HPE Primera vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series comparison

Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Lenovo are both solutions in the All-Flash Storage category. Hewlett Packard Enterprise is ranked #11 with an average rating of 7.8, while Lenovo is ranked #20 with an average rating of 10.0. Hewlett Packard Enterprise holds a 3.8% mindshare in AFS, compared to Lenovo’s 2.4% mindshare. Additionally, 94% of Hewlett Packard Enterprise 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

Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series and HPE Primera are two competitive storage solutions. Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series has an edge in pricing and simplicity, whereas HPE Primera stands out with more advanced features.

Features: Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is known for reliable performance, scalability, and ease of manageability. HPE Primera offers advanced data reduction capabilities, high availability, and comprehensive analytics. HPE Primera's features are deemed more advanced, suitable for high-end needs.

Room for Improvement: Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series could benefit from better integration capabilities and improved firmware updates. HPE Primera could improve by simplifying the initial setup and enhancing the cost-effectiveness of its features. Lenovo's improvements are simpler compared to HPE's setup complexity.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is noted for its straightforward deployment and responsive customer service. HPE Primera is praised for detailed deployment support but marked down for complex setup. Lenovo's easy deployment is a key advantage while HPE's comprehensive support is valued.

Pricing and ROI: Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is valued for competitive pricing and good ROI, making it a cost-effective choice. HPE Primera is seen as expensive, though its robust feature set justifies the higher price. Lenovo's affordability gives it an edge in cost-effectiveness, while HPE Primera is noted for its high value.

To learn more, read our detailed HPE Primera vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

HPE Primera vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

July 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 August 2025, in the All-Flash Storage category, the mindshare of Pure FlashArray X NVMe is 0.9%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HPE Primera is 3.8%, down from 4.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is 2.4%, down from 2.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

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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Taufeeq Rauf

Head of IT at NATIONAL INSTITUTIONAL FACILITATION TECHNOLOGIES (PVT.) LTD.

Offers a simple user interface and is useful for data replication

I use HPE Primera for mission-critical applications. My company uses the product as a storage solution for our machines. The availability of HPE Primera in our company is critical for us, considering that we operate in an HA environment where we can't have downtime since we need to deal with cheque clearance for banks. The product's interface is simple to use. I am satisfied with the user experience provided by the product. The ease of use of the product's interface has directly had an impact on our company's operations, along with the improvement in the availability and performance of machines. Compared to HPE Primera, I work with a much more reliable storage solution like Dell PowerStore. Compared to HPE Primera, Dell PowerStore's features related to deduplication are very good, and it also offers a physical storage capacity of eight TB, which can be expanded up to forty TB. I would recommend the product to others who plan to use it only after taking into consideration their usage and requirements. From the price and performance point of view, Dell PowerStore is a better choice. I rate the tool a seven out of ten.

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Gastone Canali

IT Consultant at Effegibi

Provides good stability and is reliable in terms of performance

The solution is reliable in terms of performance They should include a snapshot feature for the solution. We have been using the solution for two to three years. The solution is stable. We have 60 solution users in our organization. The solution's initial setup process is easy. It takes three…

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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 duplication algorithm allows us to get a lot more use out of less storage. We're running a five terabyte array right now and we're running probably about 30 terabytes on it. So the duplication rate is pretty phenomenal, without a cost to performance. It still runs pretty smoothly."

"The most valuable feature of this solution is its ease of use."

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

"The solution is very straightforward to set up."

"The solution is scalable."

"The most valuable features of Pure FlashArray X NVMe are its superior performance compared to other flash tiers, as well as its ease of use, with an intuitive user interface that is simple to deploy and use."

"The most valuable features of this solution are its ease of use and performance."

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

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pros

"It is a stable solution...It is a scalable solution."

"It is stable and reliable."

"Primera's main advantage is its support for NVM drives and normal flash drives. It has some sort of AI analysis that automatically tells us how to optimize the performance."

"The features that I have found most valuable are the artificial intelligence for the storage inside of the software and firmware because customers do not like functionalities which require manual interruption."

"HPE Primera has good integration. All the users are using HP servers and some systems, such as Synergy, which integrate well into the solution."

"The product's initial setup phase was easy."

"For over a year, I have not seen any downtime in the product."

"HPE Primera is scalable."

More HPE Primera pros

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

"Fewer features is not necessarily a negative as it leads to simpler operation and lower price."

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

"Its initial setup process is easy."

"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 is very easy to set up."

"The solution's 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."

More Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series pros

Cons

"They could add more support for file storage and different types of storage."

"There is room for improvement in the pricing of the product."

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

"Efficiency improvements would always be welcome, but I'm not sure if they could get more efficient."

"We need better data deduplication."

"We've seen that when we create a POD in synchronous mode, it increases the latency."

"It's more multi-tenant functionality in their Pure1 manage portal that is lacking."

"Adding some functions to the product would be beneficial. Storage replication should be essential, and the analytics should not incur extra charges."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe cons

"We would like to have more flash storage and its stability. This is an area of challenge for us."

"The solution's compression ratio feature could be improved."

"There are certain features that require engineering-level access, which should be accessible to storage admins as well."

"The initial setup is not straightforward."

"HPE Primera's deduplication area is not as good as the one offered by Dell PowerStore, making it an area where improvements are required."

"There really isn't any aspect of the solution that needs improvement for the customer other than its price."

"We face challenges with false alarms, particularly daily alerts related to replication link breaks. I'm not happy with the customer service and support."

"HPE Primera is not good enough as a storage solution as it does not provide a good NAS storage."

More HPE Primera cons

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

"Improvements can be made to the product's performance."

"Its performance could be faster."

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

"The solution could be more scalable, although it suits our present needs."

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

"The product could support advanced software integrations."

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

More Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing is on a yearly basis."

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

"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."

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

"With Pure Storage, we would like to continue seeing price reductions with flash storage. I don't think we're any different than anybody else when we continue to look to the industry for price reductions of both NVMe and traditional SSD storage. We would like to see these prices continue to decline and erode, even displacing large spinning disks."

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

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

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

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pricing and cost advice

"HPE Primera is an expensive product but has competitive pricing."

"The solution is cost-effective. I rate it an eight out of ten, with ten being excellent."

"From what I see, this is competitively-priced and HPE are doing their best to stay competitive."

"It’s a reasonable choice. When compared to other options, we've found it to be accessible and within our means."

"Because it has high availability, the cost is above average. The cost depends upon the sizing, and every customer has a different size. It is slightly above average in terms of cost compared to its competitors, but the value add was that they could know what their maintenance cost was going to be going forward. They knew what their renewal or expansion costs would be."

"I rate the product's price a ten on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive."

"The license for HPE Primera is all-inclusive."

"There is only a one-time license purchase needed and no additional costs. If HP could reduce the training cost, then that would be advantageous to the seller."

More HPE Primera pricing and cost advice

"It is an expensive solution."

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

"For an all-flash setup, the cost is around $20,000 for a decent configuration."

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

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

"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 solution's price could be better."

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

More Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Government

Computer Software Company

16%

Manufacturing Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Government

Computer Software Company

16%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

University

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.

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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...

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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

Which would you choose - HPE Nimble Storage or HPE Primera?

HPE Nimble is a versatile synced WAN San solution. It is easy to use and doesn’t require much training for admins. Th...

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What's the difference between HPE 3PAR StoreServ and HPE Primera?

HPE Primera has many great features but one of the best is that it is very easy to deploy. From an overall perspectiv...

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What do you like most about HPE Primera?

For over a year, I have not seen any downtime in the product.

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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.

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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 25% of the time

TrueNAS R-Series vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 17% of the time

Pure Storage FlashBlade vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 13% of the time

Dell PowerMax vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 13% of the time

HPE Alletra Storage vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 10% of the time

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe Competitors

HPE Alletra Storage vs HPE Primera

Compared 35% of the time

HPE 3PAR StoreServ vs HPE Primera

Compared 22% of the time

HPE Nimble Storage vs HPE Primera

Compared 9% of the time

Dell PowerStore vs HPE Primera

Compared 7% of the time

Huawei OceanStor Dorado vs HPE Primera

Compared 4% of the time

More HPE Primera Competitors

Dell PowerStore vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

Compared 30% of the time

IBM FlashSystem vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

Compared 13% of the time

NetApp AFF vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

Compared 13% 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 9% of the time

More Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Pure FlashArray X NVMe

August 2025

Download Pure FlashArray X NVMe product report

Buyer's Guide

HPE Primera

August 2025

Download HPE Primera product report

Buyer's Guide

All-Flash Storage

July 2025

Download Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series product report

Also Known As

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

Primera

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

HPE introduces HPE Primera, a new storage platform designed to deliver superior simplicity, availability, and performance for mission-critical applications
HPE Primera advances the HPE Intelligent Data Platform, a portfolio of products and solutions designed to help customers transition from delivering storage to unlocking business value with intelligent data

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

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

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

HPE Primera vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

July 2025

Free Report: HPE Primera vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

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