IBM FlashSystem vs IBM XIV comparison

IBM FlashSystem and IBM XIV are both solutions in the Modular SAN (Storage Area Network) category. IBM FlashSystem is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.6, while IBM XIV is ranked #10. IBM FlashSystem holds a 19.0% mindshare in MS, compared to IBM XIV’s 1.2% mindshare. Additionally, 91% of IBM FlashSystem users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 85% of IBM XIV users who would recommend it.

IBM FlashSystem

Read 109 IBM FlashSystem reviews

1,632 Views
1,267 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

IBM XIV

Read 6 IBM XIV reviews

155 Views
105 Comparison Views

85% willing to recommend

IBM FlashSystem

IBM XIV

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between IBM FlashSystem and IBM XIV based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Modular SAN (Storage Area Network) solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM FlashSystem vs. IBM XIV Report (Updated: December 2024).

Buyer's Guide

IBM FlashSystem vs. IBM XIV

December 2024

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Categories and Ranking

IBM FlashSystem

Ranking in Modular SAN (Storage Area Network)

3rd

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

109

Ranking in other categories

NAS (4th), All-Flash Storage (7th)

IBM XIV

Ranking in Modular SAN (Storage Area Network)

10th

Average Rating

7.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2024, in the Modular SAN (Storage Area Network) category, the mindshare of IBM FlashSystem is 19.0%, up from 15.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM XIV is 1.2%, down from 1.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Modular SAN (Storage Area Network)

Featured Reviews

Raanan Sitton

Vice President Sales at BELOCAL LTD

Offers cost-effective storage for small companies with budget constraints

IBM FlashSystem 5300 is offered at a very low cost in Israel, which is advantageous for small companies. However, other features like deduplication and compression do not perform effectively. The price sensitivity makes it a viable option for clients with budgetary constraints, as it allows us to secure deals based on the cost rather than advanced performance.

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Ajith Kandaramage

IT Operation Engineer at HNB

Good value for money but issues with modular scaling

IBM XIV's most valuable features are NVME, especially when it comes to de-duplication, compression, and responsiveness I've been using IBM XIV for two and a half years. IBM XIV is stable. IBM XIV's scalability is adequate for our requirements, but because it's modular, you can't scale to larger…

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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 initial setup is straightforward and can be done in an hour and a half by one person."

"The most valuable feature is that is supports a high IOPS rate."

"Installing FlashSystem is very easy. It takes less than half an hour, and I can handle it all myself."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is SCM (Storage Class Memory), which has the lowest latency value in the storage industry."

"Ability to manage third-party arrays and virtualise them: One screen to control multiple arrays. Simplified administration."

"The most valuable features are deduplication and compression, which together, enable you to have more space."

"User friendly management interface."

"IBM FlashSystem has been stable in our operations."

More IBM FlashSystem pros

"The performance and robustness of the systems are very good."

"IBM XIV's most valuable features are NVME, especially when it comes to de-duplication, compression, and responsiveness."

"Installation is amazingly easy."

"Very easy to produce reporting data (Snaps). Very easy and fast for provisioning devices and Remote mirroring."

"Hands down, this is the easiest storage platform on the market to manage."

"As it spreads, a chuck of 1MB across the board means using all available spindles on the backend."

Cons

"The solution is quite expensive. That's one of the downsides to using it."

"The security features can be improved such that the encryption does not affect performance in any way."

"The solution's infrastructure technology level could be PCI Express 5 instead of PCI Express 4 for the next version."

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

"In IBM FlashSystem, data reduction is an area with shortcomings where improvements can be made in the future."

"The marketing could be improved."

"Customization features must be improved."

"GUI interface should be enhanced more as there is some issues in copy services."

More IBM FlashSystem cons

"I encountered stability (performance) issues during enclosure or disk rebuild. Also some power supply issues due to malfunctions of circuits. Sometimes "internal" Snap sessions hang and consume pool capacity."

"IBM XIV's scalability is adequate for our requirements, but because it's modular, you can't scale to larger requirements."

"The change form synchronous mirroring to asynchronous (and vice versa) without reconfiguration from scratch would be helpful."

"I would rather have a web GUI served directly from the unit, and a CLI accessible directly through SSH."

"This product was not a good fit for our organization as we have a ton of latency sensitive applications and XIV was not able to keep up with IO + latency demand."

"Until the drive is replaced, the pool_resizing is locked."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I find the pricing of the solution to be very reasonable."

"Its price is very good."

"The pricing is competitive in our country."

"There are no licensing fees, it is a one-time purchase of the IBM FlashSystem."

"The price depends of the technology that our customers need. The price can come at a lower cost but this may increase as storage is added."

"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 pricing may be a bit higher than other brands. If you compare the IBM FlashSystems in midrange with Dell EMC in midrange, IBM costs a bit more, but I prefer IBM because it has more specs that I can benefit from."

"My customers got the IBM FlashSystem bundle offer. It was a one-time purchase for three years of service. The price would depend on the storage size and could reach between $25,000 to $55,000."

More IBM FlashSystem pricing and cost advice

"We have a five-year total cost of ownership where we pay an initial amount and then annually for maintenance."

"No-license-required policy, unlike others where you need a license for everything. Just pay once and forget about licenses."

"Licensing is straightforward."

"If you are going to use the product behind an SVC, IBM will price the units lower, since you are likely not to use any of the advanced copy services."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

Government

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

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 banking, often use the latest devices as they are upgrading, indicating they do not ...

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What needs improvement with IBM FlashSystem?

There is room for improvement in the troubleshooting part, specifically related to IBM Spectrum for Insight. Customers are uncomfortable with remote access, which affects automated remote support. ...

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Comparisons

Dell PowerStore vs IBM FlashSystem

Compared 25% of the time

Pure Storage FlashArray vs IBM FlashSystem

Compared 8% of the time

Huawei OceanStor Dorado vs IBM FlashSystem

Compared 7% of the time

Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform vs IBM FlashSystem

Compared 6% of the time

Dell PowerMax NVMe vs IBM FlashSystem

Compared 6% of the time

More IBM FlashSystem Competitors

No data available

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM FlashSystem

December 2024

Download IBM FlashSystem product report

Buyer's Guide

Modular SAN (Storage Area Network)

December 2024

Download IBM XIV product report

Also Known As

IBM Storwize

XIV

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IBM

Overview

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 XIV is a high-end, grid-scale storage system that excels in tuning-free consistent performance, ease of use and exceptional data economics, including inline, and IBM Real-time Compression. IBM XIV is ideal for hybrid cloud, offering predictable service levels for dynamic workloads, simplified scale management, including in multi-tenant environments, flexible consumption models — and robust cloud automation and orchestration through OpenStack, RESTful API and VMware. It offers security and data protection through hot encryption, advanced mirroring and self-healing and investment protection with perpetual licensing.

Sample Customers

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

Celero, NaviSite, Technische Universit_t Mªnchen, Netflix Inc., Muhr und Bender KG, Pelephone Communications

Buyer's Guide

IBM FlashSystem vs. IBM XIV

December 2024

Free Report: IBM FlashSystem vs. IBM XIV

Find out what your peers are saying about IBM FlashSystem vs. IBM XIV and other solutions. Updated: December 2024.

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We monitor all Modular SAN (Storage Area Network) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.