Dell SC Series vs VMAX [EOL] comparison

Dell SC Series and VMAX [EOL] are both solutions in the Frame-Based Disk Arrays category. Additionally, 94% of Dell SC Series users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 84% of VMAX [EOL] users who would recommend it.

Dell SC Series

Read 55 Dell SC Series reviews

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344 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

VMAX [EOL]

Read 16 VMAX [EOL] reviews

84% willing to recommend

Dell SC Series

VMAX [EOL]

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Dell SC Series and VMAX [EOL] based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Hitachi Vantara, Dell Technologies, IBM and others in Frame-Based Disk Arrays.

To learn more, read our detailed Frame-Based Disk Arrays Report (Updated: April 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Frame-Based Disk Arrays

April 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

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Frame-Based Disk Arrays (2nd), All-Flash Storage (18th)

VMAX [EOL]

Average Rating

9.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

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.

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it_user1075341

Senior Systems Engineer at a financial services firm with 201-500 employees

Resilient storage solution with zero downtime that is easy to implement and has good support

The way you configure larger size volumes needs improvement. Currently, the one that we have is a single volume limit of 240 gigs. If you wanted bigger than that you have to do meta volumes to combine them. My understanding is the VMAX3 and the PowerMax, did away with that, making it a lot easier to provision storage than in the past. Scalability with the 2013 version was an area that needed improvement, but they have fixed it with later products. All of the issues that I am currently facing with this version, for example, being able to create larger volumes and making it easier to manage, have all been implemented in the new versions of this solution.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It helps us streamline deployment of VMs."

"The performance benefits weren't surprising, we expected that. What we didn't expect were the densification benefits that we got out of going all-flash. We're able to put more applications on the arrays because of how all-flash performs. The way some of the application profiles have responded to all-flash has been really pleasing."

"Technical support is good; they have good information and good remote monitoring of the systems, with good accessibility and knowledgeable engineers, so overall we have a very good impression of the support of this solution."

"In terms of stability, it's good enough. It's okay."

"They have a feature called Live Migrate; it's been very, very useful."

"With federation, you can have multiple systems across sites. You can treat them as one, and with a live migration, volumes don't go down. You can move them from site to site, doing maintenance, and keep your environment up."

"The setup and installation is much simpler now, because Dell has standardized the configure process."

"We have zero downtime."

More Dell SC Series pros

"We are switching to PowerMax 2000 because we are looking for improved performance, and we see it as the best fit for our requirements in terms of the performance and the overall cost."

"Deploying, Expanding, and Modifying systems are easier than ever."

"VMAX is a rock solid foundation to deploy applications which cannot incur a disruption of service."

"The most valuable features are the interface and performance."

"Resilience, speed, flexibility, system reliability, and a strong refresh strategy are the most valuable features."

"A rock solid foundation to deploy applications which cannot incur a disruption of service."

"Customer Service: Excellent. Technical Support: Excellent."

"This solution is resilient."

More VMAX [EOL] pros

Cons

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

"While there's always room for improvement in everything, I can't really think of a specific feature of the solution that requires immediate attention."

"The ease of use could be improved. It took me a while to learn it."

"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."

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

"In some customer cases, customers experienced more performance or latency."

"We need more discount, but it's good."

"We can definitely see a need for it being a multi-controller system for customers who want to scale beyond the current capability."

More Dell SC Series cons

"Be aware that buying a Symmetrix VMAX is like owning a McLaren F1 race car; consider yourself lucky to drive it at the track since everything else must be performed by McLaren."

"I would like to see support for high-availability."

"I'm always interested in ways we can scale out and avoid monolithic migrations from one array to another every four to five years."

"The only draw back is you don’t get multiple point in time copies."

"Resilience replication, reporting, and performance need to be improved."

"Better speed to release new features that have become industry standards. EMC created so many standards in the past. Now, it seems they are playing a me-too game and lagging behind in some areas, specifically data reduction."

"Resilience replication, reporting, and performance need to be improved."

"The way you configure larger size volumes needs improvement."

More VMAX [EOL] cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This product is too expensive compared to others, and I don't see any value in using it."

"The pricing of Dell EMC Compellent is competitive."

"We were able to afford two tiers of flash storage at a price where the competition was giving us one tier or just a handful of discs."

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

"It's a very affordable solution."

"There are costs involving the solution, vendor fees and product safety which are additional."

"It is one of the most cost effective systems for us. We have been able to run it longer than most, getting the most benefit and money out of it."

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

More Dell SC Series pricing and cost advice

"There are additional costs to the standard licensing fee, and it just depends on the package."

"Our licensing fees are billed on a yearly basis."

"Our licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

14%

Outsourcing Company

Construction Company

Performing Arts

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
Small Business	2
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	17

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 10% of the time

HPE 3PAR StoreServ vs Dell SC Series

Compared 8% of the time

Dell Unity XT vs Dell SC Series

Compared 7% of the time

Everpure FlashArray vs Dell SC Series

Compared 6% of the time

HPE Alletra Storage vs Dell SC Series

Compared 5% of the time

More Dell SC Series Competitors

IBM System Storage DS8000 Series vs VMAX [EOL]

Compared 28% of the time

HPE 3PAR StoreServ vs VMAX [EOL]

Compared 17% of the time

Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform vs VMAX [EOL]

Compared 15% of the time

More VMAX [EOL] Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Dell SC Series

May 2026

Download Dell SC Series product report

Buyer's Guide

VMAX [EOL]

April 2026

Download VMAX [EOL] product report

Also Known As

SC Series Storage, Compellent

Symmetrix VMAX

Overview

Dell SC Series provides a high-performance, cost-effective storage solution with ease of management and robust support. Users appreciate its scalability, flexibility, and efficient storage management, making it a reliable platform for diverse environments.

Renowned for its key attributes such as auto-tiering, replication, compression, and deduplication, Dell SC Series enhances scalability through Live Migrate and high availability features. Its efficient management with thin provisioning and data progression enhances resource utilization. The series is favored for stability, reliability, and integration capabilities, making it suitable for diverse deployments like private and public clouds, production workloads, virtual environments, large databases, and more.

What are the key features of Dell SC Series?

Auto-tiering: Optimizes performance by automatically moving data between storage tiers.
Replication: Ensures data protection and disaster recovery.
Compression and deduplication: Reduces storage costs and optimizes space.
Live Migrate: Facilitates seamless data movement without downtime.
High availability: Provides continuous access and performance.
Thin provisioning and data progression: Increases efficiency in managing storage resources.

What benefits should users look for in reviews?

Cost-effectiveness: Reduces overall storage expenses.
Ease of management: Simplifies administration through intuitive control.
Scalability: Expands to meet growing data needs seamlessly.
Flexibility: Integrates with different environments, supporting varied use cases.
Reliability: Delivers stable performance and dependable service.

Dell SC Series serves as a versatile storage solution across industries, supporting applications in converged infrastructure, disaster recovery, and VMware environments. Users rely on its performance for critical business applications such as Oracle and SQL file systems, maintaining its relevance and effectiveness in ever-changing technological landscapes.

Dell Technologies

Symmetrix VMAX accelerate your transformation to the software-defined data center with the world's most powerful, trusted, and smart family of storage products.

Dell Technologies

Sample Customers

TGen, Frost Science, Gerrie Electric

Wentworth-Douglas Hospital, Kindred Healthcare, Cosentry, Sumitomo Life Insurance Company, Shriners, BZWBK

Buyer's Guide

Frame-Based Disk Arrays

April 2026

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Find out what your peers are saying about Hitachi Vantara, Dell Technologies, IBM and others in Frame-Based Disk Arrays. Updated: April 2026.

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