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it_user569832 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Manager at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Vendor
It is easy to set up, easy to use, and reliable.

What is most valuable?

  • Ease-of-use: You don't have to be a storage expert to navigate and set up the product.
  • Reliability: If there are any issues with the product, their support team calls me before I even notice that there is an issue. They're very proactive.

How has it helped my organization?

With our previous storage product, I would probably spend 2-4 hours a week managing it, logging, checking on things, and fixing issues. Since we've switched to Nimble, I probably spend an hour a month doing various maintenance tests. It has greatly reduced the amount of handling that our storage requires.

What needs improvement?

Third-party integrations: A lot of products tend to come out and support NetApp, EMC, and various other storage managers. Nimble tends to be lagging behind in that space, and it's not completely their fault, but I think they could do a better job pushing for those integrations with various third-party products.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have used the solution for a little over two years.

Buyer's Guide
HPE Nimble Storage
March 2025
Learn what your peers think about HPE Nimble Storage. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2025.
842,690 professionals have used our research since 2012.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We have not encountered any stability issues.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have not encountered any scalability issues, as it's very scalable.

How are customer service and support?

The level of technical support is 10/10.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We were on NetApp previously. It was too cumbersome to manage. Their support was atrocious, and they were really expensive.

How was the initial setup?

The setup was the easiest thing I've ever done in my life. We had it unboxed, uncrated, racked, and connected to VMware in probably two hours, tops.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Their pricing window was more straightforward than in traditional storage. They have basically guaranteed maintenance pricing. In years four, five, six, and beyond, they don't force you to upgrade like some of the other vendors.

The license is straightforward and it's all inclusive. There's no need to buy different license keys to get access to certain features. What you pay for, and you pay one price, you get it all.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We looked at everybody on the market.

What other advice do I have?

Don't be hesitant, and trust their technology, because it works. Just because they don't have the market share of NetApp and EMC, isn't a reason to overlook them.


Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
PeerSpot user
it_user261627 - PeerSpot reviewer
President at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Consultant
They're pricey for what the hardware/software is, but they're definitely worth it if you're in a high IOPS environment.

What is most valuable?

The SSD caching and the snapshots within the array are unlike any other product I've ever worked with. Restoring VM's is VERY simple.

How has it helped my organization?

The SSD caching ensures VM performance is top notch 24/7 regardless of how much I/O the VM requires.

What needs improvement?

I'd love to be able to put larger spindles into the unit, but I get that that is how they make their money, by selling you a larger unit.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've used it for five years.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

We ran into some blue screen issues when using Hyper-V, however, with VMware it works perfectly.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

None so far.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's hard for Nimble to compare with the largest EMC stuff, but, I'm not entirely sure that they're after that segment of EMC's market.

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer Service:

It's top notch.

Technical Support:

It's top notch.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We used to push Dell/Equallogic stuff, but the limited performance and lack of value caused us to look elsewhere.

How was the initial setup?

The setup is by far the most straightforward setup I have ever worked with in the SAN space.

What about the implementation team?

My first unit was a demo unit that we used internally and setup on our own. Now we're a reseller of Nimble.

What was our ROI?

In terms of value, it's immediate. All VM's instantly noticed a drastic performance increase over the old Dell stuff.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

From one perspective they're pricey for what the hardware/software is, but they're definitely worth it if you're in a high IOPS environment. In fact they're a very cost effective solution when pinned against the competitors.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Everything from NetApp, EMC, Dell/Equallogic, and even QNAP. It's really no contest when you learn about the architecture in detail.

What other advice do I have?

Definitely have a sales engineer give you a demo/explanation of the technology.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: We're a partner/Tech Enthusiast.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
HPE Nimble Storage
March 2025
Learn what your peers think about HPE Nimble Storage. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2025.
842,690 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Vinu Randula - PeerSpot reviewer
Lead sales Engineer - Cybersecurity & Infrastructure at Adapt Information Technologies (Pvt) Ltd
Real User
Top 10
Stable solution, but its pricing needs improvement
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is scalable."
  • "We face challenges with hardware delivery."

What is our primary use case?

Our customers use the solution for cyber security.

What is most valuable?

The solution provides all the essential features for various project requirements.

What needs improvement?

They should improve the solution's pricing.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is a stable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable. We have more than 100 customers using the solution.

How are customer service and support?

The solution's technical support is good. Although, we face challenges with hardware delivery.

How was the initial setup?

The solution's initial setup is straightforward. But its complexity depends on specific requirements. The deployment process takes three months to complete.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The solution is more expensive than Dell Unity. We have purchased a yearly license for it. The additional costs depend upon the use cases.

What other advice do I have?

I rate the solution as a seven.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Enterprise Administrator at a outsourcing company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Proactive technical support, quick updates, and effective failovers
Pros and Cons
  • "HPE Nimble Storage is quick to release updates that fix bugs or problems and the failover has been good."
  • "The solution could improve by having more granularity. For example, having the ability to go deeper into specific IO channels or specific latency issues that can happen would be a benefit. HPE has this ability on their side but it would be useful to have it on our side."

What is our primary use case?

We are using HPE Nimble Storage of backing up our data.

What is most valuable?

HPE Nimble Storage is quick to release updates that fix bugs or problems and the failover has been good.

What needs improvement?

The solution could improve by having more granularity. For example, having the ability to go deeper into specific IO channels or specific latency issues that can happen would be a benefit. HPE has this ability on their side but it would be useful to have it on our side.

Replication reporting is a bit difficult to figure out and could improve in the future. It would be helpful if they had a breakdown detailed report that one could provide to upper management.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using HPE Nimble Storage for approximately 

How are customer service and technical support?

The support is very good at being proactive in helping us resolve issues. They have been better than most other competitors in this area.

What other advice do I have?

It is a sound solution and we have not had many issues.

I rate HPE Nimble Storage a nine out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1473747 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Support Engineer at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
MSP
Plenty of features, user friendly, and portal useful
Pros and Cons
  • "Some of the beneficial features I have found are the Block-level backups, the interface is easy to use, backups work well and the portal is functional."
  • "We want to start storing data in the cloud really soon and we are looking at options."

What is our primary use case?

The solution is used for a storage area network(SAN) that we store files and backups on.

How has it helped my organization?

The SAN has been great, it has been a big help.

What is most valuable?

Some of the beneficial features I have found are the Block-level backups, the interface is easy to use, backups work well and the portal is functional.

What needs improvement?

We want to start storing data in the cloud really soon and we are looking at other options. If there is a solution that could combine Azure backup and interconnect it with storage on-premises and on the cloud, this would be great. This solution could already exist by HP, I have not done the research yet or know what the process looks like.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I had no problems with stability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability is something we are looking into with HA and failover features at other locations. This is part of that project we are working on. I do not know right now exactly how scalable the solution is but I might know soon.

Our whole company SAN, uses the solution of approximately 700 employees.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The solution is a little pricey compared to others on the market.

What other advice do I have?

I rate HPE Nimble Storage a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Reseller
PeerSpot user
VPTech3691 - PeerSpot reviewer
Vice President Tech Operations at Ten-X, LLC
Real User
Gives us hybrid storage at an affordable cost.

What is most valuable?

The Nimble solution gives us hybrid storage at an affordable cost. We use it in our corporate IT environment. It's fast relatively easy to implement.

What needs improvement?

All-flash arrays.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is great. I don't think we've had a failure since we've had it.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's much easier. We compared it to Sentry, where we had to do forty-two upgrades for more space. Nimble just keeps letting us add arrays over and over.

How are customer service and technical support?

We have used technical support and they are very good.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We used to use Sentry and we switched to Nimble. It was a Greenfield solution. When choosing a solution for storage venues, which is what I do now, the main elements have to be reliability and support. This is our game. Nimble is now a part of HPE and they just beat out the others.

How was the initial setup?

I was involved in the setup and it was very fast.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The price is excellent.

What other advice do I have?

Look at Nimble. It fits that median point of "I want something better than my own, home-grown solution", and "I don't to buy a product that is too expensive." It is squarely in the middle.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Chris Childerhose - PeerSpot reviewer
Chris ChilderhoseEnterprise Architect at ThinkON
ExpertTop 5Real User

Nice review. Nimble has improved with All Flash arrays and we just implemented an AF5000. Great device and fast. Dedupe is also excellent.

it_user283428 - PeerSpot reviewer
System Engineer with 51-200 employees
Vendor
The storage is now able to support the required IOPs for all of our applications. We've yet to determine whether it will scale.

What is most valuable?

  • The product is easy and quick to implement
  • Licensing is easy to understand and doesn’t require a license for each feature that they offer
  • SSD for cache
  • Great technical support
  • Monitoring of components and quick replacements if they fail
  • Can update firmware and OS without taking SAN offline

How has it helped my organization?

The organization is now able to take advantage of the benefits offered by virtualization such as vMotion. The storage is now able to support the required IOPs for all of our applications.

What needs improvement?

I haven't come across any so far.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've used it for 10 months.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

No issues encountered.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The product has been extremely stable so far.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have not yet had the need to scale.

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer Service:

10/10.

Technical Support:

10/10.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Prior to this, we were using storage on our servers.

How was the initial setup?

It was very straightforward. The initial setup can be completed in less than hour as long as all of the network configurations have been completed.

What about the implementation team?

It was in-house.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Price is comparable to other vendors’ products in the same class. The licensing is extremely easy to understand compared to some of the other vendors. Nimble doesn’t require separate licenses for each feature that they offer.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

  • EMC
  • EqualLogic
  • NetApp

What other advice do I have?

Nimble offers solid products, are very easy to implement, and offer great performance.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: We are partners.
PeerSpot user
Chris Childerhose - PeerSpot reviewer
Chris ChilderhoseEnterprise Architect at ThinkON
ExpertTop 5Real User

Nice review and I have to agree that Nimble is a great product. We use 8 of their arrays and typically don't have any performance issues at all. Mind you most are older models which we are looking to replace potentially with some all flash.

reviewer1223328 - PeerSpot reviewer
Director at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Reseller
Great performance and a fast deployment but can be expensive
Pros and Cons
  • "The deployment is fast."
  • "It would be ideal if all these enterprise-class high-performance products would come at a cheaper price."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the solution for ERP.

What is most valuable?

The performance of the solution is excellent. It's the most valuable aspect of the product. The stability is great.

The scalability of the solution is great.

The deployment is fast.

Technical support is helpful. 

What needs improvement?

It would be ideal if all these enterprise-class high-performance products would come at a cheaper price.

The initial setup could be simplified a bit. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been dealing with the solution for a few years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable and reliable. The performance is great. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability is good with this product. If a company wants to expand it, it's not a problem.

We have two or three clients on the product right now. 

How are customer service and support?

I've had no issues with technical support. They are helpful and responsive. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is always complex, however, it is manageable. Of course, it could always be a bit easier in the future. 

The initial deployment is pretty fast and takes less than a week.

A company would typically need one or two engineers for deployment and maintenance tasks. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The solution is quite expensive. We'd like them to lower the cost of the product.

You can buy the solution outright to avoid ongoing licensing costs.

What other advice do I have?

We are resellers of the solution.

As resellers, sometimes how easy or hard the solution is to deal with and set up depends on the customer requirements. It's really subject to what a customer wants in their environment.

I'd rate the solution at a six out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free HPE Nimble Storage Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: March 2025
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Buyer's Guide
Download our free HPE Nimble Storage Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.