Compared 8% of the time

NetApp AFF vs IBM FlashSystem

Compared 7% of the time

More IBM FlashSystem Competitors

Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform vs IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe

Compared 29% of the time

Dell PowerStore vs IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe

Compared 23% of the time

Dell PowerMax vs IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe

Compared 20% of the time

Hitachi VSP E Series vs IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe

Compared 14% of the time

HPE Alletra Storage vs IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe

Compared 13% of the time

More IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Pure FlashArray X NVMe

June 2025

Download Pure FlashArray X NVMe product report

Buyer's Guide

IBM FlashSystem

July 2025

Download IBM FlashSystem product report

Buyer's Guide

IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe

July 2025

Download IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe product report

Also Known As

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

IBM Storwize

IBM FlashSystem 9100, FlashSystem 9100

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 products are enterprise computer data storage systems that store data on flash memory chips. Unlike storage systems that use standard solid-state drives, IBM FlashSystem products incorporate custom hardware based on technology from the 2012 acquisition of Texas Memory Systems. This hardware provides performance, reliability, and efficiency benefits versus competitive offerings.

IBM

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

Sample Customers

Fremont Bank, Judson ISD, The Nielsen Company

Celero, Friedhelm Loh Group, Clarks, Mingkang Natregro Health Food Group, Sofia, Etisalat Fights Fraud, UF Health Shands Hospital, Generali, Elecon Engineering Company Limited, Ventiv , Technology, CPFL Energia, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., SciQuest, Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated, Paddy Power, Kelsey-Seybold Clinic, Interconnect Services, Severstal IP-Only AB, PVU Group GmbH

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

IBM FlashSystem vs. IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe

July 2025

Free Report: IBM FlashSystem vs. IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe

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

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