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Dell Compellent (discontinued) vs. IBM Storage FlashSystem vs. Nimbus Data FlashMax Arrays

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Dell Compellent (discontinued)

    Score8 out of 10
    N/ASince it's acquisition in 2011 Compellent became a Dell product line of storage solutions (e.g. Dell Compellent Storage Center). Compellent products became part of the Dell EMC SC Series of enterprise flash and SAN storage devices and are now EOL.N/A

    IBM Storage FlashSystem

    Score8.9 out of 10
    N/AIBM Storage FlashSystem, an all-flash storage array, delivers ~2 PB of effective capacity per single rack unit. Engineered with unique FlashCore Modules, it offloads data services including compression, encryption, deduplication, and ransomware threat detection ensuring optimum performance and resiliency.N/A

    Nimbus Data FlashMax Arrays

    N/AN/ANimbus Data develops flash storage solutions purpose-built for data-intensive workloads across cloud, AI, enterprise, and edge environments. Their portfolio includes FlashMax® all-flash systems, designed to enable customers to accelerate, protect, and scale their most critical data infrastructure.N/A
    Pricing
    Dell Compellent (discontinued)IBM Storage FlashSystemNimbus Data FlashMax Arrays
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Dell Compellent (discontinued)IBM Storage FlashSystemNimbus Data FlashMax Arrays
    Free Trial
    NoYesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Dell Compellent (discontinued)IBM Storage FlashSystemNimbus Data FlashMax Arrays
    Considered Multiple Products
    Discontinued Products
    No answer on this topic
    IBM
    Chose IBM Storage FlashSystem
    IBM Storage FlashSystem is MUCH faster than the options listed above. We were able to remove 12U of Dell equipment and relaced it with a 2U IBM Storage FlashSystem that was faster and had more storage available. The setup was extremely easier than our initial deployment of our …
    Incentivized
    Chose IBM Storage FlashSystem
    IBM was faster, more cost effective, and more flexible.
    Incentivized
    Chose IBM Storage FlashSystem
    the Power 8 and Power 9 are more stable than the Dell previously used.
    Incentivized
    Chose IBM Storage FlashSystem
    IBM Storage FlashSystem are reliable
    Incentivized
    Chose IBM Storage FlashSystem
    Since the dell option is end of life, the change in support and resources available with IBM’s flashsystem has been massive. The newer tech also enables much faster speeds and the box itself is much smaller.
    Incentivized
    Nimbus Data
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Would buy again
    54 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    98%
    Delivers good value for the price
    51 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    54 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    45 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    96%
    Implementation went as expected
    46 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Features
    Dell Compellent (discontinued)IBM Storage FlashSystemNimbus Data FlashMax Arrays
    Enterprise Flash Array Storage
    Comparison of Enterprise Flash Array Storage features of Dell Compellent (discontinued) and IBM Storage FlashSystem and Nimbus Data FlashMax Arrays
    Feature
    Dell Compellent (discontinued)
    8.3
    3 Ratings
    7% below category average
    IBM Storage FlashSystem
    8.1
    157 Ratings
    9% below category average
    Nimbus Data FlashMax Arrays
    -
    Ratings
    Flash Array Performance8.03 Ratings9.0152 Ratings00 Ratings
    Flash Array Integration8.03 Ratings8.1148 Ratings00 Ratings
    Data Compression8.03 Ratings7.7152 Ratings00 Ratings
    Non-Intrusive Upgrades8.03 Ratings9.1144 Ratings00 Ratings
    Simplicity9.03 Ratings8.4154 Ratings00 Ratings
    Power Savings9.03 Ratings6.2147 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Dell Compellent (discontinued)IBM Storage FlashSystemNimbus Data FlashMax Arrays
    Small Businesses
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Medium-sized Companies
    Everpure FlashArray
    Score8.2 out of 10
    Dell Compellent (discontinued)
    Score8 out of 10
    Dell Compellent (discontinued)
    Score8 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Everpure FlashArray
    Score8.2 out of 10
    Everpure FlashArray
    Score8.2 out of 10
    Everpure FlashArray
    Score8.2 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Dell Compellent (discontinued)IBM Storage FlashSystemNimbus Data FlashMax Arrays
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.0
    (6 ratings)
    8.5
    (157 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.6
    (6 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.8
    (23 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Availability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.3
    (21 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    5.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.1
    (6 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Online Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Configurability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    5.1
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.8
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Dell Compellent (discontinued)IBM Storage FlashSystemNimbus Data FlashMax Arrays
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Discontinued Products
    All in all this series great in addressing issues applications that need flash storage as a backend storage supply. It addresses the need for fast, responsive servers that need to boot quickly. It is easy to use and for the most part there are few issues and none that can't be addressed/fixed quickly.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    IBM
    IBM Storage FlashSystem is the only good option. It is possible to do with other brands but not with the same compatibility and support. So in the IBM i world, there is not that much options if you want reliable products, performance and compatibility with overall system: IBM Storage FlashSystem product is the one. You may need to adjust performance to your needs and IBM has a complete range of systems for entry (FS5X00), mid-range (FS7X00) or high-end (FS9X00). In IBM i world, IBM Storage FlashSystem is the best, but knowing the product, I would probably recommend it for other platforms. And many of my customers are using it as a cross-technology platform (mainly virtualization on x86 like VMWare).
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Nimbus Data
    No answers on this topic
    Pros
    Discontinued Products
    • Dell Compellent support (Co-Pilot) and the add-on service (Optimize) are critical services that Dell Compellent does very well. Alerts from the array are sent to Co-Pilot where tickets are automatically generated and customers are notified of events. Of greater importance at times is the proactive support Co-Pilot and Optimize provide by contacting us of inefficiencies in the array and consulting on resolutions.
    • Enterprise Manager (Dell's "single pane of glass" management framework) is a useful tool for configuration/evaluation of the array and other Compellent products.
    • Ease of management. From firmware upgrades to managing server volumes the process is much simpler than with other arrays.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    IBM
    • Extremely fast storage
    • Scales up as needed. Add flash core modules easily and increase volumes very quickly.
    • Applying firmware updates to IBM Storage FlashSystem is very easy to do and can be done without any downtime.
    • Replication policies are very versatile and also easy to setup.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Nimbus Data
    No answers on this topic
    Cons
    Discontinued Products
    • The GUI could be a little more updated with a lot more information regarding usage.
    • There could be some assistance with high I/O times where snapshots go to consolidate. There seems to be issues when that attempts to occur, and there will times where the virtual machine stuns due to the I/O intensity.
    • Modification of multiple volumes or the creation of multiple volumes is a pain in the DSM management console.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    IBM
    • Definitely we need to be able to extend a volume that is part of a mirror pair or Policy-Based Replication(PBO) on the fly.
    • Expansion of mirrored volumes/volume groups should resynchronise only the changed data (Almost like making use of change-volumes) and not trigger a full resync.
    • Please allow us to select downloading drive microcode also from Fix Central directly onto the flashsystem like with updates.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Nimbus Data
    No answers on this topic
    Likelihood to Renew
    Discontinued Products
    No answers on this topic
    IBM
    As flash technology evolves rapidly, vendors should [adapt] to the changes and onboard them in their products. IBM is a bit slow in adopting advanced technology in [its] portfolio. Even though the current product is good, my decision is purely based on how the transformation of the product [is] being produced and supplied to [the] end-user.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Nimbus Data
    No answers on this topic
    Usability
    Discontinued Products
    No answers on this topic
    IBM
    The integration into our SVC and the midrange systems are very well working. We do use cross site replication and global mirror which in turn is easy setup and the consistency groups are well maintained. The storage does global mirroring but also internal cross room replication as well. The integration of cloud object storage also helps in tiering the overall system.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Nimbus Data
    No answers on this topic
    Reliability and Availability
    Discontinued Products
    No answers on this topic
    IBM
    Yes. The last really issues I've seen in the environments of my customers were back in the "Storwize" era of systems. Issues with code updates or sometimes rarely failing critical components. BUT: since every component is at least dual redundant even back in that day real outages were very rare. And today in the "FlashSystem Era" the systems are so reliable and available even during code updates there are no complaints. I think the 5 or 6 9s are completely achieved.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Nimbus Data
    No answers on this topic
    Performance
    Discontinued Products
    No answers on this topic
    IBM
    Latency and throughput have been excellent. The compression is done natively on the NVME modules so we do not see an impact there. the distributed parity does not seem to impact write speeds at all. We have found database performace has increased quite a bit over our old hybrid storage solution.
    Having a single tier of performance makes it easy to set up SLAs for workloads.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Nimbus Data
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    Discontinued Products
    This is not solely based on the support engineers themselves but more so that the logging and gotcha's that their array has. There have been multiple times where logs are pulled, but the folder is not large enough, and it crashes the array. Other times there are certain aspects that support either does not know of or isn't knowledgable about how to look at particular issues that could be causing problems.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    IBM
    I would rate the overall support for IBM Storage FlashSystem with a 10. The response times have consistently been fast, and the support engineers always come prepared with relevant questions and practical solutions. They demonstrate a deep understanding of the product and our use case, which means issues are typically resolved quickly and without unnecessary back-and-forth. This level of support has been especially valuable for our SAP environment, where uptime and quick resolution are critical.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Nimbus Data
    No answers on this topic
    In-Person Training
    Discontinued Products
    No answers on this topic
    IBM
    Very good traning by experienced personnel. I attend instructor led sessions on IBM TechExchange and STUs before as well as IBM workshops for FlashSystems at IBM Böblingen which I helped to prepare and improve after piloting them. Absolutely nothing to complain about FlashSystem training in Germany or USA. So: all good here!
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Nimbus Data
    No answers on this topic
    Online Training
    Discontinued Products
    No answers on this topic
    IBM
    THe training is often selfpaced and easy to follow if you have worked previously with other storage products. The content is clear and contains all the information needed for an admin to learn. However the troubleshooting part is not always included and this is dependent on forums or other sources where the information is not accessible very easily.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Nimbus Data
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation Rating
    Discontinued Products
    No answers on this topic
    IBM
    I was amazed by the way IBM Flash storage provides a huge amount of storage within the limited footprint, it helped us to replace big fat storage arrays, which aided in the process of moving towards lower hardware, carbon, and energy consumption footprint. We can comfortably say that Flash helped us to host applications fast with a blazing speed and user transactions are quite quick.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Nimbus Data
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    Discontinued Products
    We selected Compellent solely based on price. Honestly I would rate it only slightly better than a QNAP we used (which was even cheaper). If performance and reliability are factors in your decision (and they should be) I would recommend looking at something like a VNXe.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    IBM
    For the past six months, we have been utilizing this technology in our projects to manage a massive workload and produce swift business outcomes on a crucial production database. The IBM FlashSystem 7200, which offers high performance and compression, has so far been a great experience for us. The results and functionality of this product have delighted our consumers.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Nimbus Data
    No answers on this topic
    Scalability
    Discontinued Products
    No answers on this topic
    IBM
    I'm using cognos - especially cognos reports - as a part of IBMs Storage Intelligence software to manage datacenters and report storage and overall resource consumption to my customers. The software is reliable and - my customers who are using cognos in their businesses - say that they are very satisfied about the scalability of cognos. I can give it only an 8 rating because of the quite heavy resource footprint...
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Nimbus Data
    No answers on this topic
    Return on Investment
    Discontinued Products
    • The SC9000 has been able to serve our current and futures needs well enough to not need to upgrade anytime soon.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    IBM
    • Easy of use is a key aspect, as we do not have dedicated storage staff.
    • Our RPO has lowered near to Zero, using PBR as replication and this is key for us.
    • DR plan testing has become easier and less time-consuming, allowing us to conduct tests more frequently.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Nimbus Data
    No answers on this topic
    ScreenShots

    IBM Storage FlashSystem Screenshots

    Screenshot of Flash Core Module 5th GenScreenshot of IBM FlashSystem 5600Screenshot of IBM FlashSystem 5600 (rear)Screenshot of IBM FlashSystem 7600 and 9600Screenshot of IBM FlashSystem 7600 and 9600 (rear)