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IBM Spectrum Virtualize vs VxRail 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 Spectrum Virtualize
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
37
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined Storage (SDS) (12th)
VxRail
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
131
Ranking in other categories
HCI (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

IBM Spectrum Virtualize and VxRail aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. IBM Spectrum Virtualize is designed for Software Defined Storage (SDS) and holds a mindshare of 1.6%, down 2.1% compared to last year.
VxRail, on the other hand, focuses on HCI, holds 19.3% mindshare, down 21.3% since last year.
Software Defined Storage (SDS)
HCI
 

Featured Reviews

EdwinVan Halm - PeerSpot reviewer
Enterprise product that delivers high performance features
The primary use case is high availability and disaster recovery. They use it as an active-active cluster located in two physical locations for quick recovery using immutable snapshots The quick restore, the low latency, and the ease of use are some of the most valuable features. The product is…
Rami Jadallah - PeerSpot reviewer
Streamline management and integration with seamless upgrades
The primary reasons customers choose VxRail include ease of management, ease of upgrades, and integration with VMware. The hyper-converged infrastructure simplifies software and hardware upgrades. Customers prefer the single pane of glass management and integration with VMware, which makes it easier for them to proceed with decisions involving VMware products.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It lowers cost. It does so by getting more efficient use out of the technology behind it."
"The most valuable feature is its reliability."
"I like that it can virtualize more than three hundred storage providers."
"One of the main features of Spectrum Virtualize is it virtualizes the servers from the storage. We have a very large infrastructure. A major advantage is when you get the aged storage arrays and you have to replace all of those."
"It's got full features, so we can compress volumes. We can do thin volumes and we can change them on the fly."
"In my opinion, the quick restore, the low latency, and the ease of use are some of the most valuable features."
"The ability to have a feature-rich software set which extends the capabilities of the back-end storage arrays."
"The scalability is very good. It can handle anywhere from very small to large enterprise class."
"The ease of deployment and management of the solution are the most valuable aspects of the product."
"The updating of the features was one aspect of the solution that made us decide to use it."
"The installation process is very quick. When you purchase it, it's up and running without much delay. Adding any additional components is simple, allowing for easy and fast scaling without adding complexity. The centralized management portal makes it easy to manage the entire system."
"I can roll out the system in thirty minutes and the customer can work with it."
"VxRail can be used for application modernization."
"The tool's price is competitive and it is easy to use."
"The stability is very nice. We haven't had any issues with the cluster. The cluster is very stable. No problems with slowness. Everything has been stable. It was well-architectured."
"It's a simple product, fast, and reliable."
 

Cons

"The training program could be improved."
"I hate I/O groups. If you start swapping I/O groups, they can be potentially risky. If they could get rid of the whole I/O group principle, the risk is not there anymore. I understand the fundamental thing about I/O groups, but they are risky."
"The only errors I find sometimes is the solution tells me I cannot operate it because a service has turned off, you can just go back to the VM, go to services, and turn back the services. However, this should improve."
"There are big arrays now, and if a customer wants add more disks to it, you have to have another array. Adding disks to existing arrays is one of the most demanded things from our customers."
"GUI should be developed in HTML5 as opposed to Java."
"There are things that occur when you get to this size and capacity. We're very large, i.e., petabytes. When you get to that sheer volume of the numbers of things, it is too big for people to keep track of."
"I would like to see them provide a unified platform that offers block, file, and object-based protocol access."
"Tighter integration with cloud storage might be useful as a target for a variety of use cases."
"The initial setup was not that easy, it was a medium difficulty level."
"The configurations of VxRail can be difficult. However, it has improved in the newer version. From version 6 to 7, there has been a lot of changes."
"When it comes to maintenance, it takes 16 hours to upgrade a 12 node VxRail plus. This could be improved in the system."
"The major issue with VxRail is the razoring process, which can only be performed by Dell."
"VxRail could improve by having domain protection."
"It might offer better integration with other products."
"VxRail should try to improve the pricing."
"I would like to see VxRail add duplication features to its hybrid solution."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Generally the bundled licensing is more cost effective and gives flexibility to the solution. Linking into the Spectrum Suite can also be advantageous, but depends on the scale of the enterprise."
"It has a lot of advanced functions for a reasonable price."
"We have struggled with Pure Storage, but people are understanding that much of Pure has been consumer grade SSDs. Therefore, when the customer is really understands what they are getting, they realize that IBM presents the same sort of value as existing vendors."
"We would like the CPU cycle to save more on the licensing costs for us."
"The entry point of pricing for this product is the most amazing price ever in the industry."
"Do a proof of concept, if you are not comfortable jumping in, but do it."
"I think it is a good value for the price."
"I am very happy with the pricing. There is no comparison when it comes to pricing. I have looked at all solutions from EMC, Veritas, Hitachi, Dell, etc. None of them compares to IBM when it comes to pricing. I get great pricing from them."
"VxRail does raise the price, but overall, it's well-priced. It's not more expensive than other similar solutions. If you were to create an in-house, tailor-made solution, you could potentially do it at a lower cost. However, I think a fully integrated solution like VxRail should be priced appropriately."
"The solution is priced well for businesses."
"VxRail is an expensive solution."
"The solution is on the higher end of the price range."
"We were expecting Dell EMC to bring us something that would work very quickly and easily, but also be at a reasonable price point, and they did."
"The product is expensive compared to other solutions."
"The price could be lower."
"The licensing costs can vary depending on the number of processors and specific requirements, which may result in considerable expenses."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
20%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Government
12%
Real Estate/Law Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Government
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Spectrum Virtualize?
As a customer of IBM, I can often secure discounts of seventy to ninety percent, depending on the purchase volume, while still receiving improved capabilities over other vendors.
What needs improvement with IBM Spectrum Virtualize?
I would like to see them provide a unified platform that offers block, file, and object-based protocol access. Presentations and blogs could be improved.
What is your primary use case for IBM Spectrum Virtualize?
I use IBM Spectrum Virtualize as a storage device that provides storage to servers needing storage. I utilize it in my role for the US government.
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What are the major differences between VxRail and Dell EMC PowerFlex?
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Also Known As

No data available
VCE VxRail
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Pelephone, Sprint IT Enterprise Services
World Wide Technology Inc, Renault Sport Formula One Team, 8x8 Inc, Brownes, Canadian Pacific, Canopy, Denton, EDF, Unilin, Xerox
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