Dell SC Series vs IBM System Storage DS8000 Series comparison

Dell Technologies and IBM are both solutions in the Frame-Based Disk Arrays category. Dell Technologies is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.8, while IBM is ranked #3. Dell Technologies holds a 13.6% mindshare in FBDA, compared to IBM’s 21.3% mindshare. Additionally, 94% of Dell Technologies users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 85% of IBM users who would recommend it.

Dell SC Series

Read 55 Dell SC Series reviews

1,802 Views
144 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

IBM System Storage DS8000 S...

Read 6 IBM System Storage DS8000 Series reviews

399 Views
375 Comparison Views

85% willing to recommend

Dell SC Series

IBM System Storage DS8000 S...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Dell SC Series and IBM System Storage DS8000 Series based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Frame-Based Disk Arrays solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Dell SC Series vs. IBM System Storage DS8000 Series Report (Updated: March 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Dell SC Series vs. IBM System Storage DS8000 Series

March 2026

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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 SC Series

Ranking in Frame-Based Disk Arrays

2nd

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

All-Flash Storage (17th)

IBM System Storage DS8000 S...

Ranking in Frame-Based Disk Arrays

3rd

Average Rating

9.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Frame-Based Disk Arrays category, the mindshare of Dell SC Series is 13.6%, up from 11.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM System Storage DS8000 Series is 21.3%, down from 34.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Frame-Based Disk Arrays Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Dell SC Series	13.6%
IBM System Storage DS8000 Series	21.3%
Other	65.1%

Frame-Based Disk Arrays

Featured Reviews

RafaelGamaluis

Architect Engineer, IT INFRASTRUCTURES Project Manager at Vilavi

User interface offers clarity and detailed information while technical support consistently delivers

The best features of Dell SC Series are stability and replication. The replication solution is excellent, and they have a solution named Live Migration. It is a robust platform. The interface and the GUI (graphical user interface) for administrating the Compellent are exceptional, with abundant information that is very clear. The management capabilities are excellent, and the stability of our storage hardware is remarkable.

Read full review

reviewer1392684

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.

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

"The most valuable feature is the ability to replicate. We are running a financial company and it needs to be available 24/7. We can't afford any downtime."

"For all the deployments that I've seen or done, its been a rock solid platform."

"The flexibility of this solution has been valuable for our business."

"Connecting it up, you can run it within a few hours."

"The most valuable feature is the no-forklift upgrade. While the thing is running, I can change out the controllers one at a time and keep the customer up and running. I can add shelves and storage and SSD drives or spinning drives to the system, while it's running. I can bring all that in and rebalance the load across the new disks or, if we take disks away, rebalance the load across what's remaining, and it just works."

"Dell SC Series' most valuable features are performance and network facilities. We have no issues with its integration. The tool helps to visualize servers."

"It's the storage backbone for our virtual environment."

"Technical support is very good. I do use it from time to time and it's always excellent."

More Dell SC Series pros

"The high throughput feature is the most powerful thing in this product."

"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 main benefit is from the standpoint of recovery; recovery time and being able to quickly replicate data."

"The high throughput feature is the most powerful thing in this product."

"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

"Matching color coding during zoning is sometimes a little bit annoying."

"An issue we had was that the controller went down during an upgrade because of their upgrading the code."

"In the future, I want any box that comes on-premises to have the provision to integrate with cloud storage."

"Dell SC Series is no longer available, while Dell PowerStore, which supports NVMe over TCP, is different and not very affordable."

"I don't think the solution is very scalable."

"What I understand is that this is a 13 year old architecture, so it has lived its life and they're phasing it out. Honestly, we were initially struggling with the integration with VMware (but it was fixed with the VMware 6.5) and, then, it was around a 10GB network. At that time, it had the longevity to go to 100GB as well. It got us thinking about, when we go into the containerized architecture, what do we need to do to fix the infrastructure?"

"We had times that we needed a file service solution. We've used FluidFS, but it's a solution that is being transitioned out."

"An issue we had was that the controller went down during an upgrade because of their upgrading the code. One side of the switch was down."

More Dell SC Series cons

"The GUI isn't as user-friendly as other options."

"On the open system side, it's a little different."

"The GUI isn't as user-friendly as other options."

"Sometimes when we do encounter problems, but not a complete system shutdown, that gets a little bit frustrating."

"The solution should embedded replication switches into the hardware instead of using them externally."

"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."

"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."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We have found the solution to be affordable."

"Always keep in mind, this is not just a enclosure with disks is a complete SAN as a service. There is software, license, and storage in one single solution."

"Pricing depends on varying life cycles."

"It has a good price point and offers some value-added enterprise features."

"Support typically depends on the array. It can range anywhere from $7,000 to a couple of hundred thousand dollars."

"The maintenance is usually pretty good. It's not like some of the others where they increase it in the fourth, fifth, or sixth years."

"The pricing is reasonable, but it is expensive."

"It's a very affordable solution."

More Dell SC Series pricing and cost advice

"The license is very expensive."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Outsourcing Company

Performing Arts

University

Computer Software Company

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	26
Midsize Enterprise	10
Large Enterprise	20

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Large Enterprise	7

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 ...

See all answers

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.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Dell SC Series?

We use Dell SC Series in a VMware environment.

See all answers

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Comparisons

Dell PowerStore vs Dell SC Series

Compared 13% of the time

Everpure FlashArray vs Dell SC Series

Compared 8% of the time

HPE 3PAR StoreServ vs Dell SC Series

Compared 7% of the time

HPE Alletra Storage vs Dell SC Series

Compared 7% of the time

Dell Unity XT vs Dell SC Series

Compared 7% of the time

More Dell SC Series Competitors

Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform vs IBM System Storage DS8000 Series

Compared 58% of the time

NEC iStorage S4900 vs IBM System Storage DS8000 Series

Compared 24% of the time

More IBM System Storage DS8000 Series Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Dell SC Series

March 2026

Download Dell SC Series product report

Buyer's Guide

IBM System Storage DS8000 Series

March 2026

Download IBM System Storage DS8000 Series product report

Also Known As

SC Series Storage, Compellent

System Storage DS8000

Overview

Dell EMC SC Series arrays provide a unified platform for the ultimate in performance, adaptability and machine-driven efficiency. SC Series software delivers modern features that help you meet aggressive workload demands using the fewest drives necessary. With an open, future-ready design, SC Series storage integrates seamlessly with applications and infrastructure, enabling you to scale on a single platform and add capabilities without forklift upgrades.

Dell Technologies

IBMÂ System StorageÂ DS8000Â series is a high-performance, high-capacity series of disk storage that supports continuous operations. The DS8000 series includes theÂ DS8800 (Models 951 and 95E) and theÂ DS8700 (Models 941 and 94E).

IBM

Sample Customers

TGen, Frost Science, Gerrie Electric

Renfe, Park Nicollet Health Services, Ricoh Americas Corporation, SK Energy, SWK STADTWERKE KREFELD AG

Buyer's Guide

Dell SC Series vs. IBM System Storage DS8000 Series

March 2026

Free Report: Dell SC Series vs. IBM System Storage DS8000 Series

Find out what your peers are saying about Dell SC Series vs. IBM System Storage DS8000 Series and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.

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