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IBM FlashSystem vs Oracle Sun ZFS Storage Appliance 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

IBM FlashSystem
Ranking in Modular SAN (Storage Area Network)
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
110
Ranking in other categories
NAS (4th), All-Flash Storage (13th)
Oracle Sun ZFS Storage Appl...
Ranking in Modular SAN (Storage Area Network)
9th
Average Rating
7.6
Number of Reviews
2
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 IBM FlashSystem is 19.6%, up from 15.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle Sun ZFS Storage Appliance is 3.8%, down from 4.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Modular SAN (Storage Area Network)
 

Featured Reviews

Raanan Sitton - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
RM
A stable unified storage system that enables quick access to data
The main thing Oracle can improve is the cost. It would be better if Oracle opened up the system to enable integration with other vendors. Whether it's the database, application server, or storage appliance, they should make it easy to integrate them. They need to open up more to ensure that it can work in any environment and IT ecosystem.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Ability to manage third-party arrays and virtualise them: One screen to control multiple arrays. Simplified administration."
"Data deduplication is one of the most valuable features of this solution."
"The performance monitoring feature is useful as it can report in 15 minute intervals by hour, day, week, month, or by a custom date range."
"IBM FlashSystem is a powerful effective storage solution. Additionally, it is user-friendly, anyone can use it."
"I like most of the features. Its speed, performance, and availability are valuable. We are implementing the data reduction technology the most."
"Installing FlashSystem is very easy. It takes less than half an hour, and I can handle it all myself."
"Speed (IOPS/second) – It is most vital for applications that need low latency and high speed for transferring the data."
"The price-performance ratio is most valuable."
"I like its storage capacity, quick access to the data, speed, and overall storage management."
 

Cons

"They don't offer subscription-based payments."
"The installation is not easy. You need to have extensive knowledge to handle it."
"It has room for improvement in the area of stability."
"The ease of installation should be improved. We had issues with the configuration model."
"This product lacks some of the options we wanted. For example, expansion was difficult and it required a lot of patching to be done."
"Product support is restricted to IBM only. It must be decentralized to IBM partners as well."
"I would like to see bigger modules."
"The GUI for monitoring performance metrics could provide better visibility. For example, it doesn't let me segregate the IOPS per volume."
"The main thing Oracle can improve is the cost. It would be better if Oracle opened up the system to enable integration with other vendors. Whether it's the database, application server, or storage appliance, they should make it easy to integrate them. They need to open up more to ensure that it can work in any environment and IT ecosystem."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"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."
"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."
"The price of IBM FlashSystem is a little high because you pay a premium because the solution is from IBM. We had paid for the SLA prior to using the solution."
"The total storage capacity vs price is still quite high for the IBM Flash Array."
"For a yearly license, it is about $100,000. There are no additional costs. The entire system is included."
"This solution is expensive compared to other solutions."
"Pricing can be considered as per market competition."
"The price could be better. We have many competing products now like Huawei and Dell EMC, and these are slightly cheaper."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Construction Company
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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 ...
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. ...
Ask a question
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Also Known As

IBM Storwize
Sun ZFS Storage Appliance
 

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Overview

 

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
Translational Genomics Research Institute, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, CyberSolutions Inc., Y-Telecom, First Alliance Bank Zambia Limited, AZ Sint-Jan Brugge-Oostende, Mutlinet Pakistan, TDC A/S, Digi-Key Corporation, Thurgau Cantonal Bank
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM FlashSystem vs. Oracle Sun ZFS Storage Appliance and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
831,265 professionals have used our research since 2012.