VinceVitro - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Storage Architect at a healthcare company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Top 5
High availability, performs well, and scalable
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature of Pure Storage FlashArray is its high stability level."
  • "The GUI could improve, it could be more intuitive. There is hidden functionality."

What is our primary use case?

We are using Pure Storage FlashArray for all of our SAN storage for our VMware environment

How has it helped my organization?

The solution has benefited our company because of the ease of use and the performance and reliability.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature of Pure Storage FlashArray is its high stability level.

What needs improvement?

The GUI could improve, it could be more intuitive. There is hidden functionality.

Buyer's Guide
Pure Storage FlashArray
March 2024
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For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Pure Storage FlashArray for approximately eight months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution has been highly stable and we have not had an issue.

I rate the stability of Pure Storage FlashArray a nine out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have one person that using the solution to manage it.

We do not plan to increase our usage.

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

How are customer service and support?

I have not used support often but my experience was good.

I rate the support of Pure Storage FlashArray an eight out of ten.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

I was not there when the initial setup was done, but we recently we swapped the controller and it went smoothly.

What was our ROI?

Pure Storage FlashArray is a good investment.

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

The price of Pure Storage FlashArray is expensive.

What other advice do I have?

My advice to others is for them to plan and try the solution out.

I rate Pure Storage FlashArray an eight 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
Murray-Kelleher - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Technology, Operations and Security Consultant at a construction company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Consultant
Good performance and stable solution
Pros and Cons
  • "Simplicity and reliability are the most valuable feature of Pure Storage FlashArray."
  • "It would be good to have metrics of the box's performance so we can see what it delivers, but currently, I can't see what it's actually doing."

What is our primary use case?

The core use for us is to test development.

What is most valuable?

Simplicity and reliability are the most valuable feature of Pure Storage FlashArray.

What needs improvement?

It would be good to have metrics of the box's performance so we can see what it delivers, but currently, I can't see what it's actually doing—things like CPU and how it's coping.

For the next release, I would like to improve on certain functionality. They have a thing called SafeMode. So, I'd like some kind of SafeMode Manager because the SafeMode is a good feature, but it's very basic in its functionality.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for three years. We have the I3 and I2 versions.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

So far, it's been faultless. It is a stable solution. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

For us, it is a scalable solution. Traditionally, with Pure Storage FlashArray, there has been a problem with scale at the high end, but that's not us anyway. So, it's not something that concerns us.

It's probably around 150 users in my organization. 

How are customer service and support?

I have spoken a lot to technical presales, and it's been fantastic.

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

The reason my company decided to use Pure Storage FlashArray rather than something else was the simplicity and proper simplicity of the solution. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is easy. 

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

It's not cheap. It's priced higher than the market.

What other advice do I have?

I would definitely recommend using the solution. Overall, I would rate the solution a ten out of ten because the team is great, and it simply just works.

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
Buyer's Guide
Pure Storage FlashArray
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about Pure Storage FlashArray. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
767,995 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Storage Specialist at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Top 10
Mature, robust, and quick to deploy
Pros and Cons
  • "It worked flawlessly."
  • "In the configuration, which we brought in or tested it in, it has a very limited config as far as the array goes. That said, it still did more than our anticipation."

What is our primary use case?

This solution has been part of a POC. We've been evaluating the solution. 

How has it helped my organization?

We went through many renditions of testing with a full load. Even if we pulled a controller out, there was just a blip of response, and it was still extremely acceptable within the limit of what we would consider acceptable - and we're talking about one millisecond here.

What is most valuable?

This code was mature. We found the hardware to be extremely robust. 

It worked flawlessly.

The deployment was fast. 

The plugin for the ESX, the VMware, was great. That integration is just perfect. They're enhancing it all the time, from what we can tell, so it works flawlessly.

Support is excellent. 

It was a very good proof-of-concept experience.

What needs improvement?

In the configuration, which we brought in or tested it in, it has a very limited config as far as the array goes. That said, it still did more than our anticipation. 

It's going to be a hard one to manage. They have most of what we were looking at, including some things that we're looking at down the road. The growth on this particular array is almost unlimited for most shops. I would say they still need more enhanced speed, however, that's always a thing with storage.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've used the solution for six months. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability and reliability are excellent. I would rate it nine out of ten in terms of stability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability was great. I'd rate it nine out of ten overall. 

We have 20,000 people who were virtual machine users that were just on the test load. 

There is potential to increase usage in the future. That said, it's not up to me right now. We're working with the vendor. 

How are customer service and support?

They have very good technical support. The support model was great. They usually had things resolved in under four hours. Service is very fast.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

The deployment is easy. It was implemented in 15 minutes, including SNAP policies. The process was extremely fast.

It required two people to set up the solution. 

We had the whole thing up and running in 20 minutes and probably was done in an hour for everything, including end-to-end connectivity and having ES6 running on it. 

What was our ROI?

We have witnessed an ROI while using the solution. 

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

The pricing is okay. It's somewhere in the middle. I'd rate it five out of ten overall. 

What other advice do I have?

We are using an all-flash X-series deployment. 

I'd advise people to test it and give it a try. They need to pay attention to their data reduction rate while doing so. 

I'd rate it nine out of ten overall. 

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
Head of presales team at Aptronics
Reseller
Top 5
An extremely stable solution that is easy to maintain and provides amazing technical support
Pros and Cons
  • "We consume less physical storage because of the solution’s deduplication and compression."
  • "It would be nice if Pure had something in its portfolio that provided higher deduplication and compression for backups."

What is our primary use case?

We have our own hosted environment that utilizes Pure. We also use it for customers. We use the solution both internally and externally. We use the tool for data storage and backups.

What is most valuable?

What we had previously wasn't quite working for us. Pure Storage FlashArray gives us the required availability and sufficient performance. We use the secure snapshots for malware protection. We consume less physical storage because of the solution’s deduplication and compression.

What needs improvement?

Pure is not designed to be a backup storage. It would be nice if Pure had something in its portfolio that provided higher deduplication and compression for backups. It would be nice to get specialized backup storage with immutability, multifactor authentication, and very high deduplication and compression without sacrificing performance.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for about five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is an extremely stable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We can start with the base array. As we scale on the contract, we get the higher-end controllers. It's a zero downtime upgrade, which is also very nice. We have some large enterprise customers.

How are customer service and support?

The support is amazing.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

The implementation is easy. The time taken for deployment depends on the engineer. Typically, it takes less than one hour. We need one engineer for the configuration. The tool is very easy to maintain. It has no failure rates.

What was our ROI?

The ROI is good.

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

We have customers who use a three-year or five-year license. We also have customers who use Evergreen.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I am also working with Nimble and HPE Alletra. One of the pros of Pure Storage is that it deals with all-flash arrays. It's a lot simpler. The other advantage is the collaboration with Pure.

What other advice do I have?

Overall, I rate the product a nine out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Reseller
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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
Manager I.T. Infrastructure at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
Real User
Enables all of our applications to perform faster and has good speed, resiliency, and scalability
Pros and Cons
  • "What I like most about this solution, is the speed, resiliency and scalability."
  • "In the next version of this program, I would like to see increased security, higher encryption, and faster throughput."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use case for this solution is for tier 1 critical applications on-premises. 

Our organization takes advantage of the VMware integration developed by Pure by integrating with vRealize.

How has it helped my organization?

With this program, all of our applications are able to perform faster and this enables us to provide faster platforms and services to our customers and employees. This solution is, therefore, a huge benefit to our IT organization. 

VMware is basically the platform that our entire on-premise residence runs on and we incorporate vRealize, vOperations, and SRM. We're also looking at partnering with a backup solution Zerto, so it just gives us a lot more flexibility.

What is most valuable?

What I like most about this solution, is the speed, resiliency and scalability.

What needs improvement?

In the next version of this program, I would like to see increased security, higher encryption, and faster throughput.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability of this solution is extremely solid.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I am very impressed by the scalability Pure offers.

How are customer service and technical support?

I haven't had any need to make use of the technical support team yet.

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

We realized that we needed to invest in a new solution when we ran out of space. We didn't really switch over to Pure, we basically just put the non-critical apps on our Unity storage and brought in Pure to be the tier 1 for the performance of critical applications. We had a few programs on our shortlist, like Dell EMC and Pure. We actually have all three on-site currently. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was very straightforward and we used FlairTech for the deployment. 

What other advice do I have?

I would like to see a reduction in the cost and speed, but I still think that this program deserves a ten out of ten rating. My advice to others would be, if you can afford it, get Pure. 

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Executive Director of Computing and Information Systems at a university with 5,001-10,000 employees
Real User
Data deduplication features make it easier to manage storage and forecast growth
Pros and Cons
  • "Data deduplication features make it easier to manage storage and forecast growth."
  • "It simplifies storage."
  • "The way Pure Storage does the controller storage warranty or replacement has been an issue for some people who just replace the controllers every couple of years, and that's where some of the confusion with pricing and support has come in. They should be clear on the way the controller replacements happen, as it is important to know whether or not you can get a good return on them, because it can be a little confusing."

What is our primary use case?

The primary use case is virtual machines.

How has it helped my organization?

We can now quickly roll out multiple instances of virtual machines or FlashArray storage, more than we could before.

What is most valuable?

Speed: Things function pretty quickly for our SAN management team. We have seen a good reduction in the amount of total storage space that we're using because of the deduplication.

It runs fast and is easy to use, and our SAN manager likes it.

What needs improvement?

The way Pure Storage does the controller storage warranty or replacement has been an issue for some people who just replace the controllers every couple of years, and that's where some of the confusion with pricing and support has come in. They should be clear on the way the controller replacements happen, as it is important to know whether or not you can get a good return on them, because it can be a little confusing.

I rated the solution as a nine out of ten because I knew about a disk failure. Other than that, it would probably be a ten. Disk failures are out of anybody's control. 

For how long have I used the solution?

Less than one year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is good.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It seems highly scalable.

How are customer service and technical support?

From what I have heard, the technical support has been good.

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

We went with Dell EMC first. When we had a ton of trouble with it, we dumped it for Pure Storage.

What was our ROI?

We are fairly new to using it, so we'll have to wait to see what our data usage is over the next year or so.

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

The cost was initially high, but once more people were using it, the costs came down. This was because the University was reselling it to other departments.

What other advice do I have?

It simplifies storage. Data deduplication features make it easier to manage storage and forecast growth.

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
MTS - Core IP Engineering at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Provides ease of management, reduces provisioning time, and is straightforward to deploy
Pros and Cons
  • "The availability and ease of use are the big features."
  • "Larger capacity and more storage ports would be the two things I'd like to see."

What is our primary use case?

We use it for block storage workloads. We don't use a lot of the features on it.

How has it helped my organization?

It has reduced provisioning time. There is ease of management.

What is most valuable?

The availability and ease of use are the big features. 

What needs improvement?

Larger capacity and more storage ports would be the two things I'd like to see.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with this solution for about three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It has been really stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

That's the only feature that isn't as good. It doesn't scale as large as some of the competitors, but they have started to make them bigger.

We probably have a dozen or so admins who use it, including me. I take care of its maintenance. It is pretty light in terms of maintenance.

It is being used extensively. We'll be increasing its usage. I'm on the networking side. Our IT group is a pretty heavy user too. Both of us will be increasing its usage, but their scale is a little bit bigger than ours.

How are customer service and support?

I would rate them really high. On a scale of one to five, I'd give them a four.

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

Dell EMC and NetApp would be the two big ones that we used before. We switched because of the cost and the ease of use. Those are the two big ones. In terms of the cost, a lot of it was just introducing a second vendor.

How was the initial setup?

Its setup was really straightforward. It took about half a day. It is pretty quick. All the cabling and facility stuff is usually the longest part.

What about the implementation team?

We had the vendor do most of it. It is like a team, and there is usually one installer guy. Our experience with them was great. Our account team with them is really good. 

What other advice do I have?

Its setup is easier than you think. It is a pretty straightforward deployment.

They have been correcting a couple of things. One of them was that they didn't really scale that large. So, we had to deploy a lot of arrays. They have started to make them bigger now. In addition, until recently, they didn't do a file on the FlashArray. Now, you can share files on it. They recently implemented that, but we haven't tried it yet.

I would rate it a nine out of 10. It does everything we wanted to do.

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
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Pure Storage FlashArray Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: March 2024
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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.