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Dell PowerVault vs ExaGrid EX comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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 PowerVault
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
34
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise SAN (2nd), Fibre Channel (1st)
ExaGrid EX
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.0
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
Disk Based Backup Systems (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

Dell PowerVault and ExaGrid EX aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Dell PowerVault is designed for Enterprise SAN and holds a mindshare of 21.2%, down 27.1% compared to last year.
ExaGrid EX, on the other hand, focuses on Disk Based Backup Systems, holds 10.9% mindshare, up 10.5% since last year.
Enterprise SAN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Dell PowerVault21.2%
Dell PowerStore23.3%
Cisco MDS Series6.7%
Other48.8%
Enterprise SAN
Disk Based Backup Systems Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
ExaGrid EX10.9%
Dell PowerProtect Data Domain38.7%
HPE StoreOnce37.3%
Other13.099999999999994%
Disk Based Backup Systems
 

Featured Reviews

Erhan Parlaz - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Sales Consultant at Teccle Group
Reliable midmarket backups have supported disaster recovery while centralized management needs work
Areas where I feel Dell PowerVault could be improved include especially the enterprise area and multiple interfaces in other areas, for example, backup software solutions and their integration. Handling extensive storage management functions such as snapshots, replication, and provisioning with Dell PowerVault is very well suited for the midmarket or even smaller midmarket environments. Only when environments become more complex, especially in the enterprise area, does Dell PowerVault struggle in the software area, including centralized management. I would welcome it if Dell PowerVault were a bit easier to manage in centralized management via the GUI, as it was in the past, because at the moment mid-sized companies find it not so straightforward to clearly calculate things such as how and where to use something, especially in the snapshot area. There is still room for improvement due to the missing interfaces and also the flexibility.
AhmedEl-Tayeb - PeerSpot reviewer
Product Manager at MCS
Has offered a cost-effective option with solid results but requires automation features for better efficiency
For ExaGrid EX, I would appreciate additional features such as backup and restore, automation processes, and automation software for backup and restore processes. I mention that some additional features may be provided by VMware or Dell as support for the hardware they are selling, but ExaGrid EX is more of a budget-friendly solution for customers who are in charge on a daily basis of the solution itself, dealing with manual tasks rather than automated tasks. I am not in a situation to provide an exact answer for what I would specifically improve in this regard.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Customer Service: Very good general Dell Storage support is very responsive."
"The most valuable feature of Dell PowerVault is its performance."
"The solution is reliable and stable."
"It is an inexpensive storage solution."
"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"I would say my favorite features of Dell PowerVault are that it's pretty easy to use, it has been pretty stable, firmware updates have been pretty easy to install, and replacing a bad drive is fairly simple."
"Dell PowerVault is user-friendly and easy to deploy."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is that it is easy to manage and easy to use."
"Backup and restore processes are much shorter now, and we don't need forklift upgrades every three to four years."
"Both the pricing and the performance are excellent."
"The most valuable features of ExaGrid EX are the Veeam features and Landing Zone."
"I find ExaGrid EX to be a useful solution for customers looking for a budget-friendly product."
"I find ExaGrid EX to be a useful solution for customers looking for a budget-friendly product."
 

Cons

"I would like Dell to improve on the configuration of the disk groups. Only one group is expandable. Once you configure the other disk group types, you cannot expand them. It limits scalability. If you want maybe to grow a disk group, you lose information, and then you need to build it up again, which is not a good use case for customers."
"If we speak about the negative side of Dell PowerVault, I do see some areas for improvement."
"PowerVault doesn't integrate with Active Directory. Other storage solutions offer SAN and NAS unified storage in a single appliance, but PowerVault is only SAN."
"Dell PowerVault could improve by having a higher cache and file protocol support added."
"The MD3220i needs to allow for larger drive sizes."
"Only once when the storage array seem to be very slow and caused VMware Hosts to not see the volumes."
"No LCD panel for viewing status on-board."
"The price of the solution could be lower."
"ExaGrid EX is more of a budget-friendly solution for customers who are in charge on a daily basis of the solution itself, dealing with manual tasks rather than automated tasks."
"ExaGrid EX is more of a budget-friendly solution for customers who are in charge on a daily basis of the solution itself, dealing with manual tasks rather than automated tasks."
"I would like to see free disk space."
"The solution’s web access should be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I rate the price of Dell PowerVault a nine out of ten."
"I would rate the pricing model a nine out of ten, with one being expensive and ten being cheap."
"It is important to remember that the retail price may seem high, but the final price is usually different."
"I rate Dell PowerVault a six or seven out of ten for pricing."
"The price of Dell PowerVault could be reduced. It is more expensive than some IBM solutions."
"They are offering a wide range of support models for the customers such as basic support that is budget-friendly, but they also provide a professional support solution that is a bit costly"
"I rate the product price a nine on a scale of one to ten, where one is low, and ten is high."
"The cost, compared to other solutions, is on the higher end."
"I rate ExaGrid EX ten out of ten for pricing."
"The renewal fee is approximately $3,500 to $3.750 for a 60 terabyte device."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
15%
Computer Software Company
10%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Healthcare Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business16
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise13
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell PowerVault?
I think the price, implementation cost, and licensing of Dell PowerVault is reasonable. Considering the resources it delivers, the security, and the reliability the platform gives us, all the costs...
What needs improvement with Dell PowerVault?
Something that could be improved or enhanced by Dell is more exchange of new information about the technology itself, a broader exchange of suggestions, new contributions, and new insights that we ...
What is your primary use case for Dell PowerVault?
Dell PowerVault is our main storage and is responsible for storing all productive data of the company in Latin America. Since Dell PowerVault is responsible for all productive data, that includes i...
What needs improvement with ExaGrid EX?
For ExaGrid EX, I would appreciate additional features such as backup and restore, automation processes, and automation software for backup and restore processes. I mention that some additional fea...
What is your primary use case for ExaGrid EX?
My role in relation to ExaGrid EX is partner and reseller.
What advice do you have for others considering ExaGrid EX?
I would prefer another way to provide support; sending all the questions in an Excel sheet or a Word file would allow me to answer them in a couple of hours and send them back. I have no problem re...
 

Also Known As

PowerVault
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Dayco, FAW Foundry, University of Cambridge, Finder, Stadtwerke Pforzheim GmbH & Co.
7-Eleven, ABC, ACNB Bank, Admiration Foods, Aeroflex, AGH, Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, Alberta Motor Association, Allegro MicroSystems, American Standard, Ameris Bank, Arch Reinsurance Ltd., Arthritis Foundation
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell Technologies, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Cisco and others in Enterprise SAN. Updated: March 2026.
884,933 professionals have used our research since 2012.