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Sr Systems Engineer at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
A space saving solution that offers increased speed and is easy to use
Pros and Cons
  • "The speed is the most valuable feature, along with the ease of getting it connected. We were able to get it online in less than a day."
  • "It was a little costly. The price was ultimately higher than both of the other solutions that we evaluated. I'd say that's the only downside."

What is our primary use case?

We use the solution for the vendor support. It's a banking software system. It's an IBM system and it requires some Pure Storage for the backend and SSDs for performance. The vendor supports Pure Storage. 

How has it helped my organization?

It saved a lot of space, as far as physical space in our data center. The old sand took up an entire rack and this entire system to about 6U. It's about 1/10th of the space and the power too. You get those power savings and space. The speed has also vastly improved. It's a lot faster than what we had before. We've been running VMware for over 10 years now, so we're all virtualized at this point. The solution has helped us to virtualize everything. 

Pure allows us to upgrade hardware anytime we want and not have to worry about converting everything. It makes everything easier to switch from one vendor to another if we want to. We just recently updated our sand from a Dell EMC. It allowed us to move it seamlessly without having to do anything with the software because it's all VMware.

What is most valuable?

The speed is the most valuable feature, along with the ease of getting it connected. We were able to get it online in less than a day. 

We're pretty complex. Back there, we've got three or four different systems. It's important that we have something that's easy to manage so we don't have to learn something completely new. This solution offers a GUI that you can just set up and it's ready to go. We had it up and running in three or four hours.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I haven't had any issues with stability. The solution has run since the first day we implemented it and so far has done everything they promised.

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What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We haven't had to scale out yet because the solution is new to our organization, but I have heard it's pretty easy to do. Right now, we have a capacity of about 100 TB. We don't plan to scale right now. When we bought it, we sized it to allow for about two years of growth. So unless something unexpected happens, we should be okay.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was straightforward.

We deployed it in our VR site first. We got it set up in VR and made sure everything was working. Then we brought it into production and deployed it on the production side.

We tested it first on the VR site. We personally didn't test a unit, besides our VR site, which was about two weeks. Our vendor-approved it and they used it. We went on the advice of our vendor and got the system.

What about the implementation team?

We implemented the solution with the assistance of a vendor. 

Our experience with that vendor was good. They had everything up for us and there were no problems. Everything worked. They pre-configured it before they brought it out and then they just set it up. 

What was our ROI?

So far, I'm not sure if there is an ROI, as the solution is brand new. It's too soon to tell.

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

We have a package deal on the solution because we bought it through a software vendor, so they packaged it with their solution. I don't know what the individual costs would be for the Pure side of it.

It was a little costly. The price was ultimately higher than both of the other solutions that we evaluated. I'd say that's the only downside.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We looked at two other solutions but we liked that Pure seemed a bit easier to use. That, and we had recommendations.

What other advice do I have?

We are using the on-premises deployment model.

VMware was one of the primary drivers when choosing Pure. One of the banking vendors that we use as a primary banking system had limited vendors that they support for storage and Pure was one of them. It was also recommended by a different credit union, which is why we went with them.

I would rate this solution eight or nine out of ten.

I would definitely recommend them. They're recommended for a reason. They're not the cheapest, but the performance is, from what I read, the best, and it's easy to manage, so it's worth the extra cost.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
SystemAd0ccc - PeerSpot reviewer
System Administrator at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Has high reliability and enables us to have faster access to our data
Pros and Cons
  • "The top-tier support and reliable storage are the most valuable features of this solution."
  • "In the next release, I would like to see file-level encryption."

What is our primary use case?

We use the private on-premise deployment model. Our primary use case of this solution is for virtual machines. We just use it as storage for our vCenter environment.

How has it helped my organization?

It has improved my organization in the way that we have high reliability and faster access to our data.

It has improved our IT organization in the way that we are able to provide systems to our customers quickly and provide high availability and reliability for their applications. 

We are running VMware on Pure. Our main driver was speed. The joint solution has helped our organization through speed of delivery and speed of applications.

What is most valuable?

The top-tier support and reliable storage are the most valuable features of this solution. 

What needs improvement?

In the next release, I would like to see file-level encryption.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's highly stable. It's one of our biggest successes. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's been really easy to expand storage with no downtime. It's one of the things we like about it. 

How are customer service and technical support?

Their technical support is great. 

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

We knew we needed to switch to this solution because the industry is going away from spinning disks. We were on spinning disks, and the whole industry is going away from that. 

We are still using IBM but we are not happy with it. IBM has taken old technology and tried to make it new. Pure has started from the ground up and built it.

How was the initial setup?

The integration was straightforward. 

What about the implementation team?

Pure Storage did the integration for us. 

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

Our costs are around $100,000.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We also evaluated Nimble, EMC, and HPE 3PAR. We ended up going with Pure because of the architecture, speed, and support.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate it a ten out of ten for its reliability, speed, and support. The support is awesome.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Buyer's Guide
Pure Storage FlashArray
January 2025
Learn what your peers think about Pure Storage FlashArray. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2025.
831,265 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Senior Site Reliability Engineer at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
Real User
Empowered by flexible configuration and seamless management
Pros and Cons
  • "Pure Storage FlashArray simplifies maintenance and management with its intuitive GUI, making storage allocation and other processes easy to understand, even for beginners."
  • "Enhanced documentation and beginner-friendly guidelines would benefit users with less configuration experience."

What is our primary use case?

We use our Pure Storage FlashArray system for all storage allocations and management tasks, accessed through its standard graphical user interface.

My team is responsible for operating and maintaining our storage applications, including hardware replacement and vendor coordination with Pure Storage. The implementation of Pure Storage FlashArray has been successful due to its reliability and user-friendly interface, which has minimized disruptions and allowed for efficient workload management.

How has it helped my organization?

Pure Storage FlashArray's single pane of glass simplifies administration, particularly for testing, offering benefits for all users.

The system's wide range of configuration options allows for the use of various products and adaptable cost structures for different storage scenarios. Pure Storage also presented opportunities for business growth and expanded access, with the primary benefits being its performance and user-friendly interface.

What is most valuable?

Pure Storage FlashArray simplifies maintenance and management with its intuitive GUI, making storage allocation and other processes easy to understand, even for beginners. This ease of use is a significant benefit throughout the entire implementation process.

What needs improvement?

From my limited experience with Pure Storage FlashArray, I haven't encountered any significant areas needing improvement. However, enhanced documentation and beginner-friendly guidelines would benefit users with less configuration experience.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using it for almost three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I would rate the stability of Pure Storage FlashArray eight out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Pure Storage offers a wide range of configurable products that can help expand our infrastructure to suit various scenarios, providing business growth opportunities.

I would rate the scalability of Pure Storage FlashArray eight out of ten.

How are customer service and support?

Customer service is quite good.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

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

At the time we were moving to Pure Storage FlashArray, we were also  using  vendors like Dell EMC and Hitachi. I'm not clear why the business chose Pure Storage as well for the storage deployment, as I am more into the administrative and supporting side.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate Pure Storage FlashArray eight out of ten.

We have deployed Pure Storage FlashArray in various data centers across multiple countries and testing environments. We have over 1,000 users in our organization.

Pure Storage FlashArray requires maintenance to avoid issues.

I recommend Pure Storage FlashArray due to its simplicity and attractive features. There's no particular reason not to recommend it.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Kleber Fernandes - PeerSpot reviewer
Diretor Comercial at a security firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
A highly stable and scalable solution that ensures return on investment for its users
Pros and Cons
  • "On a scale of one to ten, where ten is the most comfortable pricing, I rate the solution a nine out of ten."
  • "Currently, the solution fails to support file screening."

What is our primary use case?

It's a very simple tool to use with extremely low latency and high performance.

How has it helped my organization?

Pure Storage FlashArray has improved the performance of applications.

What is most valuable?

Feature-wise, the solution provides direct flash storage.

What needs improvement?

Improvement-wise, Pure Storage FlashArray must support real-time incidents. I think that Pure Storage should improve its pricing.

Currently, the solution fails to support file screening. I want to see the solution supporting file screening in the future.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Pure Storage FlashArray for four years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten. Presently, five people in my company use the tool.

How are customer service and support?

I rate the solution's technical support a ten out of ten.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

The solution's initial setup process was straightforward.

What was our ROI?

My company saw a return on investment using the solution as it helped us reduce the time it took to access applications and reduced the space required in our data center.

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

Pure Storage FlashArray is expensive.

What other advice do I have?

When considering the use of this solution, I suggest evaluating the price and taking into account its performance and potential to reduce the space in the data center. I rate the overall solution a ten out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Infrastructure Engineer at ISAM
Real User
Meets our needs, and has good speed and good programmability
Pros and Cons
  • "I like the speed, and I like the API and how programmable it is."
  • "Its price could be cheaper. It is not the cheapest one out there, but I'm not directly involved in the figures and negotiations."

What is our primary use case?

At the moment, we're migrating our complete infrastructure onto Pure Storage. All of our storage is going onto it.

We are using its latest version.

What is most valuable?

I like the speed, and I like the API and how programmable it is.

What needs improvement?

Its price could be cheaper. It is not the cheapest one out there, but I'm not directly involved in the figures and negotiations. 

In terms of features, we are really happy with it. We haven't had it long enough to give feedback on that.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for a year now.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

So far, it has been brilliant. We haven't really had it long enough to judge it.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It seems pretty good, but we haven't really tested it.

We have about a hundred users. We will possibly increase its usage. It will be done slowly.

How are customer service and support?

It has been really easy to use. Their support has been very helpful.

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

We were using another solution. We switched because it was very old, and we were looking at something that was an SSD. 

How was the initial setup?

I was not involved in the initial setup. For its deployment, we had a couple of engineers.

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

It is not the cheapest one out there. We're paying yearly, but I'm not 100% sure.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We evaluated Pure and NetApp, and we eventually went with Pure. A positive point with NetApp was the price.

What other advice do I have?

If it's financially viable for you and you can afford it, it's worth it.

I would rate it a nine out of 10.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Storage Solutions Architect at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Is easy to install, scalable, stable, and has great technical support
Pros and Cons
  • "Processes that used to take 40 minutes to two hours can be completed in five minutes."
  • "CIFS and SMB Shares cannot be mounted directly."

What is our primary use case?

We use Pure Storage FlashArray for machine learning, storage, backups, and computing.

How has it helped my organization?

After installing Pure, the processes that would take 40 minutes to two hours to complete are now done in five minutes.

What is most valuable?

It is easy to install.

The stability and scalability are awesome.

The technical support is awesome as well.

Processes that used to take 40 minutes to two hours can be completed in five minutes.

Also, we can use more capacity and pay less.

What needs improvement?

I think the areas that they have been working on for quite some time are the CIFS and SMB Shares, that is, being able to mount them directly. I think they're on the right track.

One wish I have is that they will have a solution to help archive data to the cloud, that is, a Cloud Tiering Appliance.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been working with it since 2016.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability of the solution is awesome too.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability of the solution is awesome. You have the opportunity to grow as needed.

The entire company uses this solution, so that would be close to 2100 people.

It is very extensively used, and we are continuing to expand.

How are customer service and support?

Technical support has been awesome. Sometimes, they've let us know about problems before we've even known that they were there.

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

We previously used an EMC Array.

We switched because the response time went from a few hours to minutes.

The other piece was the amount of space that we were able to use because of the duplication and compression built in the unit. We can use more capacity and pay less.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was very straightforward. The deployment took a couple of hours.

We did a PoC with the product and checked to make sure that it worked in our environment.

We have a group of about 6 to 10 people managing the system.

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

When we bought the unit, we bought per capacity. So, the licensing is per capacity, and the only thing that we have to buy every year or every three years is maintenance. Included in that maintenance is the upgrade of the controllers every three years at no cost to us.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We evaluated NetApp, Kaminario, EMC XtremIO, Tintri, and Nutanix.

We used scalability, support, the evergreen model, the cost per terabyte or per gigabyte, and the footprint as the factors for comparison. We also looked at how they are able to provide support globally, not only here in the US but also overseas.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend that you do a PoC to ensure that it works according to the needs of the company, and that will help prevent a lot of headaches.

I think it's a very complete solution at this point, and I would rate it at ten on a scale from one to ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Private Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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System Administrator at VERIFI
MSP
We saw huge boost in performance for all of our servers
Pros and Cons
  • "It is pretty much just plug and play. There is not that much to do with it. It is very easy to use."
  • "I would like the ability to swap out the network adapters into it. So, without taking out the whole controller, I would like to be able to swap adapters. This would make things easier."

What is our primary use case?

We use it as our primary application driver for all of storage reasons in our data center for both our corporate and production environments.

We just did all-flash, and all-flash is better than anything disk related.

How has it helped my organization?

This was our first all-flash storage enclosure, so we saw huge boost in performance for all of our servers. It has definitely helped us in terms of performance, which is what we needed it for.

We don't have to build any type of storage device, which takes a long time for an IT guy to do. For storage, this makes it much easier when it is set up, because it can be done almost the same day that it is purchased.

What is most valuable?

The deduplication and compression are its most valuable feature. They have done a really good job, as they were able to shrink down 15 gigs into five gigs.

It is pretty much just plug and play. There is not that much to do with it. It is very easy to use.

What needs improvement?

I would like the ability to swap out the network adapters into it. So, without taking out the whole controller, I would like to be able to swap adapters. This would make things easier.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It has been stable. It has been running pretty much flawlessly, except for one power supply which died, and that was it. That power supply was then replaced by Pure Storage. The replacement that Pure Storage sent us did have a bit of an issue when it was placed, but after a tech went in there and fixed it, that was it.

I try to go in there and at least keep an eye on it every once in a while, but it mostly runs on its own. There is no real need to do anything.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We haven't really scaled up.

How are customer service and technical support?

The technical support did a good on the one issue that we contact them for (the power supply).

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

We didn't have all-flash. We needed a lot of performance for all of our production environment, and for everything else that was connecting to us. That is what basically drove us to Pure Storage.

How was the initial setup?

The setup was very good. For my environment, which is a cluster environment, they were able to pick that up and do that (and iSCSI) very well.

I had no issues with upgrading our firmware controllers.

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

You are buying a premium product, and it is worth it.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We were looking at Dell EMC. We were looking at a couple of other vendors, including NetApp. We decided on Pure Storage because of the deduplication and compression that they were advertising.

What other advice do I have?

If you are researching Pure Storage, make sure you are getting the right amount of space set up for what you are doing because the compression will affect how much you are getting overall. You might think you are only getting ten terabytes or fifteen terabytes, but it will be a lot less.

We use it for Hyper-V on my end and OpenStack on the production end. The integration for Hyper-V was very easy. There was pretty much no effort to do it.

The UI is pretty good. I don't use it as often as I probably should, but it usually just runs on its own.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Works at a comms service provider with 1-10 employees
Real User
Top 20
Smooth provisioning and a single pane of glass for management
Pros and Cons
  • "We only have storage provisioning, so the provisioning feature is good. The compression and deduplication are good."
  • "They can also include file services such as NAS shares and CIFS shares. There should be provisioning of the file shares from a unified array."

What is our primary use case?

We have a contract with Pure Storage, and we use it for VMware and database server storage provisioning.

We have multiple applications in the environment, and we are provisioning from Pure Storage.

How has it helped my organization?

The single pane of glass is important for us because we can view all the array details in one place. We can see the details about the capacity, utilized space, available or free space, alerts, and performance in one place. This overview is important.

It did decrease the storage footprint compared to other models and storage, but I do not have the metrics.

It helps to reduce the downtime.

What is most valuable?

We are not using any replication features. We only have storage provisioning, so the provisioning feature is good. The compression and deduplication are good.

What needs improvement?

It does not require much improvement. They can maybe improve the file services. The focus is on block storage. They can also include file services such as NAS shares and CIFS shares. There should be provisioning of the file shares from a unified array.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Pure Storage FlashArray for one year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

There is no lagging or crashing. It is quite stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is good in terms of scalability. We can scale up to a higher number.

How are customer service and support?

I have interacted with their technical support. They were good at providing support when I requested.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

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

We have different flash array systems from HPE GreenLake. Pure Storage is better than the HPE GreenLake flash array. Performance-wise, Pure Storage is better. The cost of Pure Storage might be high, but I am not sure.

How was the initial setup?

It is on-prem. I do not know about its initial deployment because I was not there at the time of deployment. So, I do not know if its benefits could be realized immediately after the deployment. However, it has been effective in terms of utilization and capacity. We are now planning for different storage and doing the migration from Pure Storage to others because of the EOC limit that we have.

In terms of maintenance, there are firmware updates. We have to schedule a change window and then update the firmware.

What other advice do I have?

It is good. Working with it is easy. Provisioning is smooth and good. The GUI and everything else is good. You can just do training with Pure Storage and get on with your storage tasks.

Overall, I would rate Pure Storage FlashArray a nine out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Download our free Pure Storage FlashArray Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: January 2025
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Buyer's Guide
Download our free Pure Storage FlashArray Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.