We compared NetApp AFF and Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series based on our user's reviews in several parameters.
Users praise NetApp AFF for exceptional performance, scalability, and efficient data management with positive ROI. In contrast, Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series is valued for powerful performance, reliability, and robust data protection. NetApp AFF receives high marks for customer service, pricing, and integration, while improved performance and a more user-friendly interface are needed. On the other hand, the Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series could benefit from enhancements in performance, stability, scalability, and user-friendliness.
Features: Key differences: - NetApp AFF: emphasizes exceptional performance, efficient data management, high availability, and integration with various applications and systems. - Lenovo ThinkSystem DM: focuses on powerful performance, reliable storage capabilities, ease of management, impressive scalability, and robust data protection.
Pricing and ROI: The setup cost for NetApp AFF is straightforward and does not pose difficulties. User feedback suggests that the pricing is competitive and offers good value. On the other hand, the Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series has a reported fairly straightforward and hassle-free setup cost. Users are satisfied with the flexibility and options available in terms of licensing., The ROI of NetApp AFF was positive and impressive, with increased productivity, efficiency, data storage capabilities, reliability, and performance. It seamlessly integrates with existing infrastructure and offers enhanced data protection. On the other hand, the Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series also provided a profitable ROI.
Room for Improvement: NetApp AFF could benefit from improvements in performance optimization, integration, software functionality, scalability, complexity, and user-friendly interface. Meanwhile, the Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series needs enhancements in performance, stability, scalability, expandability, user interface, reliability, and support.
Deployment and customer support: Based on user reviews, the duration required for establishing a new tech solution can vary greatly for both NetApp AFF and Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series. Some users of NetApp AFF spent three months on deployment and an additional week on setup, while others required only a week for both phases. Similarly, users of Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series reported spending three months on deployment and a week on setup, but some also stated that they needed one week for both phases. The reviews emphasize the importance of considering deployment and setup as separate phases for both products, but also suggest that these terms may refer to the same period and should be evaluated together., NetApp AFF's customer service excels with highly praised assistance, prompt response times, and helpful guidance. Users value the reliability and professionalism displayed. Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series also receives positive feedback, with users appreciating the responsiveness and knowledgeable support provided.
The summary above is based on 50 interviews we conducted recently with NetApp AFF and Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series users. To access the review's full transcripts, download our report.
"The solution is scalable."
"It has benefited my organization because it has reduced time to insights."
"The high availability of the product is the most valuable feature."
"The duplication algorithm allows us to get a lot more use out of less storage. We're running a five terabyte array right now and we're running probably about 30 terabytes on it. So the duplication rate is pretty phenomenal, without a cost to performance. It still runs pretty smoothly."
"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."
"Pure FlashArray X NVMe helps to improve our processing speed. It is user-friendly and easy to use."
"The solution is very straightforward to set up."
"The standout features for us in Pure FlashArray X NVMe are its robust DDoS protection, seamless transparent failover, and failback capabilities ensuring high availability."
"We are satisfied with the stability."
"The most valuable feature of Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series is its capability to tier to the cloud, such as Microsoft Azure or Amazon AWS. Additionally, the integration is good and they are user-friendly."
"The FlexClone feature is the solution's most valuable aspect."
"The price of this solution is good."
"The solution offers very good reliable systems and storage for our clients."
"The most valuable feature of the Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series is its ability to store data well."
"Last year, I did a DM Series installation with my colleague, and this installation was effortless because we had Lenovo support on the phone, so it was easy to get help if we had any problems."
"Scalable and stable storage array."
"The features that I found most valuable are SnapMirror and SnapVault; these provide DR and backup for data redundancy."
"The Active IQ feature is a productive mechanism that automatically collects reports and users' statuses."
"Technical support has been okay."
"The most valuable features are the low latency and high-performance."
"Efficient and easily scalable all-flash storage solution, significantly reducing latency, optimizing data management, and providing cost savings for businesses"
"We do a lot of financial modeling. We have a large compute cluster that generates a lot of files. It is important for us to get a quick response back for any type of multimillion file accesses across the cluster at one time. So, it's a lot quicker to do that. We found that solid-state performs so much better than than spinning drives, even over multiple clusters."
"This solution helps accelerate demanding enterprise applications. VMware workloads, the database, and Oracle Solaris are hosted on AFF, which means that our primary priority workloads are on AFF and that the secondary ones are on FAS. That includes the SAN national cloud."
"The business copy solution has become faster using SnapMirror."
"I would like to see replication and DR features in the next release of this solution."
"Every time I think of something that needs to improve, they're one step ahead, which I love. The only area I wish to see improve, I believe is coming, is in the FlashBlade product. Blade implementation fell short on a few of the services."
"We would like to see more visibility into garbage collection and CPU performance in the GUI."
"Our use cases require more multi-tenant capabilities and additional VLAN interfaces for separating different customers. We currently use it to provide storage, sometimes shared storage, to different customers, but it is less flexible in comparison to a dedicated solution."
"The UI for this solution needs to be improved."
"In the future, I would like to see integration with enterprise backup systems."
"It's more multi-tenant functionality in their Pure1 manage portal that is lacking."
"I'd like to see the product implement active replication for vehicles such as VMware."
"The licensing model needs to be revisited. It needs to be simplified."
"Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series could improve by having a snapshot feature. Additionally, there can be other features added to help restore the data faster."
"This is an expensive solution."
"Many people do not realize that Lenovo has a storage solution, so better marketing from the vendor is needed."
"I would like Lenovo to add a feature like IBM Easy Tier to DM Series. This is a crucial feature for the customers."
"The Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series was very hard to configure. Installation of the product was very hard. These are its areas for improvement."
"The solution should change the licensing model and allow customers to choose features based on their requirements."
"It takes a very long time to enter the management console, as well as to restart the system, and these are things that should be improved."
"Going forward, I would like more performance analytics on it, on the area itself, instead of using some other tool."
"The graphical interface is still heavy and slow. Needs more improvement in this area."
"Tech support is great with NetApp if you can get past Tier 1. A lot of times when you open a new case or do a direct dial-in with an issue, like with any support, you will definitely reach a Tier 1 level that is not particularly helpful until you get escalated to an expert."
"We were migrating from Data ONTAP 7-Mode to its Cluster-Mode. Therefore, we had to get swing gear, then do the migration from loner gear and back onto our new gear. This was a bit difficult. It took us several months to do multiple migrations."
"NetApp could focus even more on the configuration."
"In future releases, I would like to see the ability to automatically mount SMB shares and file systems."
"It would be great if they had a single pane of glass or a single dashboard where all the NetApp ecosystem storages could be viewed and monitored simply. That would help my Operations."
"The product should be more competitive and come up with additional features. They should keep the client always in mind and as the top priority. This would be the best way to compete with other solutions."
Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series is ranked 21st in All-Flash Storage with 10 reviews while NetApp AFF is ranked 2nd in All-Flash Storage with 280 reviews. Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series is rated 7.4, while NetApp AFF is rated 9.0. The top reviewer of Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series writes "Simple deployment, stores data well, but missing features". On the other hand, the top reviewer of NetApp AFF writes "Since switching, our clients have reported improved performance and reduced latency". Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series is most compared with Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series, Dell Unity XT, Dell PowerStore, IBM FlashSystem and HPE Nimble Storage, whereas NetApp AFF is most compared with Dell PowerStore, Dell Unity XT, Pure Storage FlashArray, VMware vSAN and NetApp FAS Series. See our Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series vs. NetApp AFF report.
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