Scale Computing HC3 Review
May 19, 2020

Scale Computing HC3 Review

Andrew Werner | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Scale Computing HC3

We implemented Scale Computing HC3/Lenovo solution last year across our entire firm replacing our aging VMWare and Cisco UCS. This was deployed in our Primary Datacenter, our DR site, as well as smaller remote clusters at each office. We have the primary datacenter replicating and backing up to our DR site, with the DR site having the ability to completely take over the full workload should the primary datacenter ever go down. The smaller remote clusters are being used in each office as some combination of domain controllers, file servers, and/or print servers. Our servers and back end systems are now 100% on Scale Computing HC3.

Pros

  • Ease of management. With the smaller size of our company, the ability to have nearly everyone in the IT department able to manage our clusters and VMs with ease is a huge bonus. This also makes staffing easier, as we do not have to rely on at least one position being a VMWare specialist.
  • Single pane of glass. The ability to manage all our clusters (primary, DR, remote) through a single HTML interface makes our lives that much easier.
  • Simple scaling. The ease of adding additional servers or remote clusters is fantastic. Also, being able to scale our environment with different hardware makes future upgrades easier to plan, and easier on the budget.

Cons

  • Ability to see more detailed information on server/cluster performance (CPU/RAM usage, less IOP-centric)
  • More advanced options for replications and backups (more scheduling options)
Starting at the initial interest shown in the product and lasting all the way through purchasing, implementation, and now standard support, Scale Computing has been providing personalized and phenomenal support. We always receive responses in a timely manner, and from US-based support teams.
We've also found that feature requests are regularly making their way into software/firmware updates, making the products ROI grow by the day.
  • Initial Investment was lower (10-20% cheaper) than our top 3 competitors when getting quotes to replace our entire aging infrastructure for both Primary datacenter and DR site. This investment included smaller remote clusters for our additional offices that were NOT included in competitors' quotes.
  • When comparing the 5-year TCO to our competitors, Scale Computing HC3 was about 50% of the total cost when compared to the top 3 competitors we were also exploring. The savings on support/licensing making up a large portion of the difference.
  • The increase in performance of our servers across the board, as well as the ease in management and required IT staffing adds a large unquantifiable ROI to our purchase.
We evaluated 4 solutions when quoting out our datacenter and DR infrastructure replacement project:
HPE SimpliVity
Dell EMC VxRail
Dell vSAN
Scale Computing HC3

The top 2 factors to our decision-making process were cost (comparing initial investment as well as 5-year TCO) and ease of management. In both categories, Scale Computing HC3 was a clear winner. In the end, our decision really came down to Scale Computing HC3 and Dell EMC VxRail, with the 5-year TCO of 50% cheaper, Scale Computing HC3 won the bid.
Given the ease of management and cost, I would 100% recommend Scale Computing HC3 to all colleagues. For smaller businesses, I think it fits nearly all implementations. For very large companies, I can see where more advanced features are a higher priority than cost so Scale Computing HC3 may not work for them. That being said, I believe Scale Computing is catching up quickly and will be on par with the advanced/complex features of some of the competitors soon.

Evaluating Scale Computing HC3 and Competitors

Yes - Replaced Software:
VMWare - Replaced due to cost and complexity in management
Veeam Backup and Replication - Replaced due to HC3 native features

Replaced Hardware:
Cisco UCS with 7 blades - Replaced due to aging equipment
  • Price
  • Product Features
  • Product Usability
  • Positive Sales Experience with the Vendor
  • Third-party Reviews
As much as I'd like to rave about the ease of management with Scale Computing HC3, in the end, the cost was the largest factor for our company. With a 5-year TCO coming in at close to 50% of the top competitors, it was an easy choice.
I don't think there's much we would change. We evaluated all costs and features, and ultimately had a clear winner with Scale Computing HC3.

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