Cohesity SmartFiles vs Dell ObjectScale comparison

Cohesity and Dell Technologies are both solutions in the File and Object Storage category. Cohesity is ranked #17 with an average rating of 9.0, while Dell Technologies is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.1. Cohesity holds a 0.8% mindshare in FaOS, compared to Dell Technologies’s 5.5% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Cohesity users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Dell Technologies users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 30, 2025

Dell ObjectScale and Cohesity SmartFiles compete in the data management space, each providing distinct advantages. Dell ObjectScale offers attractive pricing and support, while Cohesity SmartFiles stands out with its advanced feature set, making it a worthwhile investment.

Features: Dell ObjectScale is known for its scalability, cloud integration, and robust data management capabilities. Cohesity SmartFiles is recognized for its advanced data protection, superior file system capabilities, and security features.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Dell ObjectScale is noted for its straightforward deployment and responsive customer service, facilitating easy integration into existing systems. Cohesity SmartFiles offers a user-friendly deployment and excellent customer service, with a particular strength in hybrid environment integration.

Pricing and ROI: Dell ObjectScale provides a competitive setup cost and a clear ROI path, appealing to budget-conscious organizations. Cohesity SmartFiles may have higher initial costs, but its extensive features and higher long-term benefits justify the investment.

To learn more, read our detailed File and Object Storage Report (Updated: January 2026).

Buyer's Guide

File and Object Storage

January 2026

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Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

Pure Storage FlashBlade

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the File and Object Storage category, the mindshare of Pure Storage FlashBlade is 5.5%, down from 5.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cohesity SmartFiles is 0.8%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell ObjectScale is 5.5%, down from 8.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

File and Object Storage Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Dell ObjectScale	5.5%
Pure Storage FlashBlade	5.5%
Cohesity SmartFiles	0.8%
Other	88.2%

File and Object Storage

Featured Reviews

MikaelHellström

IT Manager at Regin Dalarna

Has handled backup storage needs reliably and supports seamless upgrades

In environments requiring high throughput and low latency, Pure Storage FlashBlade provides high throughput and normal latency, but we do not have any application that requires low latency right now, so the latency of three to five milliseconds is considered kind of high. Pure Storage FlashBlade's ability to integrate with enterprise applications is not important for us, as we only want to present an S3 bucket for our backup, which we have done, and it works very fast. We use the Purity software's data reduction techniques; we have a backup software that compresses everything before sending it to the S3 bucket, achieving a data reduction of 1.1 to one. I would recommend Pure Storage FlashBlade to other companies because it's a very fast and scalable solution for anyone who needs it. On a scale of 1-10, I rate this solution an 8.

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Stefan-Motsch

Evangelist / CTO at fgnext

Enables effective data management with reliable backup and recovery

Cohesity SmartFiles aids in data management with features like full-text search through indexed documents. The architecture supports backup, ransomware awareness, and data management on a converged platform, offering triple-protocol access (NFS, CIFS, and S3) while facilitating gradual improvements in access rights management. It allows for redundant setups, with automated backup and recovery options in a cloud environment.

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Mahmoud Abuherra

Manager, Technical Services at AXS

Offers seamless protocol integration for diverse solutions with flexible API communication

We recommend Dell ECS to customers looking for GeoDrive, archiving, long-term retention solutions, or S3 protocol. It is proposed to sectors like government, education, and banking. Overall, I would rate Dell ECS eight out of ten, as it has shown a lot of enhancement compared to previous solutions like Centera and Atmos.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Pure Storage FlashBlade is user-friendly. It's replication feature is great because it has active replication and active DR. That's the beauty of the product. It's a perfect solution for block storage."

"The initial setup was straightforward. If you know how to plug in power and network you're pretty much qualified. They were on site to configure the network, the box to fit into our network architecture. Other than that, we self-managed from there."

"It performs well and it is also very fast."

"The snapshots, replication, and the ability to have immutable blades are the most valuable features. You're putting data snapshots out in those blades, and they cannot be touched. Its performance is great."

"I would rate this solution an eight plus. It has has good flexibility and stability, it's easy to manage and the response time is good."

"It's very easy-to-use."

"We have integrated it with VMware. The integration process is pretty good. Especially with VMware, it helps with the capacity of it."

"I would rate Pure Storage FlashBlade a ten out of ten."

More Pure Storage FlashBlade pros

"Cohesity SmartFiles aids in data management with features like full-text search through indexed documents."

"It's my understanding that the initial setup is straightforward."

"It's definitely good for unstructured data. In earlier days, we had Centera, so for the DR it's really good. It has load balancing facility, and we're using it with the Kemp Load Balancer."

"The performance is good."

"I have been satisfied with the stability."

"The stability is the most valuable aspect of the solution."

"Dell's technical support team is good."

"The most valuable feature for me is off-site storage."

"Competitive object storage platform that's stable and scalable."

More Dell ObjectScale pros

Cons

"I would like to see more VM-Aware features in the next release of this solution."

"It's on the expensive side, as expected for a niche product."

"Commvault has mainly driven the Analytics, providing data and reports. However, the product has room for improvement, especially regarding storage analytics. Upgrading firmware has caused issues, requiring feature disabling to revert to traditional backups. The firmware upgrades sometimes affect Commvault backups."

"In my opinion, one way Pure Storage FlashBlade can be improved is by having more compatibility between the FlashArray and FlashBlade, allowing for synchronized data between both platforms."

"On our dedupe during our initial buy, we were expecting a number a little higher like 4x. However, we are getting about 3.6. While it is close enough, it doesn't quite hit the numbers. So, this has been a challenge."

"There is some room for new features related to authentication and integration with Kubernetes, and other solution using S3 Bucket."

"The solution is expensive."

"I would like to see the licensing fees improved as well as the price per terabytes."

More Pure Storage FlashBlade cons

"Users must remember that running DataProtect and files on the same cluster could threaten access if there is a platform failure. It's not suitable for applications needing high I/O or low latency."

"The troubleshooting feature of this solution needs to be improved, to allow organizations to fix issues without having to contact the support team."

"Dell ECS needs to improve its performance."

"However, hardware failures can impact the cluster, making it read-only."

"The setup is very complex."

"The initial setup is not so easy."

"Dell EMC ECS could improve by having Relational Database Services(RDS) to review progress. Additionally, if the training was provided it would be a benefit, it would be good for our engineers."

"The solution needs to provide better integration between this solution and all other kinds of systems."

"They do not have complete documentation, which is very weak and could be improved."

More Dell ObjectScale cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is very expensive."

"Support is a separate line item. Support is a different cost, but whatever your support is now, that's what you're going to pay forever. If your support's $100 today, six years from now it's $100. It doesn't fluctuate unless you upgrade it, or change it, etc."

"I feel that the price could always be lowered."

"It's a costly solution, but Pure Storage FlashBlade doesn't require additional licenses. All of the software is combined into one bundle."

"It is within reason for what you get. From what we have found comparing it to other vendors, it is in the same range as others. Given the choice, we would definitely redeploy it based on the cost."

"Pure Storage FlashBlade is a hardware appliance, and it's very expensive if you compare its price with other solutions. You can get the same features and benefits from its competitor, VAST Data, but for half the price of Pure Storage FlashBlade."

"The price could be cheaper."

"We used a reseller for the purchase."

More Pure Storage FlashBlade pricing and cost advice

Information not available

"The solution's cost is quite reasonable."

"We are not paying for the license at this stage."

"The charges for this solution are made in blocks of models, which are purchased depending on what features an organization requires."

"It is an inexpensive product."

"If I remember correctly, Dell ECS is an appliance, so if you buy Dell ECS, you also have to buy the hardware, while IBM is standalone software, so you can buy IBM as software only without needing to buy the hardware. On a scale of one to five, I'm rating the pricing for Dell ECS a four."

"It is an expensive solution. There is a need to make yearly payments towards the licensing costs attached to the product."

"Dell ECS is a cost-effective solution."

"It's a lease-based model, so it's capacity-based. We already negotiated the price a lot, but we're still doing that with Dell because somehow the product was not installed successfully, so there was a lot of struggle in the distributor territory between Dell and the environment itself. I would give the solution a 6 out of 10 for the pricing. There's a little room for improvement."

More Dell ObjectScale pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

10%

Government

Computer Software Company

21%

Government

10%

University

Retailer

Financial Services Firm

19%

Manufacturing Company

12%

Computer Software Company

10%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	11
Midsize Enterprise	11
Large Enterprise	21

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	12
Midsize Enterprise	12
Large Enterprise	11

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Pure Storage FlashBlade?

The tool's most valuable feature is its fast performance, especially in handling snapshots. It helps during power out...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Pure Storage FlashBlade?

Regarding pricing, it is okay; we needed exactly this in size, and the price was a lot lower than competitors, making...

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What needs improvement with Pure Storage FlashBlade?

In my opinion, one way Pure Storage FlashBlade can be improved is by having more compatibility between the FlashArray...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cohesity SmartFiles?

SmartFiles is an economical solution, priced per terabyte on the backend. Initial setup and licensing costs align wit...

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What needs improvement with Cohesity SmartFiles?

Users must remember that running DataProtect and files on the same cluster could threaten access if there is a platfo...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Cohesity SmartFiles?

Our customers use Cohesity SmartFiles ( /products/cohesity-smartfiles-reviews ) in conjunction with Cohesity SpanFS (...

See all answers

What do you like most about Dell EMC ECS?

The tool is easy to use.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell EMC ECS?

The pricing is moderate and at par with the market. As a service provider, we receive good margins, indicating a favo...

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What needs improvement with Dell EMC ECS?

I cannot think of anything as an area for improvement with Dell ECS. I do not see any pricing or usability concerns.

See all answers

Comparisons

Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs Pure Storage FlashBlade

Compared 18% of the time

MinIO vs Pure Storage FlashBlade

Compared 9% of the time

Pure Storage FlashArray vs Pure Storage FlashBlade

Compared 8% of the time

VAST Data vs Pure Storage FlashBlade

Compared 7% of the time

NetApp StorageGRID vs Pure Storage FlashBlade

Compared 4% of the time

More Pure Storage FlashBlade Competitors

MinIO vs Cohesity SmartFiles

Compared 23% of the time

Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs Cohesity SmartFiles

Compared 22% of the time

Object First Ootbi vs Cohesity SmartFiles

Compared 17% of the time

Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS) vs Cohesity SmartFiles

Compared 16% of the time

Qumulo vs Cohesity SmartFiles

Compared 14% of the time

More Cohesity SmartFiles Competitors

Amazon AWS vs Dell ObjectScale

Compared 23% of the time

NetApp StorageGRID vs Dell ObjectScale

Compared 11% of the time

Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs Dell ObjectScale

Compared 9% of the time

MinIO vs Dell ObjectScale

Compared 5% of the time

Scality RING vs Dell ObjectScale

Compared 4% of the time

More Dell ObjectScale Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Pure Storage FlashBlade

January 2026

Download Pure Storage FlashBlade product report

Buyer's Guide

File and Object Storage

January 2026

Download Cohesity SmartFiles product report

Buyer's Guide

Dell ObjectScale

February 2026

Download Dell ObjectScale product report

Also Known As

No data available

EMC ECS, Dell EMC Elastic Cloud Storage (ECS)

Overview

FlashBlade is the industry’s most advanced scale-out storage for unstructured data, powered by a modern, massively parallel architecture to consolidate complex data silos (like backup appliances and data lakes) and accelerate tomorrow’s discoveries and insights.

Pure Storage

Cohesity SmartFiles is a versatile platform for file sharing, collaboration, data protection, disaster recovery, analytics, archiving, and compliance.

The solution centralizes and simplifies data management tasks, integrating seamlessly with existing workflows and easily scaling to meet growing storage needs. Advanced search, streamlined management, integration, and robust security are key features valued by users.

Cohesity

Dell ObjectScale is a next-generation S3 object storage platform known for scalability, performance, and efficiency. It integrates with Dell EMC products, combining hardware and software for seamless user experience in the AI era.

Dell ObjectScale implements the S3 protocol, integrating smoothly with Dell EMC solutions like ISILON. Its architecture supports data compression and interoperates with multiple protocols for enhanced performance. Enterprise features include immutability, geo-replication, and user-friendly management. However, it needs better integration with other systems, enhanced security, and disaster recovery. Write performance and scalability improvements, competitive pricing, and documentation enhancements are key areas for progress. The interface could be more straightforward, with more remote management features and native analytics.

What features does Dell ObjectScale offer?

S3 Protocol Implementation: Brings industry-standard access with wide application compatibility
Seamless Dell EMC Integration: Ensures stability and ease of use with existing systems
Data Compression and Protocol Interoperability: Enhances performance and storage efficiency
Immutability and Geo-Replication: Provides enterprise-level data protection
Optimized Pricing: Balances cost with comprehensive support

What benefits should users look for in reviews?

Scalability: Supports expanding data requirements effectively
Integration Flexibility: Works with many existing systems for better interoperability
Ease of Management: Streamlines hardware and software operations
Enterprise-Level Features: Delivers advanced protection and efficiency

Industries leverage Dell ObjectScale for cloud-based object storage, archiving, and backups. It's favored for unstructured data management, CCTV integration, and document archiving. Strong in data analytics, it integrates well with high-capacity applications, enhancing data retention strategies across fields.

Dell Technologies

Sample Customers

ServiceNow, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, Dominos, Man AHL

1. Acer 2. Adobe 3. AIG 4. Airbus 5. Allstate 6. Amazon 7. American Express 8. Aon 9. Apple 10. ATT 11. Autodesk 12. Bank of America 13. Barclay's 14. Bayer 15. BlackRock 16. Boeing 17. BNP Paribas 18. Cisco 19. Coca-Cola 20. Comcast 21. Dell 22. Deutsche Bank 23. Equinix 24. ExxonMobil 25. Ford 26. GE 27. Google 28. HP 29. IBM 30. Intel 31. JPMorgan Chase 32. Kroger

Atos

Buyer's Guide

File and Object Storage

January 2026

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