

Panzura CloudFS and Dell PowerScale (Isilon) compete in the cloud storage and data management sector. Panzura CloudFS takes the lead in collaboration and remote access efficiency, while Dell PowerScale excels in scalability and resilience according to user reviews.
Features: Panzura CloudFS provides a single namespace for data management, supporting synchronized file access across locations and offering compression, deduplication, and audit capabilities. Dell PowerScale offers excellent scalability with its scalable nodes system, high storage utilization, and comprehensive protocol support, making it robust for handling large data volumes.
Room for Improvement: Panzura CloudFS could enhance its edge capabilities, improve performance for international users, and offer a more flexible pricing model. Dell PowerScale could focus on simplifying the handling of small files, improving cost-effectiveness, and optimizing management and configuration. It could also enhance reporting, analytics, and cloud integration.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Panzura CloudFS is flexible, designed for public and hybrid clouds, and is noted for its quick and effective technical support. Dell PowerScale primarily involves on-premises deployment with mixed feedback on its complexity, although its customer service is reliable but can be time-consuming in the initial setup.
Pricing and ROI: Panzura CloudFS pricing is higher yet justified by its efficiency and time savings, with calls for more flexible licensing increments. Dell PowerScale is also expensive but offsets the cost with excellent performance, scalability, and robust features that provide significant returns on investment by streamlining storage management.
Despite being more expensive than Huawei, it is stable and most enterprises accept the price due to its stability.
In terms of Dell PowerScale (Isilon) specifically, we have seen a return on investment due to faster performance than our last few storage arrays, and the general usability is a lot better.
The second cluster of Dell PowerScale (Isilon) gives us flexibility for small things like code upgrades, all the way to scenarios where we have lost this data center or data, allowing us to check if data is still intact on the other side.
Previously, we had latency issues with syncing up files between offices. Files were not locked, leading to overwrites which cost us literally hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost time and revenue.
We saw the benefits of Panzura CloudFS immediately because our remote offices were able to share files immediately after the product went live.
Panzura CloudFS saves us a significant amount of time frequently.
Support online is definitely a ten out of ten.
When we face issues, we raise a ticket through the valid portal, and they respond immediately and assign a local engineer to coordinate the support process.
Dell provides support within four hours, and they always fulfill their promises.
The support staff and the number of people they have on staff right now are truly good.
When we have a priority-one issue, we typically receive a call within 20 to 30 minutes.
I would give the support for Panzura CloudFS a ten out of ten because they are responsive and helpful.
We started on PowerScale with around about 300 terabytes and are now two and a half petabytes, still on the same file system.
That's really saved us in certain areas as we didn't have funding to expand Dell PowerScale (Isilon) until next year, which is why we utilized the cloud pools functionality to offload.
As an unstructured data storage solution, writing into it and accessing it from the other nodes is highly scalable with no issues.
Unlimited users can access the system without issues.
From our original entry with Panzura CloudFS, we have added an additional seven sites, and deploying those additional nodes was very seamless and did not take any effort.
The latest version, 8.0.2, has better ease of decommissioning filers and bringing new ones online.
Since we have good protection levels, the data is secured and replicated across the disks.
Even if a node goes down, other nodes can respond and provide data back to the user without issues.
I assess the stability and reliability of Dell PowerScale (Isilon) as perfect.
I would rate it a nine out of ten for stability.
We have never had their system crash on us.
There were times with file lock issues between filers, causing various anomalies, but with their ongoing development, these issues have improved.
Hardware failures under warranty should be addressed within the promised timeline.
I would want to see more AI features with Dell PowerScale (Isilon).
If I could improve one thing on Dell PowerScale (Isilon), it would be better object storage as it recently breached into S3, and that capability could be broadened.
When something goes wrong somewhere, there should be a little bit better alerting with issues before they become a big problem.
The GIS data formats, such as a geo database, have been found better kept outside of Panzura CloudFS.
It would have been nice if they had offered them in increments, of 5, 10, 15, or 20 terabytes than having to get a whole chunk of 25 terabytes again for licensing purposes, which is a little costly.
It's quite expensive for the amount of storage we have.
Cheaper nodes will cost less, while higher performance nodes will be pricier.
Costs align well with what it delivers, making it a fair price for a powerful tool that meets all our needs.
It did require us to purchase new hardware, however, that was not overly expensive.
They should consider more attractive pricing for companies of our size.
Overall, it is quite costly compared to NetApp and similar solutions.
Dell PowerScale offers high scalability and stability as well, making it a valuable solution for enterprises.
In our AI initiatives, Dell PowerScale (Isilon) plays a significant role in data analysis, data fusion; principally, it is involved in data analysis, data extraction, and statistical analysis.
Single files are limited to four terabytes in our configuration, however, the system can support up to 16 terabytes, so we can scale based on that too.
It is very reliable and very quick.
It helps us increase network resilience. We have a primary object library stored in the cloud and have Panzura Mirroring which allows us to place data in a secondary cloud for added resiliency.
There is no degradation of speed because these filers have cached the data, and they are constantly swapping metadata and updating with each other, which is a very attractive method of getting us to use these applications.
| Product | Mindshare (%) |
|---|---|
| Dell PowerScale (Isilon) | 15.5% |
| Panzura CloudFS | 2.9% |
| Other | 81.6% |

| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 19 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 20 |
| Large Enterprise | 44 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 2 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 7 |
| Large Enterprise | 3 |
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?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.
Panzura CloudFS is a cloud file system that enables efficient collaboration and data synchronization across multiple offices with features like file snapshots, data protection, and network resilience.
With Panzura CloudFS, organizations achieve seamless file synchronization and management across distributed networks. Offering a single namespace and capabilities like compression, deduplication, and metadata management, it simplifies administration and supports enterprise-level applications. Despite its strengths in speed, security, and customer support, there are areas for improvement such as performance for international access, alert systems, and pricing.
What are the key features of Panzura CloudFS?Industries such as architecture and biotech leverage Panzura CloudFS to manage complex file needs efficiently. It supports applications like AutoCAD and lab data management, offering real-time access and synchronization, important for businesses with distributed teams needing high resiliency and redundancy.
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