Dell SC Series vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series comparison

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Dell SC Series and Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two All-Flash Storage solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Dell SC Series vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series Report (Updated: June 2024).

Buyer's Guide

Dell SC Series vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

June 2024

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Categories and Ranking

Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Market share comparison

As of June 2024, in the All-Flash Storage category, the market share of Pure FlashArray X NVMe is 1.0% and it decreased by 2.2% compared to the previous year. The market share of Dell SC Series is 1.2% and it decreased by 12.4% compared to the previous year. The market share of Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is 2.7% and it decreased by 1.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

All-Flash Storage

Unique Categories:

NVMe All-Flash Storage Arrays

8.0%

Frame-Based Disk Arrays

28.6%

No other categories found

Featured Reviews

JamesBrooks

Infrastructure Engineer at ISAM

Jul 12, 2022

Problem free scalability, reliable, with straightforward setup

It has good, reliable, and fast storage. We really like snapshot features and how automatable and programmable it is. It is all managed with ad sport and playbooks We have been using Pure FlashArray X NVMe for about a year now. Scalability has been great. We have run into a couple of instances…

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Whitney Gray

Storage Architect at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees

Nov 24, 2020

Automated architecture that proactively optimizes your database

There's always room for improvement in the operating code; minor improvements here and there. We haven't had any real requests for them lately. I can't really think of anything. Support for Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVME). Most of the newer storage systems support it, but this one doesn't because of its age. Support for that was something we had looked at, but they said, "No, we're not offering that with this. It's going to be in the next product, not in this product because the architecture is just too old." I'd look for that — support for NVME. That's really the only supportable or new feature that I'd really be looking for.

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Gastone Canali

IT Consultant at Effegibi

Jun 15, 2023

Provides good stability and is reliable in terms of performance

The solution is reliable in terms of performance They should include a snapshot feature for the solution. We have been using the solution for two to three years. The solution is stable. We have 60 solution users in our organization. The solution's initial setup process is easy. It takes three…

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"It's helped us because we've changed fundamentally what we talk about. We don't talk about storage and different tiers of storage anymore nor do we talk about servers. We talk now about applications and how applications impact the business and end users."

"The Pure1 component is most valuable at this point in time when comparing it with EMC. Pure1 is where you can have your diagnostics in the cloud, so you can look at things from your mobile phone."

"The most valuable features of this solution are its ease of use and performance."

"Pure FlashArray X NVMe will quickly overcome all the hurdles you face, including network and latency issues."

"Pure FlashArray X NVMe has low latency and high Ops. It is an evergreen model."

"Pure FlashArray X NVMe helps to improve our processing speed. It is user-friendly and easy to use."

"The most valuable feature of this solution is reliability."

"Pure has signature security technology, which cannot be deleted, even if you are an administrator."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pros

"The most valuable features are the with back-end dedupe, and the thin nodes. For a 20TB or 60TB, we're using almost a one-to-two ratio."

"The most valuable feature is the speed for the end-user."

"Most valuable features have been the system customization with it, the performance you receive, and their CoPilot Support (or Dell EMC Storage Support)."

"I find this version to be more budget-friendly compared to products from other vendors. This aspect greatly benefits my customers. It's highly advantageous due to its affordability. The operational aspect is also noteworthy. Additionally, its availability and performance are commendable. The speaker are also equally powerful."

"We replicate between SAN to SAN for a lot of features and supportability. It also helps us when we want to upgrade to a newer SC Series or move the data from one data center to another."

"Customers are most impressed with SC's provisioning because you don't need to buy a large amount of storage upfront. It's pay-as-you-grow. It also has solid compression and duplication features."

"It's very scalable, especially with federation. If you outgrow the number of spindles that a unit can support, depending on the model, you can go into federation."

"Connecting it up, you can run it within a few hours."

More Dell SC Series pros

"Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is quite an elementary box, no frills. It does not have all the functionality of the DM but it is acceptable, it does its task. It integrates pretty well."

"The solution is very easy to set up."

"The solution's initial setup process is easy."

"ThinkSystem's storage performs well, and the price per gigabyte is good, especially on SSD solutions. It's also easy to use."

"This solution is good for virtualization and meets the need for CPU and RAM requirements."

"Its initial setup process is easy."

"The most valuable features of the Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series are the dual controllers, available installation documentation, and the option of multiple host bus adapter interfaces."

"Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is simple to use"

More Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series pros

Cons

"In the next release, I would like to see real-time analytics for further insight into consumption models."

"You cannot tag a LUN with a description, and that should be improved. What I like on the Unity side is that when I expand LUNs or do things, there is an information field on the LUN. This is the Information field that you can tag on your LUNs to let yourself know, "Hey, I've added this much space on this date". Pure lacks that ability. So, you don't have a mechanism that's friendly for tracking your data expansions on the LUN and for adding any additional information. That's a downside for me."

"The UI for this solution needs to be improved."

"I want to see Pure Storage not only be for fast storage, but I want to see it be for the entire data center."

"There is room for improvement in the pricing of the product."

"In the future, I would like to see integration with enterprise backup systems."

"There is room for improvement in catering to midrange storage needs, especially for customers seeking Enterprise-class features."

"Right now, the box itself is just strictly working as a backend storage system. It would be fantastic if we could access it directly like a NAS device through network access or SIS drives. I think they have an interface, but I am not sure how good it is. If we could address a box directly on the network without having to go through a server, it would be great. The replication schemas could be improved. We are not using replication on the storage level right now. We use a different type of replication. If their replication would be as good as the one that we have, I would probably run the replication schema because it might be faster, but I don't know that for a fact. So, I cannot say that they have good replication. All I can say is that they need to inform us better."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe cons

"Overall, I'd like to see more synergy between Dell EMC's higher-tier platforms and their mid-tier platforms. What I have said, constantly, to my partners at Dell EMC is that the clear articulation of the path is really important to us. In that vein, what I'd also like to see is, with the migration strategy that's built into this product, a lot more attention paid to Dell's - in particular - legacy platforms and how we get from some of our legacy EMC platforms onto this platform with a straight-through migration and scaling strategy, not host-based migrations and not piecemeal... Dell EMC would do well to focus more on my ability to skip a generation, rather than having me take individual hops because I can't greenfield my way into a software-defined data center fast enough. This journey of multiple hops is not helpful."

"The cost of the solution could be better."

"This product should be a lot more user-friendly."

"From a performance point of view, it's getting a bit old."

"Compellent comes in the form of a component that's not true of a unified storage platform."

"Licensing, especially on the storage line, could use some simplification. It's not terrible, but, for example, with the Isilon series, they've gone to completely a la carte. A la carte is very difficult to traverse, as to what you need. It would be more beneficial, at least from my point of view as a customer, if they did it more like car companies do, where there are package lines"

"It's not very efficient anymore. There are better products out there."

"While the price is competitive, in the next release it would be better if they could reduce the fees."

More Dell SC Series cons

"Its performance could be faster."

"Improvements can be made to the product's performance."

"There could be a snapshot feature in the solution."

"Usually, when a part fails, we have to replace it and it takes a while. It would be better if the part could be available locally here in Kenya so we don't have to wait so long to repair the solution."

"It would be useful to have structured solutions replicated to other sites."

"The solution could be more scalable, although it suits our present needs."

"ThinkSystem could be better integrated with backup software like Commvault, Veritas, or Symantec."

"The difficult part comes when dealing with the host. You have to enable multi-pathing and other aspects that are needed for proper configuration. I don't know if there is room for a more hyper-conversion structure to work with, but this would be easier."

More Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"They can tout the functionality and cutting edge technology that they have, but that's where the price tag comes in. The cost is high, but I think as they grow their business and get more customers that it will probably go down a little bit."

"The support cost per array is about $20,000 a year for 24/7 support."

"Its price could be better. It is not too expensive, but it is the high-end cost. It is kind of a Rolls-Royce. You pay a lot, but you get a lot out of it. So, the price pressure on the way down would be great, but at the end of the day, if you need to do the work, you just pay for it."

"The licensing is on a yearly basis."

"The tool is an investment that we've budgeted for. While the prices may be higher than those of other vendors, we see it as a market leader with benefits. We don't regret purchasing it."

"Our licensing fees are $500,000+ USD."

"With VMware, we pay $300,000 annually."

"Pure FlashArray X NVMe’s pricing is cheaper than other products."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pricing and cost advice

"We have found the solution to be affordable."

"Pricing depends on varying life cycles."

"It's a very affordable solution."

"We were able to afford two tiers of flash storage at a price where the competition was giving us one tier or just a handful of discs."

"The maintenance is usually pretty good. It's not like some of the others where they increase it in the fourth, fifth, or sixth years."

"It is one of the most cost effective systems for us. We have been able to run it longer than most, getting the most benefit and money out of it."

"The pricing is reasonable, but it is expensive."

"It has a good price point and offers some value-added enterprise features."

More Dell SC Series pricing and cost advice

"The pricing is fair and low compared to other products in this category."

"All of the features are bundled together, and you can renew the bundle with all of the features included."

"The solution's price could be better."

"The pricing for this solution is good compared to HP or Dell EMC."

"The best thing about this solution is its price, which reduces our costs."

"It is an expensive solution."

"We have a five-year contract for providing support."

"The price of the Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is a one-time purchase. There is a global price list available to find the price of the solution."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

17%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Computer Software Company

22%

Government

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

21%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Pure FlashArray X NVMe?

Pure FlashArray X NVMe helps to improve our processing speed. It is user-friendly and easy to use.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Pure FlashArray X NVMe?

The tool is an investment that we've budgeted for. While the prices may be higher than those of other vendors, we see...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Pure FlashArray X NVMe?

The tool's pricing is higher than competitors.

See all answers

What do you like most about Dell SC Series?

I find this version to be more budget-friendly compared to products from other vendors. This aspect greatly benefits ...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell SC Series?

There are costs involving the solution, vendor fees and product safety which are additional.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Dell SC Series?

I would like to improve the processing ability.

See all answers

What do you like most about Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series?

The solution's initial setup process is easy.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series?

The solution's price could be better.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series?

They should include a snapshot feature for the solution.

See all answers

Comparisons

Dell PowerStore vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 20% of the time

Dell Unity XT vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 17% of the time

Pure Storage FlashArray vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 11% of the time

Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 9% of the time

Pure Storage FlashBlade vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 9% of the time

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe Competitors

Dell PowerStore vs Dell SC Series

Compared 58% of the time

Dell Unity XT vs Dell SC Series

Compared 14% of the time

IBM FlashSystem vs Dell SC Series

Compared 8% of the time

Huawei OceanStor vs Dell SC Series

Compared 5% of the time

NetApp AFF vs Dell SC Series

Compared 4% of the time

More Dell SC Series Competitors

Dell PowerStore vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

Compared 27% of the time

NetApp AFF vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

Compared 14% of the time

Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

Compared 13% of the time

IBM FlashSystem vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

Compared 9% of the time

Dell Unity XT vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

Compared 9% of the time

More Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Pure FlashArray X NVMe

May 2024

Download Pure FlashArray X NVMe product report

Buyer's Guide

Dell SC Series

June 2024

Download Dell SC Series product report

Buyer's Guide

All-Flash Storage

May 2024

Download Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series product report

Also Known As

Pure FlashArray//X NVMe, Pure FlashArray//X, FlashArray//X

SC Series Storage, Compellent

ThinkSystem DE Series

Learn More

Pure Storage

Dell Technologies

Lenovo

Overview

Pure Storage FlashArray//X is the world’s first enterprise-class, all-NVMe flash storage array. It represents a new class of storage – shared accelerated storage, which is a term coined by Gartner – that delivers major breakthroughs in performance, simplicity, and consolidation.

Dell EMC SC Series arrays provide a unified platform for the ultimate in performance, adaptability and machine-driven efficiency. SC Series software delivers modern features that help you meet aggressive workload demands using the fewest drives necessary. With an open, future-ready design, SC Series storage integrates seamlessly with applications and infrastructure, enabling you to scale on a single platform and add capabilities without forklift upgrades.

The DE All-Flash Series delivers the performance of more than 2,000 15k rpm HDDs, yet requires only 2% of the rack space, power, and cooling. Because it consumes 98% less space and power, DE Series can significantly improve the overall efficiency of your IT operations while continuing to meet your performance requirements.

Sample Customers

Fremont Bank, Judson ISD, The Nielsen Company

TGen, Frost Science, Gerrie Electric

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Dell SC Series vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

June 2024

Free Report: Dell SC Series vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

Find out what your peers are saying about Dell SC Series vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series and other solutions. Updated: June 2024.

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