Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs Hitachi NAS Platform comparison

Dell Technologies and Hitachi Vantara are both solutions in the NAS category. Dell Technologies is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.7, while Hitachi Vantara is ranked #12 with an average rating of 8.0. Dell Technologies holds a 15.1% mindshare in N, compared to Hitachi Vantara’s 2.6% mindshare. Additionally, 97% of Dell Technologies users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Hitachi Vantara users who would recommend it.

Dell PowerScale (Isilon)

Read 76 Dell PowerScale (Isilon) reviews

10,615 Views
5,201 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

Hitachi NAS Platform

Read 12 Hitachi NAS Platform reviews

873 Views
873 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Dell PowerScale (Isilon)

Hitachi NAS Platform

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 7, 2024

Hitachi NAS Platform and Dell PowerScale are competing in the enterprise storage solutions category. Hitachi NAS Platform appears to have the upper hand in pricing and support, whereas Dell PowerScale excels in scalability and performance.

Features: Hitachi NAS Platform is known for its high data throughput, efficient data management, and advanced security features. Dell PowerScale offers seamless integration, comprehensive analytics, and exceptional scalability, making it highly suitable for large-scale deployments.

Room for Improvement: Hitachi NAS Platform could enhance its scalability and integration features to better compete with larger deployments. Improvements in handling mixed workloads and expanding analytics capabilities are also potential areas. Dell PowerScale could benefit from simplifying its deployment process and improving customer support responsiveness. Additionally, it may need to address initial setup costs to appeal more broadly to budget-sensitive enterprises.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Deployment with Hitachi NAS Platform tends to be straightforward, supported by an effective customer service team. Dell PowerScale also provides a good deployment model; however, its support quality may sometimes fall short, which can affect the overall implementation experience.

Pricing and ROI: Hitachi NAS Platform typically presents lower initial setup costs, offering an appealing choice for businesses with budget concerns while still promising satisfactory ROI. Dell PowerScale, though costlier upfront, offers substantial ROI over time with its robust features, appealing to enterprises with strategic long-term investment goals focused on scalability.

To learn more, read our detailed Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs. Hitachi NAS Platform Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs. Hitachi NAS Platform

December 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

Dell PowerScale (Isilon)

Ranking in NAS

2nd

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

File and Object Storage (2nd)

Hitachi NAS Platform

Ranking in NAS

12th

Average Rating

7.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the NAS category, the mindshare of Dell PowerScale (Isilon) is 15.1%, down from 17.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Hitachi NAS Platform is 2.6%, down from 2.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

NAS Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Dell PowerScale (Isilon)	15.1%
Hitachi NAS Platform	2.6%
Other	82.3%

NAS

Featured Reviews

Bill Engelmeyer

Systems Engineer at Unisity LLC

Flexibility and reliability have supported seamless data growth

I cannot think of anything to improve about Dell PowerScale (Isilon). The hardest challenge we have is due to how we've bought things over time. The way that we moved to the PowerEdge platform for the newer systems creates a scale problem as I still buy the older style systems, which are more dense storage. They're different chassis, so the problem we run into in the data center is the depth of the actual equipment. The newer equipment, if we buy an FX910 or a 900, it's a lot shorter in scale than if I buy an 83,000, which is much bigger. This makes it more complicated for deployment.

Read full review

Mir Gulzar Ahmed

IT Manager at Synergy Computers

Needs standalone functionality but provides a robust NAS solution for existing SAN environments

I would suggest that Hitachi make a NAS box that can work independently, without relying on SAN connectivity. The current solution only suits customers who already have a Hitachi SAN environment and want to add NAS protocols like NFS and CIFS. It's not suitable for customers without an existing SAN, as they would first need to acquire the SAN infrastructure before adding NAS functionality.

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

"Dell PowerScale includes a wealth of features that are important from a security and recovery perspective."

"Ability to scale the number of nodes without having to build additional clusters."

"The features that I have mentioned improve my company through the reliability of the storage; it is always available, and it works, which is the important thing."

"The recent introduction of inline deduplication and compression has drastically improved our efficiency ratios to make it an economical product. This solution has also had a positive impact on our employees' productivity because it reduces the amount of admin that our staff needs to handle."

"Dell PowerScale (Isilon) has powerful security, which makes it a very reliable storage solution for our content, and also the support and observability of our system; the call home feature is fantastic because when it presents an issue, Dell automatically opens a ticket regarding any warnings or alerts, allowing us to have a complete view of our system's health."

"Dell PowerScale is a scalable solution. It allows non-disruptive upgrades and maintenance of the system."

"The most valuable feature we started using, beyond the initial scope for the solution, is the multi-protocol system that allows you to access the same set of files using different network protocols like NFS or SMB. PowerScale’s Unified Permission Model ensures that data security and access permissions are honoured regardless of whether the client is a Windows desktop or a Linux server"

"The most valuable feature of Dell PowerScale (Isilon) is all the capabilities together."

More Dell PowerScale (Isilon) pros

"The most valuable feature is its ability to handle a high number of users while maintaining both stability and performance."

"The product’s technical support services are good."

"The reliability and scalability of Hitachi NAS Platform are valuable features."

"Simple and extremely reliable."

"The Hitachi storage platform is highly scalable and highly available."

"There are no other NAS in the current market that can compete with Hitachi in terms of performance."

"The product has valuable features for data migration."

"It creates a NAS environment on top of Hitachi SAN, which facilitates customers who need NAS protocols along with their existing SAN portfolio."

More Hitachi NAS Platform pros

Cons

"I think Dell PowerScale (Isilon) can be improved, as the cost models are quite expensive for administration."

"The product’s expansion capacity, pricing clarity, and ease of use need improvement."

"The management and monitoring tools comprise a disparate suite of products and the roadmap is very unclear. We've got four different products that look after the Isilon, management-wise, and it's a bit of a mess."

"Dell's customer service needs improvement."

"The solution’s interface and pricing could be improved."

"The replication could lend itself to some improvement around encryption in transit and managing the racing of large volumes of data. The process of file over and file back can be tedious. Hopefully, you never end up going into a DR. If you do go into a DR, you know the data is there on the remote site. However, in terms of the process of setting up the replicates and filing them back, that is just very tedious and could definitely do with some improvement."

"My experience with customer service and technical support has been challenging. The reason is that it is difficult to find subject matter experts around the solution."

"Dell PowerScale (Isilon) is a little bit pricey, and its pricing could be improved."

More Dell PowerScale (Isilon) cons

"The Hitachi NAS Platform is too complicated, not simple, and not cost-effective, sometimes being inappropriate for most situations."

"The monitoring tool is not well developed."

"There are insufficient improvements in certain areas."

"Hitachi NAS Platform needs to improve by offering a unified storage solution. Due to budget constraints in regions like Southeast Asia, customers prefer a single machine that can handle all problems, which the current platform does not provide."

"Hitachi NAS Platform is expensive."

"For the Hitachi NAS Platform, the tools are basic and don't provide much insight."

"I encounter challenges while installing the upgrades for the product."

"I would like to see the inclusion of support for cloud-connectivity to providers like AWS."

More Hitachi NAS Platform cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of Dell PowerScale (Isilon) is reasonable."

"We use the TNA approach which is a great opportunity for us to better manage the licenses based on how much consumption is available for the different customers so we can use that approach and scalability."

"The solution is expensive; it is not the cheapest solution out there. If you look at it from a total cost of ownership perspective, then it is a very compelling solution. However, if you're looking at just dollar per terabyte and not looking at the big picture, then you could be distracted by the price. It is not an amazing price, but it's pretty good. It is also very good when you consider the total cost of ownership and ease of management."

"Dealing with the product costs and licensing areas is getting easier since Dell is simplifying the licensing process and licensing packages offered to users."

"The solution's licensing cost varies based on capacity and performance requirements."

"Pricing for this solution is reasonable."

"The pricing is excellent."

"I always want things to be less expensive. However, I would say the pricing is fair. Their costs are in alignment with their competitors. It is a good value for the money."

More Dell PowerScale (Isilon) pricing and cost advice

"Costs are based on the features and it is a considerable amount."

"Hitachi NAS Platform’s price is high and depends on SCSI disc capacity."

"It is a highly-priced product."

"I would rate the solution's pricing six to seven out of ten."

"This solution is priced well and there are no costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

Government

Manufacturing Company

15%

Educational Organization

10%

Energy/Utilities Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	17
Midsize Enterprise	19
Large Enterprise	42

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	2

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Dell EMC PowerScale (Isilon)?

The solution provides massive performance, scalability, efficiency, and ease of management.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell EMC PowerScale (Isilon)?

As for my experience with the pricing, setup cost, and licensing, we have had Dell PowerScale (Isilon) for a while now, so we are basically on the renewal track all the time. We did not find it to ...

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What needs improvement with Dell EMC PowerScale (Isilon)?

I think Dell PowerScale (Isilon) is very good right now. Perhaps improvements could be made on the CPU level with a better CPU. I haven't used the NVIDIA yet, but a better Intel CPU would be benefi...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Hiachi NAS Platform?

The pricing for the Hitachi NAS is higher compared to other NAS solutions since the NAS protocol is provided on top of the existing SAN environment, requiring an additional device for NAS functiona...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Hiachi NAS Platform?

For the Hitachi NAS Platform, the tools are basic and don't provide much insight. They can continue to improve the interface to keep it up-to-date, and maybe add some new features or better ways of...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Hiachi NAS Platform?

We sell the Hitachi NAS Platform, and it is the best product for our customers. I sell it to banks, telecom companies, and other enterprises at the enterprise level. We have a cluster with Hitachi ...

See all answers

Comparisons

NetApp FAS Series vs Dell PowerScale (Isilon)

Compared 18% of the time

Pure Storage FlashBlade vs Dell PowerScale (Isilon)

Compared 10% of the time

Qumulo vs Dell PowerScale (Isilon)

Compared 7% of the time

Dell ObjectScale vs Dell PowerScale (Isilon)

Compared 5% of the time

HPE 3PAR StoreServ vs Dell PowerScale (Isilon)

Compared 2% of the time

More Dell PowerScale (Isilon) Competitors

NetApp FAS Series vs Hitachi NAS Platform

Compared 14% of the time

Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform vs Hitachi NAS Platform

Compared 11% of the time

LSI ONStor Clustered NAS Gateways vs Hitachi NAS Platform

Compared 10% of the time

Spectra Verde NAS vs Hitachi NAS Platform

Compared 9% of the time

HPE 3PAR StoreServ vs Hitachi NAS Platform

Compared 8% of the time

More Hitachi NAS Platform Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Dell PowerScale (Isilon)

January 2026

Download Dell PowerScale (Isilon) product report

Buyer's Guide

NAS

January 2026

Download Hitachi NAS Platform product report

Also Known As

PowerScale, Dell EMC Isilon

Hitachi NAS

Overview

Dell PowerScale leads in unstructured data management with unified file and object storage, massive scalability, security, and cloud adaptability, enhancing AI, analytics, and enterprise applications with exceptional performance and resilience.

Dell PowerScale Isilon provides a comprehensive platform for unstructured data, excelling in scalability, management, and performance. With features like single-pane management, SyncIQ, and SmartQuotas, it handles large datasets with flexibility and robust security. Its multi-protocol support and seamless expansion improve operational efficiency. While it offers strong data protection, enhancements in cloud integration, cybersecurity, and performance are sought. Users note potential for cost reductions and streamlined configurations and mention desired improvements in object storage handling and NFS support.

What are the key features of Dell PowerScale Isilon?

Single-pane management: Simplifies data control and monitoring through a unified interface.
SyncIQ: Ensures efficient data replication for business continuity.
SmartQuotas: Provides intelligent quota management for optimized storage allocation.
Multi-protocol support: Facilitates cross-platform data access and integration.
Seamless storage expansion: Allows effortless scaling to accommodate growing data needs.

What benefits should users consider when reviewing Dell PowerScale Isilon?

Operational efficiency: Reduces workload with easy management and automation.
Enhanced security: Offers comprehensive data protection and recovery options.
Scalability: Supports large-scale data storage with flexible growth capabilities.
Performance: Delivers high-speed data processing for demanding applications.
Integration flexibility: Adapts to on-prem and hybrid cloud environments for diverse deployment needs.

Organizations across industries utilize Dell PowerScale Isilon for large-scale unstructured storage, supporting applications like video archiving, genomic data storage, and high-resolution imaging. Educational institutions, research centers, and media enterprises rely on its scaled-out storage capabilities, providing centralized, secure storage for diverse applications in hybrid, cloud, and on-prem environments.

Dell Technologies

Hitachi NAS Platforms help you with file sharing, file server consolidation and application storage for Oracle, Microsoft and virtual environments. Deploy the highest performance per node in the industry. Apply capacity efficiencies that let you actually do more, but with a lot less. Realize significant cost savings for your organization.

Hitachi Vantara

Sample Customers

OMRF, University of Utah, Translational Genetics Research Institute, Arcis, Geofizyka Torumn, Cyprus E&P Corporation, Colburn School, Columbia Sportswear, Harvard Medical School, University of Michigan, National Library of France,

Intersect Australia

Buyer's Guide

Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs. Hitachi NAS Platform

December 2025

Free Report: Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs. Hitachi NAS Platform

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