Huawei OceanStor vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series comparison

Huawei and Lenovo are both solutions in the All-Flash Storage category. Huawei is ranked #13 with an average rating of 8.8, while Lenovo is ranked #23 with an average rating of 9.0. Huawei holds a 2.2% mindshare in AFS, compared to Lenovo’s 2.2% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Huawei users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 60% of Lenovo users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 18, 2024

Huawei OceanStor and Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series are prominent contenders in the storage solutions market. User reviews suggest Huawei OceanStor has the upper hand due to its competitive pricing and user support, while Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series excels in feature-richness, making it appealing despite higher costs.

Features: Huawei OceanStor is highly praised for its robust reliability, scalability, and versatile data protection capabilities. Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series is noted for its advanced storage efficiency, high-speed performance, and integrated cloud-tiering abilities. Users generally favor Lenovo for its comprehensive feature set.

Room for Improvement: Huawei OceanStor users often request enhancements in integration capabilities with third-party platforms and more intuitive management tools. Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series users suggest improving technical support response times and refining migration tools. Both products have room for optimization in user experience but target different aspects.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Huawei OceanStor is recognized for its straightforward deployment procedures and commendable customer service. In contrast, Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series offers a flexible deployment model but garners mixed reviews regarding customer support efficiency. Huawei's ease of deployment and support quality is rated higher by users.

Pricing and ROI: Huawei OceanStor is valued for its competitive setup costs and swift return on investment, appreciated by cost-sensitive users. Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series, although perceived as pricier, justifies the expense with its high performance and long-term value. Users acknowledge Lenovo's higher pricing but find it balanced by the advanced capabilities offered.

To learn more, read our detailed Huawei OceanStor vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Huawei OceanStor vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series

April 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 May 2025, in the All-Flash Storage category, the mindshare of Pure FlashArray X NVMe is 0.8%, down from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Huawei OceanStor is 2.2%, down from 2.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series is 2.2%, down from 2.8% 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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ChukwuemekaOnyemelukwe

Infrastructure Administrator - Server, Storage & Virtualization at MicroAccess Ltd

Uses a proprietary technology with simple interface and has easy deployment

If you are not generating a substantial amount of data, the available storage space might suffice, making scalability less of a concern. However, if your data generation increases and you require more storage, Huawei OceanStor offers solutions to expand your storage capacity. Expanding storage resources can involve additional costs and configuration efforts. Acquiring more storage solutions and ensuring their integration with your existing setup might require a significant investment of time and resources. While this process can be complex, it allows for seamless scalability as your data storage needs grow. I rate the solution’s scalability an eight out of ten.

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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

"I appreciate the performance."

"It is very easy to install and configure. It has got excellent diagnostics. If you really need to see how the box is performing, the console gives you a lot of information. You can set thresholds as well as alerts based on the thresholds, which is a very powerful functionality. They are very proactive. They know how to monitor and manage the systems. They see a problem, and they are all over it before us. They see the problem before we see it, which is very good."

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

"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."

"What I really like about this program, is that it is easy to use and easy to configurate."

"The latency is good."

"The solution is very straightforward to set up."

"Pure FlashArray X NVMe will quickly overcome all the hurdles you face, including network and latency issues."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pros

"We get a quick response in case any component defaults. We have seen the benefits mostly."

"Huawei OceanStor has the capability of SSDs, high-performance disks, and higher disk support."

"Huawei OceanStor provides numerous features that are tailored to cater to the requirements of all types of companies."

"This is a stable storage system."

"The solution works well for non-critical applications that do not require a heavy workload. The tool's all features are valuable."

"Generally stable with good technical support."

"Its technical support team is helpful."

"Huawei OceanStor offers good IOPS and is reliable and energy-efficient."

More Huawei OceanStor pros

"Scalable and stable storage array."

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

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

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

"The value we derive from using it is greater than other alternatives like HPE and Dell."

"The servers are fast and affordable."

"Last year, I did a DM Series installation with my colleague, and this installation was effortless because we had Lenovo support on the phone, so it was easy to get help if we had any problems."

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

More Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series pros

Cons

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

"It is on the expensive side."

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

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

"Right now, the box itself is just strictly working as a backend storage system. It would be fantastic if we could access it directly like a NAS device through network access or SIS drives. I think they have an interface, but I am not sure how good it is. If we could address a box directly on the network without having to go through a server, it would be great. The replication schemas could be improved. We are not using replication on the storage level right now. We use a different type of replication. If their replication would be as good as the one that we have, I would probably run the replication schema because it might be faster, but I don't know that for a fact. So, I cannot say that they have good replication. All I can say is that they need to inform us better."

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

"I'd like to see the product implement active replication for vehicles such as VMware."

"I would like to see some AI features that would allow arrays to intelligently identify threats or unusual behavior in the data pattern and give an alert."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe cons

"Could have a more stable, lighter Metro and better logging system."

"Its storage capacity could be better."

"The administration should be simplified because there are a large number of options that make it too complicated, and the customers can get confused."

"In terms of marketing, they need to improve by putting more effort into making people aware of their products, especially in our region."

"Huawei currently lacks a solution for high-performance AI, unlike other companies like DDN, WekaIO, or IBM BlueStore."

"Based on what we were quoted, the stated capacity was not a true reflection of the actual capacity. The data store ran out of space, and Huawei had to send a new unit."

"The management is not a good feature in all of Huawei products. It's not easy or simple. Huawei has some problems with management and handling storage information from one interface."

"Based on what we were quoted, the stated capacity was not a true reflection of the actual capacity."

More Huawei OceanStor cons

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

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

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

"The solution needs a simpler licensing theme around the DM series. The problem is if you only need one of the features, you still have to buy the whole thing. The licensing needs to be more granular or flexible so you have the option to only license FlexCone or Inline Compression features."

"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."

"The Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series was very hard to configure. Installation of the product was very hard. These are its areas for improvement."

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

"Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series could improve by having a snapshot feature. Additionally, there can be other features added to help restore the data faster."

More Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

"The licensing is on a yearly basis."

"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."

"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."

"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."

"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."

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

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pricing and cost advice

"Its price is affordable."

"It's roughly affordable."

"The price of the license is quite low, so it's not something special or expensive."

"I am satisfied with the tool's pricing, which is in the middle. It is overpriced. I rate it an eight out of ten."

"Huawei's prices are very good compared to those of its competitors."

"The product is cheap."

"Payment is determined by the amount of storage capacity required, and we have paid 50,000 euros for our usage."

"The tool's pricing is competitive and affordable. It has the best possible pricing that we can get from Huawei. The prices are fixed and there are no additional costs."

More Huawei OceanStor 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 price of the Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series is good."

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

"The solution is highly-priced."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Government

Financial Services Firm

15%

Computer Software Company

14%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

21%

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.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

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 ...

See all answers

What do you like most about Huawei OceanStor?

Huawei OceanStor has the capability of SSDs, high-performance disks, and higher disk support.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Huawei OceanStor?

Huawei OceanStor's pricing is very aggressive, making it highly competitive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Huawei OceanStor?

Huawei currently lacks a solution for high-performance AI, unlike other companies like DDN, WekaIO, or IBM BlueStore....

See all answers

What do you like most about Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series?

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

See all answers

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 ...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 31% of the time

TrueNAS R-Series vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 18% of the time

Pure Storage FlashBlade vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 15% of the time

IBM FlashSystem vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 11% of the time

HPE Alletra Storage vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 8% of the time

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Huawei OceanStor Dorado vs Huawei OceanStor

Compared 23% of the time

Dell PowerStore vs Huawei OceanStor

Compared 20% of the time

NetApp AFF vs Huawei OceanStor

Compared 13% of the time

IBM FlashSystem vs Huawei OceanStor

Compared 9% of the time

HPE StoreOnce vs Huawei OceanStor

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 13% of the time

Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series

Compared 12% of the time

Dell PowerStore vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series

Compared 10% of the time

Dell Unity XT vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series

Compared 8% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Pure FlashArray X NVMe

May 2025

Download Pure FlashArray X NVMe product report

Buyer's Guide

Huawei OceanStor

May 2025

Download Huawei OceanStor product report

Buyer's Guide

All-Flash Storage

May 2025

Download Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series product report

Also Known As

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

OceanStor Dorado V3 All-Flash Storage System, OceanStor 18000 V3 Series Storage Systems, OceanStor 6800 V3 Storage System

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

OceanStor Dorado V3 is the industry's first all-flash storage that puts NVMe into commercial use. It is specially designed for enterprises' mission-critical businesses, meeting the most-demanding performance and reliability requirements of databases, VDI, server virtualization, and SAP HANA.

Huawei

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

Piraeus, Clinique Univeritaires Saint-Luc

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Huawei OceanStor vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series

April 2025

Free Report: Huawei OceanStor vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series

Find out what your peers are saying about Huawei OceanStor vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.

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