HPE Alletra Storage vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series comparison

HPE Alletra Storage vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series

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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 July 2025, in the All-Flash Storage category, the mindshare of Pure FlashArray X NVMe is 0.8%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HPE Alletra Storage is 9.8%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series is 2.1%, down from 2.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

All-Flash Storage

Featured Reviews

Eugene Hemphill

Sales Manager at Multicomputos PR

Helps to save money and resources with the data compression feature

One point I'd like to improve is that the tool should start selling small boxes again. It discontinued some products and is focusing on bigger, more capable boxes, neglecting the SMB market. Even though it's not a big market, it shouldn't have removed them. One way to improve the product is to add an operational assistant that doesn't depend on VMware. It could also establish more alliances with other operational systems.

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Anand Algesan

Database Administrator at CyrusOne

Provisioning and encryption ease improve data storage efficiency

To improve HPE Alletra Storage, it needs to have a true active-active controller; it claims to have an active-active controller from the back end, however, the second node is pretty much sitting there doing nothing. The MV 10000 series, which is the next series, is an improvement to HPE Alletra, and HPE is already doing that. In the next release, I would prefer to see better dedupe features; I know other companies do excellent dedupe, and they have protection group policies, meaning you have immutable data in case of a ransomware attack. If you're on the SAN, it should give you a way to protect that data without being erased. Other vendors have that capability built-in, ensuring that you can't erase the data, so features similar to that would be great.

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Mark Richmond

Chief Technology Officer at Next Level Communications

Reliable and fast servers with good support

We use on-premise servers with Lenovo ThinkSystem. We set up Hyper-V and load multiple types of servers including a domain controller, a SQL Server, and application servers The solution provides fast servers that are reasonably priced. We set up RAID ten to ensure drive redundancy, leading to…

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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

"The Pure1 component is most valuable at this point in time when comparing it with EMC. Pure1 is where you can have your diagnostics in the cloud, so you can look at things from your mobile phone."

"It offers competitive performance, and the Evergreen storage model of Pure fits well with my organization."

"On a scale of one to ten, I rate Pure FlashArray as ten."

"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 most valuable feature of this solution is reliability."

"One of the best features is the support, which is excellent."

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

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pros

"3PAR took it to another level, but Alletra and GreenLake have impressed me utterly and totally and made life easier."

"HPE GreenLake AI ops enables us to get assistance from senior support engineers without having to go through support escalations."

"HPE Alletra Storage helps simplify storage operations, integrating with vCenter."

"The features of HPE Alletra Storage that I most appreciate are the super fast new NVMe drives, which are amazing."

"The feature of HPE Alletra Storage that I appreciate the most is manageability."

"Alletra has helped us reduce time spent on storage."

"The features of HPE Alletra Storage that I prefer most are the copy of virtual volumes."

"The most value aspect is the data reduction and compression."

More HPE Alletra Storage pros

"The product’s quality of service guarantees the performance of each workload."

"We are satisfied with the stability."

"The servers are fast and affordable."

"The solution offers very good reliable systems and storage for our clients."

"It has been a perfect fit for the workload that our customer is doing."

"The most valuable feature of the Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series is its ability to store data well."

"Ability to cluster two storages together with HA availability."

"The FlexClone feature is the solution's most valuable aspect."

More Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series pros

Cons

"The tool's portfolio is minimal. It is expensive."

"In the next release, I would like to see real-time analytics for further insight into consumption models."

"It feels more suitable for small and medium-sized businesses rather than enterprises."

"Many options to check performance, like read, writes, random writes, and random reads, are missing in Pure FlashArray X NVMe."

"I would like to see replication and DR features in the next release of this solution."

"If the customer only needs 500 terabytes and doesn't care how much data they'll put in the server, IBM is cheaper than Pure."

"It is on the expensive side."

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

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe cons

"Reducing the price for HPE Alletra Storage would be fantastic."

"We had a good base with 3PAR, which we're replacing Alletra right now. However, the integration with DCCS could still use some work. It's in its infancy and needs more features."

"When you configure it, the system has to be connected to the Internet. Otherwise, you cannot configure it. That is the most difficult part. They need to have something that does not require a connection to the Internet."

"HPE Alletra Storage does not provide a cloud-like operational model on-premises for managing data infrastructure."

"They are starting to add more blocking tools. It's lacking natively, however, they seem to be adding in more."

"In the perfect world, it would be cheaper."

"HPE Alletra Storage could be improved by adding support for file-based or S3 storage, as we have NetApp as our NAS storage."

"We haven't had any issues with the solution so far."

More HPE Alletra Storage cons

"I would like Lenovo to add a feature like IBM Easy Tier to DM Series. This is a crucial feature for the customers."

"There might be improvements needed in drive throughput as disk speed has been a limitation on Windows servers."

"The licensing model needs to be revisited. It needs to be simplified."

"This is an expensive solution."

"It takes a very long time to enter the management console, as well as to restart the system, and these are things that should be improved."

"Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series is not stable. If I have sold fifty boxes, about fifty percent of them experienced failure."

"The solution should change the licensing model and allow customers to choose features based on their requirements."

"Many people do not realize that Lenovo has a storage solution, so better marketing from the vendor is needed."

More Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The tool is an investment that we've budgeted for. While the prices may be higher than those of other vendors, we see it as a market leader with benefits. We don't regret purchasing it."

"The tool's pricing is cheap; I rate it a six to seven out of ten. Most of our sales are not subscription-based. We sell the hardware, and customers keep using it. They only renew the service part annually. The support can be a bit pricey, but the solution is more cost-effective than anything else out there."

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

"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."

"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."

"We pay approximately $50,000 USD per year in licensing fees."

"Our licensing fees are $500,000+ USD."

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

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pricing and cost advice

"For us, its price is good."

"There is a license. HPE Alletra uses a cloud-based model."

"The pricing is somewhat high, but when customers choose HPE, they often prioritize the brand value over pricing. The pricing is higher compared to other vendors."

"Its licensing is good. Pricing-wise, there can be a little bit more flexibility. It would help to have different sizes. However, it fits into the budget that we have, so we are happy."

"It is reasonably priced."

"The solution is expensive and can cost around five lakhs."

"So far, so good."

"Overall, it was good. It had a good price per gigabyte."

More HPE Alletra Storage pricing and cost advice

"Lenovo offers two software tiers for the DM Series: basic and premium. If you need more features like the MetroCluster, you must buy the premium version. You can stick to the basic software if you don't need MetroCluster or features like asynchronous replication. That makes DM Series a little cheaper."

"The solution is highly-priced."

"The price of the Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series is good."

"The solution's pricing is similar to Dell and HPE."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Computer Software Company

17%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Government

Computer Software Company

22%

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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.

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

I am an engineer and am not aware of the setup cost.

What needs improvement with Pure FlashArray X NVMe?

Adding some functions to the product would be beneficial. Storage replication should be essential, and the analytics ...

What do you like most about HPE Alletra?

It offers rich features and high speed for transferring data.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HPE Alletra?

Its price can be optimized. The cost before deployment is significant to customers, but post-deployment cost analysis...

What needs improvement with HPE Alletra?

The user interface, configuration, and customization could be improved, though the configuration is currently very ea...

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

There are extra expenses beyond the standard licensing fee for features such as replication and deduplication, which ...

What needs improvement with Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series?

The deployment process of Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series is very complicated compared to previous GUI systems. Many cus...

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

My primary use case for Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series ( /products/lenovo-thinksystem-dm-series-reviews ) is for storag...

Dell PowerStore vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Comparisons

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TrueNAS R-Series vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 19% of the time

Pure Storage FlashBlade vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 14% of the time

IBM FlashSystem vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 10% of the time

Dell Unity XT vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 8% of the time

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Dell PowerStore vs HPE Alletra Storage

Compared 27% of the time

HPE Primera vs HPE Alletra Storage

Compared 13% of the time

Pure Storage FlashArray vs HPE Alletra Storage

Compared 9% of the time

HPE 3PAR StoreServ vs HPE Alletra Storage

Compared 7% of the time

IBM FlashSystem vs HPE Alletra Storage

Compared 6% of the time

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NetApp AFF vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series

Compared 39% of the time

NetApp FAS Series vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series

Compared 14% of the time

Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series

Compared 11% of the time

Dell PowerStore vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series

Compared 11% of the time

NetApp NVMe AFF A800 vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series

Compared 2% of the time

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Product Reports

Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Download Pure FlashArray X NVMe product report

HPE Alletra Storage

Download HPE Alletra Storage product report

All-Flash Storage

Download Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series product report

Also Known As

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

No data available

ThinkSystem DM 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

HPE Alletra Storage is designed for high-performance virtualization, data centers, and hyper-converged infrastructures, supporting applications with block storage and databases across sectors like healthcare and finance.

HPE Alletra Storage excels in delivering low-latency, high-I/O operations and data reduction capabilities. It integrates seamlessly with VMware and vCenter, handling large SQL databases and multiple virtual machines efficiently. Its features, such as NVMe drives and predictive analytics with InfoSight, offer a streamlined management experience. However, users seek improvements in NVMe tier integration, a more compact chassis design, and better energy efficiency. The operational efficiency is increased by reducing data provisioning time and enhancing storage performance for complex environments.

What are the key features of HPE Alletra Storage?

Seamless vCenter Integration: Enhances virtualization management.
High IOPS NVMe Drives: Delivers high-speed and low-latency access.
Deduplication & Replication: Increases storage efficiency and protection.
Cloud-like Models: Simplifies operations with intuitive management.
InfoSight Analytics: Provides predictive diagnostics and proactive problem-solving.

What benefits and ROI can users expect?

Reduced Provisioning Time: Accelerates deployment processes.
100% Data Availability: Ensures uninterrupted access to data.
Simplified Management: Streamlines storage operations and enhances satisfaction.
Reliability and Performance: Supports demanding applications with reliable performance.

In healthcare and financial industries, HPE Alletra Storage supports the storage of sensitive data and operations of critical applications, facilitating quick access to information and maintaining high availability. However, users recommend improvements in training resources, energy efficiency, and integration with backup solutions like Veeam to enhance implementation efficiency and cost management.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

To meet enterprise storage requirements, ThinkSystem All-Flash DM Series systems provide high performance, superior flexibility, and best-in-class data management. DM Series runs on ONTAP data management software, which gives customers unified storage across block-and-file workloads. It accelerates your business while improving the efficiency, flexibility, and reliability of your IT operations.

Lenovo

Sample Customers

Fremont Bank, Judson ISD, The Nielsen Company

Accenture, Aetna, AIG, Airbus, Allianz, American Express, ATT, Bank of America, Barclays, BASF, Bayer, Berkshire Hathaway, Boeing, BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Coca Cola, Comcast, Credit Suisse, Dell, Deutsche Bank, ExxonMobil, Ford Motor Company, General Electric, Google, HSBC, IBM, Intel, JPMorgan Chase, Kroger, L'Oreal, Merck

Information Not Available

HPE Alletra Storage vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series