We performed a comparison between Dell PowerMax NVMe and IBM FlashSystem based on our users’ reviews in four categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.
Comparison Results: Based on the parameters we compared, IBM FlashSystem came out ahead of Dell PowerMax NVMe. Although both products are set up similarly and are described as high-end, Dell PowerMax NVMe has a licensing model that most users dislike and requires improvements in its support response times.
"It is the SAN backbone for our company."
"I find two features of Pure Storage most valuable. The first is the "safe mode" function, and the second is its simplicity."
"What I like most about this solution, is the speed, resiliency and scalability."
"The most valuable feature of the Pure Storage Flash Array is the blazing fast monitoring."
"The initial setup was straightforward in the way that it was a database vacuum storage."
"It simplifies the overall management. We don't have to worry about storage anymore."
"It is always out of the box, and ready to use."
"It helps simplify storage. When you're running Pure all-flash, you don't have to do a lot of the old Oracle best practices. You don't have to worry about putting log files on a different disk channel than the data files, and those types of issues... That has made it vastly easier to do large volumes, rapid provisioning in databases, without taking a performance hit."
"It is a true, stable product."
"We find the service level option to provision storage very valuable. The ability to define different service levels for storage groups helps us in prioritizing our workload at the infrastructure level."
"I am impressed with the tool's reliability since we see a few hardware failures with it. Also, the solution's replication configuration is good."
"The stability is amazing. Zero downtime reported over the last years."
"The most valuable feature is its global cache, which allows for uncompromised performance."
"The stability is great. It is five nines."
"I would rate my experience with the initial setup a nine out of ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy."
"The optimization of the cache memory of each engine and the use of persistent memory."
"Flash disk with Easy Tier option"
"The most crucial feature of IBM FlashSystem is compression."
"The most valuable features are, of course, the virtualization of the storage, the performance, and the compression."
"IBM's technical support do excellent work."
"FlashSystem offers proven technology in a compact package."
"One of the most valuable features is that it's very easy to use and configure. It used to be more difficult, but now it's almost flawless."
"Data deduplication is one of the most valuable features of this solution."
"The storage system is one of the best in the world."
"As partners, we should have the option to download the software, rather than have to go back through Pure to obtain it."
"Its price needs improvement. Its price is almost double than any other flash storage solution."
"We haven't seen ROI yet."
"As long as they always improve on IOPS speed, that's all we're really looking for. The faster the storage can be the more we can do speed of application and speed of use."
"The primary drawback is the cost, which can be prohibitive for small configurations."
"The initial setup of the product is complex."
"The problem is that we can only make a few groups, around five or six groups. I like groups and we need a lot of them. We had to put all the information in only a few groups and cannot make a more detailed separation of them."
"Currently, the solution fails to support file screening."
"The NVMe integration could be improved."
"The technical support is lacking. We are working with Dell EMC to get some better understanding of this."
"The initial setup was complex, and we had experienced people working on it."
"Dell PowerMax NVMe is costly compared to other solutions."
"Dell can improve the Service Level Agreement (SLA) compliance. Sometimes, when we need to replace a component, the SLA says four hours, but for some reason, the technician doesn't arrive until the next business day or even six to eight hours later before the case is placed. So, focusing on respecting the SLA is where Dell could improve."
"The initial setup was complex, as it is a complex system and you have to learn a lot."
"PowerMax Storage needs improvement in the area of monitoring tools. It should have more functions and more complicated analysis options inside the monitoring tools."
"I would like it to support NVMe over Fabrics, because that is the next item for consideration on the NVMe roadmap. PowerMax supports NVMe on the back-end, but when it starts supporting NVMe over Fibre Channel, suddenly various hosts can directly communicate with PowerMax, and with NVMe-oF, as well. Suddenly, Gen 6 and Gen 7 switchers will be able to help facilitate that particular communication channel."
"The data reduction pool feature sucks and is not recommended for use with heavy workloads."
"I would like to see bigger modules."
"The basic setup can be challenging when it comes to certain IP addresses and the configuration of the IP. You have to go in to different menus to makes changes and ensure it is stable."
"Sometimes the performance is effective but it gets resolved in the process."
"Our model does not support compression or deduplication."
"In IBM FlashSystem, data reduction is an area with shortcomings where improvements can be made in the future."
"The solution should improve its pricing and the mechanism in the reduction pool."
"They don't offer subscription-based payments."
Dell PowerMax NVMe is ranked 8th in All-Flash Storage with 66 reviews while IBM FlashSystem is ranked 6th in All-Flash Storage with 106 reviews. Dell PowerMax NVMe is rated 8.8, while IBM FlashSystem is rated 8.2. The top reviewer of Dell PowerMax NVMe writes "Simplified storage provisioning for us, enabling us to assign any volumes in two to three minutes". On the other hand, the top reviewer of IBM FlashSystem writes "An easy GUI and simple provisioning but our model does not support compression". Dell PowerMax NVMe is most compared with Dell PowerStore, Dell Unity XT, Huawei OceanStor Dorado, Dell XtremIO and HPE Primera, whereas IBM FlashSystem is most compared with Dell PowerStore, Dell Unity XT, NetApp AFF, Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform and HPE Primera. See our Dell PowerMax NVMe vs. IBM FlashSystem report.
See our list of best All-Flash Storage vendors.
We monitor all All-Flash Storage 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.