Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series comparison

Hitachi Vantara and Lenovo are both solutions in the All-Flash Storage category. Hitachi Vantara is ranked #8 with an average rating of 8.1, while Lenovo is ranked #21 with an average rating of 10.0. Hitachi Vantara holds a 3.7% mindshare in AFS, compared to Lenovo’s 2.1% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of Hitachi Vantara users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Lenovo users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 18, 2024

Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform and Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series are strong competitors in storage solutions. Users are more satisfied with the performance and support of Hitachi, while Lenovo is favored for its cost-effectiveness and comprehensive features.

Features: Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform is praised for its high availability, scalability, and advanced data management. Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is noted for its ease of use, reliable performance, and integration with other Lenovo solutions. The primary difference is that Hitachi offers more advanced data management features, while Lenovo provides better integration and ease of use.

Room for Improvement: Users suggest improvements in Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform's initial setup complexity and cost. Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series users point out the need for enhanced features in data protection and performance analytics. Hitachi needs to simplify its setup, while Lenovo should focus on adding more advanced features.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform's deployment is more complex but supported by strong customer service. Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is easier to deploy, with moderate customer service support. Deployment is straightforward with Lenovo but more supported with Hitachi.

Pricing and ROI: Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform has higher setup costs but offers a high ROI due to its performance and features. Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series offers competitive pricing and a good ROI, favored for cost-conscious buyers. Hitachi users pay more upfront but gain more value over time, whereas Lenovo users benefit from lower costs and good returns.

To learn more, read our detailed Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

December 2025

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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

Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the All-Flash Storage category, the mindshare of Pure FlashArray X NVMe is 1.4%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform is 3.7%, up from 3.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is 2.1%, down from 2.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

All-Flash Storage Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform	3.7%
Pure FlashArray X NVMe	1.4%
Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series	2.1%
Other	92.8%

All-Flash Storage

Featured Reviews

Jaehoon Oh

Chief Technology Officer at Lambda256

Supports efficient storage management through volume snapshots and offers reliable non-disruptive upgrades

I have no specific improvements to suggest for Pure FlashArray X NVMe at this time. The performance statistics could be enhanced. I can see the performance statistics in the Pure Storage console, but it does not show the performance by 4K byte unit. It displays IOPS and bandwidth, but IOPS is about real use, and I want to know how many IOPS are currently running in 4K byte units. I cannot see that IOPS because most storage systems report their performance by 4K byte unit. I want to see Pure Storage performance by 4K byte unit to compare with other storage or other internal NVMe SSD.

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ANAND V

Associate Vice President at Federal Bank Ltd

Reliable and secure storage solution supports core banking operations effectively

The replication technology that Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform uses is quite older, and the replication methodology they employ for data between the data center and the production and standby database shows no significant improvement in that particular field. With respect to storage administration, I'd like to see more clarity on the encryption side; data being stored in an encrypted manner is essential, but the customer or end-user doesn't understand which encryption is being used and doesn't have a direct view stating that their data is encrypted using AES 256 or DES, or whatever standard they follow. This lack of transparency may not be acceptable during audits.

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Giorgio Pozzi

System Administrator at PORTGUARDIAN.COM SRL

Performance and cost-effectiveness are maximized with seamless setup and significant ROI

I use Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series to replace the old storage in our infrastructure. Additionally, I use it in customer infrastructures to migrate from the old storage to the new one On the M storage, I find the best features to be deduplication and compression. On the DE storage, the most…

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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 has good, reliable, fast storage."

"Overall stability is very good. It is a very stable solution."

"We are satisfied with the performance as it is significantly faster compared to traditional storage options."

"Pure FlashArray X NVMe has low latency and high Ops. It is an evergreen model."

"The solution uses newer technology for deduplication and compression."

"Everything, especially the VMs inside, is pretty fast."

"The system allows for seamless learning experiences, facilitating quick and easy cloning of environments within minutes."

"The best features of Pure FlashArray X NVMe include the volume snapshot capabilities, which allow us to save most of the storage space by volume snapshots periodically."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pros

"The most valuable feature of Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform G Series is the platform and overall usage has been good. We have not had very many issues."

"The efficiency ratio is just as high as advertised. It's very high relative to other storage solutions as well. The compression and deduplication capabilities are also very high."

"It's a state of the art solution in storage systems. High-availability and performance are the strongest aspects of these machines."

"Hitachi's technical support is perfect."

"The customer service and support are reasonably good. The environment I work in, there always remains an element of surprise, and there are restrictions. But Hitachi has good technical people."

"The technical support is great."

"The most valuable feature is that you can use it with all deployment models."

"The product's performance is good."

More Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform pros

"Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is quite an elementary box, no frills. It does not have all the functionality of the DM but it is acceptable, it does its task. It integrates pretty well."

"Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is highly reliable, especially for block-level storage. It is stable, with minimal downtime and no issues beyond user errors."

"Its initial setup process is easy."

"ThinkSystem's storage performs well, and the price per gigabyte is good, especially on SSD solutions. It's also easy to use."

"The solution is very easy to set up."

"I would rate the stability of Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series as a ten."

"The most valuable features of the Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series are the dual controllers, available installation documentation, and the option of multiple host bus adapter interfaces."

"The solution's initial setup process is easy."

More Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series pros

Cons

"In terms of what needs improvement, the dashboard and management could be simplified."

"I want to see Pure Storage not only be for fast storage, but I want to see it be for the entire data center."

"Maybe the price can be reduced since the solution is very expensive."

"There is room for improvement in catering to midrange storage needs, especially for customers seeking Enterprise-class features."

"Every time I think of something that needs to improve, they're one step ahead, which I love. The only area I wish to see improve, I believe is coming, is in the FlashBlade product. Blade implementation fell short on a few of the services."

"Our use cases require more multi-tenant capabilities and additional VLAN interfaces for separating different customers. We currently use it to provide storage, sometimes shared storage, to different customers, but it is less flexible in comparison to a dedicated solution."

"In the future, I would like to see integration with enterprise backup systems."

"You cannot tag a LUN with a description, and that should be improved. What I like on the Unity side is that when I expand LUNs or do things, there is an information field on the LUN. This is the Information field that you can tag on your LUNs to let yourself know, "Hey, I've added this much space on this date". Pure lacks that ability. So, you don't have a mechanism that's friendly for tracking your data expansions on the LUN and for adding any additional information. That's a downside for me."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe cons

"Hitachi Vantara has invested heavily in improving their management interface, however, they still have a way to go to catch up with many of their competitors."

"Hitachi should launch some small machines in Brazil. The smallest machine here in Brazil is VSP 350, which can be quite big for some of the customers. In China, Hitachi has small models of this equipment, but those models are not available in our region. Its pricing is a big issue for us. We are resellers, and we face some competition from other vendors. Hitachi doesn't always have a good position in terms of the price. Its user interface is also not as good as some of the other competitors, and it can be improved."

"The interface management and monitoring need improvement. Although I receive emails from Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform, I find the management aspect not as good as their hardware."

"One improvement I am hoping for in the next release is unified storage."

"If they had a certain approach to layered storage, it would be better. For example, adaption to the browser, or having a centralized console."

"There is a drawback related to Hitachi's configuration flexibility. The Hitachi storage platform solution is not flexible. That means that both the Hitachi and the partner presale guys have to do a lot of work to design a solution."

"In the next version I would like to see additional features like artificial intelligence and an increase in the amount of data it can store."

"The admin tools in the Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform definitely have certain shortcomings that require improvement."

More Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform cons

"The type of connection that is used in Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series should be improved."

"ThinkSystem could be better integrated with backup software like Commvault, Veritas, or Symantec."

"The features are limited."

"In the next release, I would like to see more functionality. But, again, it is an entry-level product."

"There could be a snapshot feature in the solution."

"In the next release, I would like to see support for Hyper-converged infrastructure."

"Usually, when a part fails, we have to replace it and it takes a while. It would be better if the part could be available locally here in Kenya so we don't have to wait so long to repair the solution."

"It would be useful to have structured solutions replicated to other sites."

More Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"They can tout the functionality and cutting edge technology that they have, but that's where the price tag comes in. The cost is high, but I think as they grow their business and get more customers that it will probably go down a little bit."

"Pure FlashArray X NVMe’s pricing is cheaper than other products."

"With VMware, we pay $300,000 annually."

"The licensing is on a yearly basis."

"Given its price, Pure is not the first option."

"As far as the licensing costs, everything is included in the license."

"Pretty much everything that you need is licensed when you buy the product. Licensing to me is different than the maintenance cost, but they can bleed into one another. We buy the product, and we expect three years of support bundled into what we negotiate on our storage arrays. I would start to see maintenance costs going into the fourth year, but we're not there yet."

"The support cost per array is about $20,000 a year for 24/7 support."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pricing and cost advice

"The solution is expensive."

"A drawback of Hitachi storage systems is that they are expensive. The upfront cost is very high compared to others. But when you compare the IOPS at the same price, Hitachi gives you better business value..."

"This solution is cheaper than Dell EMC VMAX. When you are looking for a high-end solution, price matters, but availability and stability are more important than the price."

"We pay for a support contract agreement."

"Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform G Series tools are highly specialized, such as management and performance tools and the overall solution is expensive. If customers want to have a lot of data in their hands, they need to purchase several solutions."

"The price is good enough considering the performance, and we are satisfied."

"The pricing we get is very competitive when compared to other vendors. Hitachi is working on their licensing model and it is improving but can be irksome when many different items are not bundled or enterprise size."

"The price of the solution is reasonable compared to others, such as Dell EMC."

More Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform pricing and cost advice

"The best thing about this solution is its price, which reduces our costs."

"The solution's price could be better."

"We have a five-year contract for providing support."

"It is an expensive solution."

"All of the features are bundled together, and you can renew the bundle with all of the features included."

"The price of the Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is a one-time purchase. There is a global price list available to find the price of the solution."

"The pricing for this solution is good compared to HP or Dell EMC."

"The pricing is fair and low compared to other products in this category."

More Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Government

Financial Services Firm

17%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

16%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	15
Midsize Enterprise	11
Large Enterprise	12

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	19
Midsize Enterprise	15
Large Enterprise	28

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	10
Midsize Enterprise	3

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Pure FlashArray X NVMe?

Pure FlashArray X NVMe helps to improve our processing speed. It is user-friendly and easy to use.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Pure FlashArray X NVMe?

The price of Pure FlashArray X NVMe is very expensive, though I do not know the actual price because I am using the E...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Pure FlashArray X NVMe?

I have no specific improvements to suggest for Pure FlashArray X NVMe at this time. The performance statistics could ...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform?

The cost of Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform is reasonable compared to competitors, but it is dependent on the custom...

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What do you like most about Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform E990?

The product's reliability has been crucial for our company's operations.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform E990?

The centralized management console in Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform is not very comfortable and user-friendly. How...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series?

The price of Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is very good. We chose this type of storage for the performance and the price.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series?

The type of connection that is used in Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series should be improved.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series?

I use Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series to replace the old storage in our infrastructure. Additionally, I use it in custom...

See all answers

Comparisons

Dell PowerStore vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 18% of the time

Dell PowerMax vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 12% of the time

HPE Alletra Storage vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 10% of the time

TrueNAS R-Series vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 10% of the time

Pure Storage FlashArray vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 3% of the time

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe Competitors

Dell PowerStore vs Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform

Compared 10% of the time

NetApp AFF vs Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform

Compared 9% of the time

IBM FlashSystem vs Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform

Compared 8% of the time

HPE Alletra Storage vs Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform

Compared 7% of the time

Pure Storage FlashArray vs Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform

Compared 6% of the time

More Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform Competitors

Dell PowerStore vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

Compared 23% of the time

IBM FlashSystem vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

Compared 11% of the time

NetApp AFF vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

Compared 10% of the time

Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

Compared 9% of the time

HPE Alletra Storage vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

Compared 8% of the time

More Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Pure FlashArray X NVMe

January 2026

Download Pure FlashArray X NVMe product report

Buyer's Guide

Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform

January 2026

Download Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform product report

Buyer's Guide

All-Flash Storage

January 2026

Download Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series product report

Also Known As

Pure FlashArray//X NVMe, Pure FlashArray//X, FlashArray//X

Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform F Series, 5000 Series, E Series, N Series, G Series

ThinkSystem DE Series

Overview

Pure Storage FlashArray//X is the world’s first enterprise-class, all-NVMe flash storage array. It represents a new class of storage – shared accelerated storage, which is a term coined by Gartner – that delivers major breakthroughs in performance, simplicity, and consolidation.

Pure Storage

RETHINK YOUR DEFINITION OF SPEED AND PERFORMANCE

With adaptive, guaranteed data reduction and a 100% data-availability guarantee, Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform F series helps you tackle complicated business challenges. Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) VSP F series delivers up to 4.8M IOPS with sub-millisecond response times.
Featuring legendary Hitachi reliability, VSP F series arrays are backed by the industries only 100% availability guarantee. For these reasons, 80% of the Fortune 500 choose Hitachi all-flash arrays to accelerate the performance of mission-critical applications like Oracle, SAP, Virtualization, Microsoft apps etc. With over 350 patents in flash technology, Hitachi’s innovative mix of flash hardware and software accelerates ROI with enterprise-class reliability and performance.

Hitachi Vantara

The DE All-Flash Series delivers the performance of more than 2,000 15k rpm HDDs, yet requires only 2% of the rack space, power, and cooling. Because it consumes 98% less space and power, DE Series can significantly improve the overall efficiency of your IT operations while continuing to meet your performance requirements.

Lenovo

Sample Customers

Fremont Bank, Judson ISD, The Nielsen Company

Turkcell, Owens Corning, Region Nord, Net Credit Financial Group (NFC Group), Russian Railways

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

December 2025

Free Report: Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

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