Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs Huawei FusionStorage comparison

Dell Technologies and Huawei are both solutions in the File and Object Storage category. Dell Technologies is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.7, while Huawei is ranked #19 with an average rating of 7.3. Dell Technologies holds a 7.1% mindshare in FaOS, compared to Huawei’s 1.3% mindshare. Additionally, 97% of Dell Technologies users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Huawei users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 4, 2024

Dell PowerScale and Huawei FusionStorage are competing in the enterprise storage solutions category. Dell PowerScale appears to have the upper hand in performance and scalability, while Huawei FusionStorage is competitive due to its innovative management tools.

Features: Dell PowerScale is notable for seamless scalability and high-performance architecture, handling diverse application workloads with ease. It provides robust scalability features and integrates a unified permission model for data security. Huawei FusionStorage offers comprehensive data protection and intelligent management features, supporting data-intensive environments efficiently. It excels in data management, offering replication and deduplication within its feature set.

Room for Improvement: Dell PowerScale could enhance flexibility in management for users wanting detailed control, and improve upon installation complexity for newcomers. Huawei FusionStorage might benefit from broader global accessibility and documentation refinement to assist non-Chinese users. It could also improve its integration flexibility with diverse enterprise environments.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Dell PowerScale ensures a straightforward setup with excellent customer support, facilitating easy installation and ongoing assistance. Huawei FusionStorage, while offering a flexible deployment model, requires a steeper learning curve initially. Its customizable setup may appeal to enterprises needing tailored solutions, but it lacks in providing immediate ease of use compared to Dell.

Pricing and ROI: Dell PowerScale requires a higher initial investment but promises a strong long-term ROI due to its reliable performance and scalability features. Conversely, Huawei FusionStorage provides a more budget-friendly setup, targeting organizations focused on cost management while ensuring capabilities aren't compromised. Huawei's cost-effectiveness can be attractive for enterprises seeking innovation without the higher cost.

To learn more, read our detailed Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs. Huawei FusionStorage Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs. Huawei FusionStorage

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

Pure Storage FlashBlade

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the File and Object Storage category, the mindshare of Pure Storage FlashBlade is 5.3%, down from 6.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell PowerScale (Isilon) is 7.1%, down from 8.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Huawei FusionStorage is 1.3%, up from 0.5% 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 PowerScale (Isilon)	7.1%
Pure Storage FlashBlade	5.3%
Huawei FusionStorage	1.3%
Other	86.3%

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.

Read full review

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

Wondwossen Abebe Kebede

Program and performance manager at Ethio Telecom

Reliable platform that integrates well with different IT infrastructures and systems

The product integrates well with different IT infrastructures and systems in the telecom sector. Our partners manage services, including detailed integration and migration-related operations. The platform upholds the uptime and reliability of our business applications. We classify our systems into different tiers, ranging from machine-critical to business-critical, and FusionStorage helps us run all the services. It delivers a remarkable uptime of 99.9%. With our expectations for continuous service availability, we are operating 24/7. In cases where system interruptions occur, it enables rapid restoration, ensuring a prompt return to normal service levels. I rate it an eight 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

"FlashBlade offers low latency, high throughput, and seamless scalability."

"The tool's most valuable feature is its fast performance, especially in handling snapshots. It helps during power outages when we need to quickly move data between different data centers. It ensures efficient replication and helps maintain our data centers' uptime."

"We can capacity plan at a greater level than we used to."

"It helps simplify our storage, because the user interface is very simple and the installation is easy."

"The onboarding and integrated monitoring tools are pretty good."

"The most valuable feature is Safe Mode."

"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 tool's most valuable features are data warehousing, speedy recovery, and analytics. Its latest release is cost-effective."

More Pure Storage FlashBlade pros

"It has allowed us to have more consistent quality controls. It has also allowed us to expand the number of servers in clients processing and accessing data, allowing us to get a lot bigger projects out the door."

"Dell PowerScale helps in saving costs related to power and rack space, reducing physical hardware from over one hundred to twenty-nine chassis."

"The tool's most valuable features are high density and scalability."

"Isilon is flexible in supporting various data workloads while keeping them protected. Dell continues to release updates and patches which enhance the use of this solution. This includes offering ransomware protection."

"The features of Dell PowerScale (Isilon) that I prefer the most include some of the newer technologies that are on it, which would include SmartSync and the ability for the data mover to continue to make incremental changes."

"I buy Dell PowerScale (Isilon) because of the price, service, and technology, and the technology that is particularly good for my company is that I have two Dell PowerScale (Isilon) systems in two sites, and I use replication between them with Superna software, which is a third-party Dell technology."

"The fact that we were able to set it up, use it, and, for the most part, didn't have to worry about it after we had it set up has been valuable."

"Dell PowerScale (Isilon) definitely deserves ten out of ten for scalability."

More Dell PowerScale (Isilon) pros

"It is a stable solution."

"Huawei FusionStorage does well in its basic functions and offers broad utility."

"The solution’s most valuable feature is its performance."

"In cases where system interruptions occur, it enables rapid restoration, ensuring a prompt return to normal service levels."

"Provides easy access to our data."

"The product has a very simple GUI-based management platform and it is very simple to use. There is a very easy step-by-step configuration procedure that guides you through, and you can configure it very easily."

Cons

"Pure Storage FlashBlade should improve on more cloud integration."

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

"I would like to see more deduplication."

"The speed could be improved."

"I would like to see better integration."

"There could be improvements in public cloud integration."

"The Pure Storage Orchestrator is our biggest pain point at the moment. If we can have more say in future developments of feature sets that we will need to support for our use case, that would be pretty beneficial to us."

"They need better integration with public clouds along with a better hybrid solution."

More Pure Storage FlashBlade cons

"They could improve implementation, as we had to rack and stack it ourselves."

"Some improvements to the NFS support would be of interest to us."

"It is a bit higher priced than some of the other systems."

"I would like to see increased reporting and statistics functionalities."

"Data storage performance needs to be improved."

"We lost our technical sales reps about two years ago. We haven't gotten one assigned to us and we'd love to have one."

"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."

"That said, for the other security features, it would be helpful if Tenable - and I know it's outside the scope of this question itself - had Isilon-specific plugins."

More Dell PowerScale (Isilon) cons

"The problem with Huawei is that it generally oversells. As a principle, Huawei does not educate the partner or the end user enough to scale up their solution correctly."

"The solution’s support could be improved."

"The initial setup and installation is not that straightforward. It should be made easier and the time to install should be reduced."

"I hope for improvements in the product's processing ability and performance."

"The product needs improvement in terms of affordability."

"Their cloud services could be improved."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is very expensive."

"In my opinion, we have paid the right price for the product. I don't think that it is too much or too little."

"I have seen ROI. It has allowed me to increase the density of my VMs without having to purchase anything additional."

"Our customers have seen a reduction in TCO."

"I rate the tool's pricing a seven to eight out of ten."

"Licensing fees are paid yearly."

"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."

More Pure Storage FlashBlade pricing and cost advice

"We paid an additional fee to have Dell's ProDeploy Plus team implement it."

"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."

"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 price of the solution is high."

"Price was also a significant factor in our decision to go with PowerScale. The team at EMC, now Dell EMC, came through with a highly competitive offer that tipped the scales towards their solution. There was only one other solution around the same price point, but it could not match PowerScale on features. That other solution is no longer on the market."

"The pricing is expensive, but I think it's a fair value because it does manage itself. It definitely is much simpler than any of the other scale-out storage platforms that we've looked at in the past."

"The general cost for a system like this is expensive. The total cost depends on your use case. You need to pay for every additional feature that you use."

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

More Dell PowerScale (Isilon) pricing and cost advice

"If one is a cheap solution and ten means it is a very expensive product, I would rate the price as two or three."

"It is expensive but might be optimal based on the partnership."

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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

12%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

Government

Retailer

11%

Computer Software Company

10%

Government

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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

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

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	2
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	3

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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 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 no...

See all answers

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 b...

See all answers

What do you like most about Huawei FusionStorage?

In cases where system interruptions occur, it enables rapid restoration, ensuring a prompt return to normal service l...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Huawei FusionStorage?

The solution’s support could be improved.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Huawei FusionStorage?

Huawei FusionStorage provides a scalable, high-performance, and highly available distributed storage solution designe...

See all answers

Comparisons

MinIO vs Pure Storage FlashBlade

Compared 9% of the time

Pure Storage FlashArray vs Pure Storage FlashBlade

Compared 9% of the time

VAST Data vs Pure Storage FlashBlade

Compared 7% of the time

Red Hat Ceph Storage vs Pure Storage FlashBlade

Compared 6% of the time

Dell ObjectScale vs Pure Storage FlashBlade

Compared 6% of the time

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NetApp FAS Series vs Dell PowerScale (Isilon)

Compared 18% 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 StoreEasy vs Dell PowerScale (Isilon)

Compared 4% of the time

VAST Data vs Dell PowerScale (Isilon)

Compared 4% of the time

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Red Hat Ceph Storage vs Huawei FusionStorage

Compared 13% of the time

Dropbox Business - Enterprise vs Huawei FusionStorage

Compared 11% of the time

Google Drive Enterprise vs Huawei FusionStorage

Compared 10% of the time

Dell ObjectScale vs Huawei FusionStorage

Compared 9% of the time

Qumulo vs Huawei FusionStorage

Compared 5% of the time

More Huawei FusionStorage Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Pure Storage FlashBlade

January 2026

Download Pure Storage FlashBlade product report

Buyer's Guide

Dell PowerScale (Isilon)

January 2026

Download Dell PowerScale (Isilon) product report

Buyer's Guide

Cloud Storage

January 2026

Download Huawei FusionStorage product report

Also Known As

No data available

PowerScale, Dell EMC Isilon

No data available

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

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

Huawei FusionStorage fully distributed cloud storage features massive scale-out capability designed for cloud-based architectures. The on-board storage system software combines the local storage resources of standard x86 servers into fully distributed storage pools, providing block, object, or file storage resources to the upper layer. An enterprise can easily obtain the required flexibility and efficiency in data storage to keep up with the ever-changing dynamics of business.

Huawei

Sample Customers

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

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,

China Merchants Bank, Liaoning, Zhejiang

Buyer's Guide

Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs. Huawei FusionStorage

December 2025

Free Report: Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs. Huawei FusionStorage

Find out what your peers are saying about Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs. Huawei FusionStorage and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.

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