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DDN IntelliFlash vs NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays comparison

DataDirect Networks and NetApp are both solutions in the All-Flash Storage category. DataDirect Networks is ranked #28 with an average rating of 9.0, while NetApp is ranked #26 with an average rating of 9.5. DataDirect Networks holds a 0.5% mindshare in AFS, compared to NetApp’s 0.7% mindshare. Additionally, 87% of DataDirect Networks users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 97% of NetApp users who would recommend it.
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Pure FlashArray X NVMe
Read 36 Pure FlashArray X NVMe reviews
  • 1,805 Views
  • 1,480 Comparison Views
100% willing to recommend
DDN IntelliFlash
Read 12 DDN IntelliFlash reviews
  • 648 Views
  • 603 Comparison Views
87% willing to recommend
NetApp EF-Series All Flash ...
Read 39 NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays reviews
  • 732 Views
  • 703 Comparison Views
97% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 18, 2024

DDN IntelliFlash and NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays are top contenders in the flash storage market. Users are generally happier with DDN IntelliFlash's pricing and support, but NetApp EF-Series often outperforms in features, making it a worthy investment despite higher costs.

Features: DDN IntelliFlash is praised for its diverse protocol support, data reduction capabilities, and affordability. NetApp EF-Series is noted for its low latency, high-performance metrics, and superior management interfaces.

Room for Improvement: DDN IntelliFlash users mention the need for improved scalability, more robust analytics, and advanced reporting tools. NetApp EF-Series users seek better management tools, enhanced reporting capabilities, and more intuitive user interfaces.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: DDN IntelliFlash is noted for its relatively straightforward deployment processes and responsive customer support. NetApp EF-Series also offers streamlined deployment but has mixed reviews on customer support responsiveness. The primary difference is in customer service quality, where DDN IntelliFlash takes the lead.

Pricing and ROI: Users find DDN IntelliFlash to be cost-effective with a higher ROI due to its affordability and solid performance. NetApp EF-Series, though pricier, is seen as a good investment for enterprises needing top-tier performance. The key difference is in initial cost vs ongoing value, with DDN IntelliFlash being more budget-friendly while NetApp EF-Series offers superior long-term performance benefits.

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To learn more, read our detailed DDN IntelliFlash vs. NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays Report (Updated: September 2025).
Buyer's Guide
DDN IntelliFlash vs. NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays
September 2025
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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 FlashArray X NVMe
Sponsored
Ranking in All-Flash Storage
14th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
36
Ranking in other categories
NVMe All-Flash Storage Arrays (6th)
DDN IntelliFlash
Ranking in All-Flash Storage
28th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
NVMe All-Flash Storage Arrays (13th)
NetApp EF-Series All Flash ...
Ranking in All-Flash Storage
26th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
39
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the All-Flash Storage category, the mindshare of Pure FlashArray X NVMe is 1.0%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of DDN IntelliFlash is 0.5%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays is 0.7%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
All-Flash Storage Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Pure FlashArray X NVMe1.0%
NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays0.7%
DDN IntelliFlash0.5%
Other97.8%
All-Flash Storage
 

Featured Reviews

Jaehoon Oh - PeerSpot reviewer
Supports efficient storage management through volume snapshots and offers reliable non-disruptive upgrades
I have no specific improvements to suggest for Pure FlashArray X NVMe at this time. The performance statistics could be enhanced. I can see the performance statistics in the Pure Storage console, but it does not show the performance by 4K byte unit. It displays IOPS and bandwidth, but IOPS is about real use, and I want to know how many IOPS are currently running in 4K byte units. I cannot see that IOPS because most storage systems report their performance by 4K byte unit. I want to see Pure Storage performance by 4K byte unit to compare with other storage or other internal NVMe SSD.
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Anil Rahulwar - PeerSpot reviewer
Good customer service and support and suitable for large environments
It is very easy to install. Users don't need to remember anything while deploying IntelliFlash because everything will be taken care of by tech support. They can easily modify the installation or change the password with the help of the tech support. It is very easy to integrate IntelliFlash with other solutions. We have plugins that can be integrated with other solutions. It will require maintenance. It is the same as any other storage solution: updates and upgrades, firmware upgrades, and drive upgrades.
Read full review
Tayo Olubanke - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers flexibility and top-notch technology
You can go to bed peacefully if you have a NetApp. If you have NetApp within your data center, you get to know about power failure if you are using it. Your NetApp will still come alive. Even if it does not come alive, I can say that it is not like other tools when it comes to dealing with power failure. The tool is affordable, and the technology is top-notch. It is the only technology that has software for what we call inline compression and deduplication. All the products under NetApp are aiming to use AI. I know that you can achieve whatever you want to do with NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays. I rate the tool a nine out of ten.
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

"We are satisfied with the performance as it is significantly faster compared to traditional storage options."
"One of the best features is the support, which is excellent."
"I appreciate the performance."
"The tool's valuable features are speed, security, data compression, and reliability. Its data compression feature is the best that we have ever seen. It helps us to save money and resources."
"Everything, especially the VMs inside, is pretty fast."
"The system allows for seamless learning experiences, facilitating quick and easy cloning of environments within minutes."
"FlashArray has some fresh efficiency features. I've never seen a storage solution with a compression rating this high before. It's at least 4-to-1 on Oracle databases. It's the best flash storage for Oracle."
"Pure Storage has signature security technology, which cannot be deleted, even if you are an administrator."
More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pros
"We use IntelliFlash products for larger environments, like Qatar Airways."
"EasyTier/hotcaching: Valuable because it allows greater performance than standard SAS disks"
"It has reduced our electricity usage by reducing the amount of disks needed for the virtual environment."
"The initial setup is straightforward."
"It performed great originally, and when it performed great, it was awesome."
"It provides a combination of all the protocols that you need, without losing deduplication and compression."
"High performance and ease-of-management are the most valuable features."
"Data Compression: Up to 80% space reduction in the database"
More DDN IntelliFlash pros
"I like the performance aspect of EF Series. It basically provides everything that we are looking for as a solution, very low latency and very high performance."
"The management software is very good."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the performance of the database access."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is its speed."
"I would have to say performance at this point, because the application it is based on is so diverse."
"The replication and mirroring features are very good."
"Some of the valuable features include MetroCluster switchover, in terms of disaster recovery, it is easy to use, and flexible."
"The hardware and software of NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays are easy for us to use."
More NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays 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."
"There is room for improvement in catering to midrange storage needs, especially for customers seeking Enterprise-class features."
"They could add more support for file storage and different types of storage."
"We need better data deduplication."
"The tool's pricing is higher than competitors."
"There is room for improvement in the pricing of the product."
"Adding some functions to the product would be beneficial. Storage replication should be essential, and the analytics should not incur extra charges."
More Pure FlashArray X NVMe cons
"Performance is horrible now. Our original intent was to buy new storage in about two years. But since it became a critical urgency for us, we decided to purchase a new one in two or three months."
"They need to offer better integration for a virtual platform to enable you to create hyper-converged solution."
"It only keeps one hour of real-time data without the ability to do deep analysis of each element."
"In the proxy section you can’t choose a user account and password, so it is not allowed at the moment to go out, if customer has such constellation."
"We had just one small stability problem with power flapping and it did not start up again automatically. We had to access service ports and manually restart the storage processors."
"Snapshots are not as easy to access as on a NetApp device."
"In future releases, I look forward to more AI features."
"It's somewhat scalable, but maybe not so much as some of the competition."
More DDN IntelliFlash cons
"The pricing could be cheaper and it should have documentation in more languages, specifically, Russian."
"It was difficult to implement and lacks some additional features that would be useful, but as a solution fits a particular need for our organization."
"As far as the manageability, being able to port between the two and have to do less training in-house from a customer point of view, that would be the part to improve."
"We need a center related to NetApp in Egypt so that we can deal with them directly."
"Its pricing should be better. Its price is competitive, but they need to improve the pricing. They have different licensing models, which they need to improve. My expectation was cloud integration, which they have, but it is a different license. Therefore, people cannot enjoy it. If I want to use it, I need to pay extra. There is a cost involved for everything, but it should reach everyone. It is similar to having a Rolls-Royce, but you need to pay extra for the key. If you want the key, you need to pay."
"This solution does not have any compression or deduplication."
"A little more manageability, a simpler management interface. It's not necessarily that it's way overly complex. It's just that it's not as easy as the FAS series."
"Better integration with other brands is important so we would like to see it easier to integrate."
More NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Pure FlashArray X NVMe’s pricing is cheaper than other products."
"Given its price, Pure is not the first option."
"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."
"With Pure Storage, we would like to continue seeing price reductions with flash storage. I don't think we're any different than anybody else when we continue to look to the industry for price reductions of both NVMe and traditional SSD storage. We would like to see these prices continue to decline and erode, even displacing large spinning disks."
"The product is expensive."
"We pay approximately $50,000 USD per year in licensing fees."
"The support cost per array is about $20,000 a year for 24/7 support."
"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."
More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pricing and cost advice
"I think we pay around 100 grand per year for three arrays or four arrays."
"I recommend the full bundle software in order to have all the functionality. It is more expensive to purchase it one by one."
"Most of my customers pay for the license on a yearly basis. It can be expensive depending on the capacity number."
"Cheaper pricing is always good. NetApp has been doing everything the right way. They've been figuring out things really well, going in the right direction."
"Adding more capacity will increase the cost."
"The pricing of the solution is expensive, considering the initial investment required...At the end of the product's life cycle, it could get cheaper, but the initial investment in NetApp makes it one of the most expensive solutions."
"One has to opt for a perpetual-based licensing model for one year or three years. After three years, you need to renew the license."
"Its cost-effectiveness is a major selling point. Compared to other storage vendors, the EF-Series offers excellent value for its price. It's truly a leading product in the industry."
"NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays is an expensive product."
"They provide licenses upon purchase, so there's no need for additional licenses. Regarding additional expenses apart from the standard licensing fees, such as for support or maintenance, there aren't any. Updates take around twenty to thirty minutes, including rebooting the systems, and we haven't faced any problems with the NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays. We utilize various other storages like Fujitsu, IBM, and Dalian SIP, but the NetApp EF-Series stands out as we've had no issues throughout the entire year of usage."
More NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays pricing and cost advice
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Construction Company
7%
Government
7%
Performing Arts
12%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise11
Large Enterprise12
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise3
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise18
 

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 price of Pure FlashArray X NVMe is very expensive, though I do not know the actual price because I am using the E...
See all answers
What needs improvement with Pure FlashArray X NVMe?
I have no specific improvements to suggest for Pure FlashArray X NVMe at this time. The performance statistics could ...
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IntelliFlash?
It is a bit cheaper than other products, 10% to 20% cheaper.
See all answers
What needs improvement with IntelliFlash?
DDN IntelliFlash should improve in terms of sales. In future releases, I look forward to more features about AI and M...
See all answers
What is your primary use case for IntelliFlash?
We use IntelliFlash products for larger environments, like Qatar Airways. They have large scalability and use more th...
See all answers
What do you like most about NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays?
Considering the cost, I find NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays to be the best storage available in the market.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays?
One has to opt for a perpetual-based licensing model for one year or three years. After three years, you need to rene...
See all answers
What needs improvement with NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays?
The support of the product is an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required. I want NetApp's supp...
See all answers
 

Comparisons

Dell PowerStore vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe Logo
Dell PowerStore vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe
Compared 23% of the time
TrueNAS R-Series vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe Logo
TrueNAS R-Series vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe
Compared 16% of the time
Dell PowerMax vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe Logo
Dell PowerMax vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe
Compared 14% of the time
Pure Storage FlashBlade vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe Logo
Pure Storage FlashBlade vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe
Compared 11% of the time
HPE Alletra Storage vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe Logo
HPE Alletra Storage vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe
Compared 11% of the time
More Pure FlashArray X NVMe Competitors
VAST Data vs DDN IntelliFlash Logo
VAST Data vs DDN IntelliFlash
Compared 47% of the time
NetApp AFF vs DDN IntelliFlash Logo
NetApp AFF vs DDN IntelliFlash
Compared 20% of the time
Pure Storage FlashBlade vs DDN IntelliFlash Logo
Pure Storage FlashBlade vs DDN IntelliFlash
Compared 12% of the time
Tintri VMstore T7000 vs DDN IntelliFlash Logo
Tintri VMstore T7000 vs DDN IntelliFlash
Compared 11% of the time
IBM FlashSystem vs DDN IntelliFlash Logo
IBM FlashSystem vs DDN IntelliFlash
Compared 11% of the time
More DDN IntelliFlash Competitors
Dell PowerStore vs NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays Logo
Dell PowerStore vs NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays
Compared 35% of the time
Dell Unity XT vs NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays Logo
Dell Unity XT vs NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays
Compared 22% of the time
NetApp AFF vs NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays Logo
NetApp AFF vs NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays
Compared 19% of the time
Pure Storage FlashBlade vs NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays Logo
Pure Storage FlashBlade vs NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays
Compared 12% of the time
NetApp ASA vs NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays Logo
NetApp ASA vs NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays
Compared 12% of the time
More NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Pure FlashArray X NVMe
September 2025
Pure FlashArray X NVMe reportDownload Pure FlashArray X NVMe product report
Buyer's Guide
DDN IntelliFlash
September 2025
DDN IntelliFlash reportDownload DDN IntelliFlash product report
Buyer's Guide
NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays
September 2025
NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays reportDownload NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays product report
 

Also Known As

Pure FlashArray//X NVMe, Pure FlashArray//X, FlashArray//X
Tegile, IntelliFlash N-Series, IntelliFlash T-Series, IntelliFlash HD-Series
NetApp EF540, NetApp EF-Series
 

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.

Pure Storage

Western Digital through its IntelliFlash arrays delivers high-performance storage with a complete range of features and connectivity options, including inline compression and deduplication, application and VM consistent snapshots, replication, RAID, data encryption, VMware vCenter integration, and multi-protocol support for SAN (FC, iSCSI) and NAS (NFS, SMBv3). IntelliFlash arrays deliver high availability through dualredundant and hot-swappable components, active/active or active/passive controllers, non-disruptive software upgrades, eMLC flash, and proactive cloud-based monitoring, analytics, and intelligence. A RESTful API provides scripted or programmatic control.

DataDirect Networks

The NetApp EF560 all-flash array is an all-SSD storage system for applications that demand extremely high levels of performance and reliability. Requiring just 2U of rack space, the EF560 all-flash array combines extreme IOPS, microsecond response times, and up to 12GBps of bandwidth with leading, enterprise-proven availability features.

NetApp
 

Sample Customers

Fremont Bank, Judson ISD, The Nielsen Company
Bank of Stockton, Barnsley College, Boyes Turner, Brigham Young University
RP Data, Western Oregon University, Toei Animation
Buyer's Guide
DDN IntelliFlash vs. NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays
September 2025
Free Report: DDN IntelliFlash vs. NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays
Find out what your peers are saying about DDN IntelliFlash vs. NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
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We monitor all All-Flash Storage reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.