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Dell SC Series vs IBM System Storage DS8000 Series 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 SC Series
Ranking in Frame-Based Disk Arrays
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
55
Ranking in other categories
All-Flash Storage (19th)
IBM System Storage DS8000 S...
Ranking in Frame-Based Disk Arrays
3rd
Average Rating
9.4
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Frame-Based Disk Arrays category, the mindshare of Dell SC Series is 15.4%, up from 6.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM System Storage DS8000 Series is 16.1%, down from 33.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Frame-Based Disk Arrays Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Dell SC Series15.4%
IBM System Storage DS8000 Series16.1%
Other68.5%
Frame-Based Disk Arrays
 

Featured Reviews

RK
System Administrator at Lovely Professional University
Storage solutions accommodate diverse drives and offers good resiliency
Technical support is good. I can log complaints online through the portal and have engineers in line. I can also take dedicated engineers if needed, although this involves a different support cost. As far as my requirements are concerned, it is working fine. There are two or three types of support. Standard support involves logging a complaint and receiving a call from the OEM on the same day, but hardware replacement takes two to three days. Advanced support offers instant replacement without delays. Hardware support terms include calling or emailing the company or logging the call in the portal to receive remote support, or getting a dedicated engineer or account manager from Dell.
reviewer1392684 - PeerSpot reviewer
Solution Architect; Senior Manager Mainframe Technical Service at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Great Global Copy and Global Mirror features with an easy initial setup
We're just a customer. We don't have a business relationship with the company. I'm an outsourcing service provider and I've had a lot of experience using the solution. We have everything from DS8100 disc storage, all the way up to 8990s. I'd advise new users to read the implementation installation guide. Most of the questions are answered in there. People just tend to skim over it and don't get into the details. However, it's important in making everything run smoothly and understanding the solution. That's probably the best advice I've actually heard from anybody. At the end of the day, don't be someone who skips the instructions, and all of a sudden you have a pile of parts. I'd rate the solution nine out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The interface is easy to use which makes the product user-friendly."
"It was very easy to install, maintain, and provides excellent manageability."
"Definitely I would like to say to all others, if you want good unified storage solution with satisfactory level ROI just go with Compellent."
"We replicate between SAN to SAN for a lot of features and supportability. It also helps us when we want to upgrade to a newer SC Series or move the data from one data center to another."
"We have zero downtime."
"When it comes to mid-range storage solutions, it's usually our preferred solution, from all-flash all the way up to hybrid solutions too."
"I find this version to be more budget-friendly compared to products from other vendors. This aspect greatly benefits my customers. It's highly advantageous due to its affordability. The operational aspect is also noteworthy. Additionally, its availability and performance are commendable. The speaker are also equally powerful."
"The user interface is good, I would rate it a nine out of ten."
"The Global Copy and Global Mirror features are the solution's most valuable aspects."
"The solution is very stable; there aren't any problems there at all as it doesn't have bugs or glitches and doesn't crash or freeze, and we've found it to be very reliable."
"The high throughput feature is the most powerful thing in this product."
"The main benefit is from the standpoint of recovery; recovery time and being able to quickly replicate data."
"I really recommend the IBM DS8000 solution as it is the most advanced technology available for storage solutions."
"These are global mirror and replication for DR, which allow us to do a lot of DR testing."
"We have had no outages now for literally six years and that's really impressive."
 

Cons

"Overall, I'd like to see more synergy between Dell EMC's higher-tier platforms and their mid-tier platforms."
"Snapshots in VMware. You can’t do snapshots since the storage itself does that. Therefore, some apps (Veeam, for example) don’t work well with this kind of tiering storage."
"The price could be improved."
"The configuration could be easier in Dell EMC SC Series."
"They need to make it a little cheaper."
"The interface could be improved. It should have an application point of view."
"I would like to see an integrated key manager in the controllers. Currently, it's an external product. It would be nice to have the option of having a built-in key for self-encrypting drive features."
"While the price is competitive, in the next release it would be better if they could reduce the fees."
"The pricing of the solution is difficult to deal with. Lower pricing would be preferred."
"I would like it to be easier to use. Some of it is so complex that we've got a lot of scripts and automation and things tied around it."
"The GUI isn't as user-friendly as other options."
"On the open system side, it's a little different."
"We need the GUI feature to be improved. If the GUI is good, then it is easier to manage with just the clicks, rather than going in with CLI and commands to do the stuff."
"The solution should embedded replication switches into the hardware instead of using them externally."
"Sometimes when we do encounter problems, but not a complete system shutdown, that gets a little bit frustrating."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The SC Series was priced fairly. I wouldn't call it either expensive or cheap because we had a very tight budget, so if they were able to fit in that type of budget, they met our expectations."
"Support typically depends on the array. It can range anywhere from $7,000 to a couple of hundred thousand dollars."
"Compared to other solutions out there, it's affordable."
"Pricing depends on varying life cycles."
"We have found it to be affordable. Comparing the cost with other hardware, it seems to be right in line with the compute and the storage that we get with it."
"We have the basic license for the use of this solution and it is a permanent license. The overall cost could be less, it is expensive."
"There are costs involving the solution, vendor fees and product safety which are additional."
"We have found the solution to be affordable."
"The license is very expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Construction Company
11%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
21%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business26
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise20
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Large Enterprise8
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell SC Series?
In our case, we received favorable pricing with Dell because of our strong partnership. While I acknowledge that Dell SC Series can be expensive for many companies, we received good discounts. The ...
What needs improvement with Dell SC Series?
For us, it is a great product. The deduplication and compression could potentially be improved, though they are already good. We cannot identify any significant areas that need improvement.
What is your primary use case for Dell SC Series?
We use Dell SC Series in a VMware environment.
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

Also Known As

SC Series Storage, Compellent
System Storage DS8000
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

TGen, Frost Science, Gerrie Electric
Renfe, Park Nicollet Health Services, Ricoh Americas Corporation, SK Energy, SWK STADTWERKE KREFELD AG
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell SC Series vs. IBM System Storage DS8000 Series and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
908,800 professionals have used our research since 2012.