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IBM FlashSystem vs IBM System Storage DS5000 Series comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 2, 2025

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

IBM FlashSystem
Ranking in Modular SAN (Storage Area Network)
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
113
Ranking in other categories
NAS (8th), All-Flash Storage (10th)
IBM System Storage DS5000 S...
Ranking in Modular SAN (Storage Area Network)
10th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Modular SAN (Storage Area Network) category, the mindshare of IBM FlashSystem is 11.3%, down from 14.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM System Storage DS5000 Series is 2.8%, up from 2.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Modular SAN (Storage Area Network) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
IBM FlashSystem11.3%
IBM System Storage DS5000 Series2.8%
Other85.9%
Modular SAN (Storage Area Network)
 

Featured Reviews

OmarIsmail1 - PeerSpot reviewer
Infrastructure Technical Specialist II at Clicks Group
Offers high performance and dependable support for fast storage needs
The most valuable feature of IBM FlashSystem is its robust back code. When integrated properly into the environment and configured according to the guidelines, it provides a very solid infrastructure that does the job on demand. Additionally, IBM FlashSystem offers competitive pricing and reliable performance. The hardware is dependable, ensuring that it functions effectively when the setup is done correctly.
Gustavo Rosello - PeerSpot reviewer
Technological Infrastructure Manager at Mercado Argentino de Valores S.A.
Provides solid hardware and ROI to users
Companies or groups of business units are growing fast. We have perhaps between four and five more people than what it was two years ago, so the systems are increasing, and now we are working with RPA in some of our processes for automation, especially wherever it is mandatory in the financial branch, like a common investment fund and the investment in action or where there are other products. Our market is directly related to small business. We are working with companies where data translation is needed or where invoices, specifically credit invoices, the negotiation of cheques, or a doc that shows receipt of money, which you can sell at a future date. We have a sub-warehouse that has a back office in the cloud to use all operations related to creditors so that the company can increase its share in the markets. I think that we may need something on-premises in the future. The trends indicate that users are returning to on-premises systems because of the high cost of public clouds. We are looking for a better data center. In Argentina, hardware costs are high, but now, it is a great investment. We are slowly planning to expand the tool. In the USA, when it comes to object-first devices, there is a cost of 48,000 USD for 128 TB, but in Argentina, the cost is 64,000 USD for 84 TB. In Argentina, we have a lot of taxes, and the government is in the process of reducing these taxes, but now we have a situation associated with our economy. Out of 100 companies, only two are seeking employees. We are waiting for the recovery of the economy, but everything here is expensive apart from the salaries.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"IBM FlashSystem is a flexible solution with plenty of features."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is compression."
"It's one of the first, fully software-defined solutions on the market available."
"The valuable features are high availability, compression, and a failover mechanism. It's a very highly available storage solution."
"IBM FlashSystem is fast and reliable."
"The initial setup was really straightforward. It was not complex. Deployment took one month, due to the data migration duration."
"The speed, performance, and stability are the best features of IBM FlashSystem."
"For space saving features, it definitely saves us in a virtual environment in terms of space and money."
"The system would work well for the customer."
"We use it for applications, databases, media, files, etc."
"The tool is very stable...The solution's scalability is very good."
"IBM System Storage DS5000 series is highly reliable, which is evident by clients' systems still operating effectively after seven or eight years."
"It is a very stable solution."
"The most valuable feature is compression."
"The solution offers an excellent price-performance ratio, including SSDs and compression capabilities. This results in faster performance and potential space savings due to compression."
"This product is priced well, the ratio between cost and productivity is very high and we're happy with it."
 

Cons

"Deduplication and DRC synchronization. Deduplication is small, limited. We need better deduplication and disaster recovery."
"The security features can be improved such that the encryption does not affect performance in any way."
"I would like to see bigger modules."
"The cluster should be improved because non-disruptive failover was supported only on a few operating systems."
"The GUI needs some improvement. An additional function that could be helpful is reducing the time it takes to delete volumes, especially if they are compressed or deduplicated."
"There are some issues on a firmware level."
"Deduplication feature is not mature and it is significantly increasing the latency."
"There is a need for a little bit more of a drill down in the GUI part."
"I don't like the storage now, as it is in the same data center. I want to separate the data center from the backup to another floor of the building or outside the building in a data center of another provider."
"IBM is not always as agile as other competitors when it is about cloud integration and user interfaces."
"I find the solution isn't so easy to understand. A user must be quite knowledgeable in the product. It isn't like HPE 3PAR, which you can use quite easily without too much storage experience."
"The solution is not flexible enough."
"The stability could be improved."
"The product should improve its support."
"The initial setup is hard."
"If you decide to expand the IBM System Storage DS5000 Series by adding an extension frame to the controller, you won't have the ability to incorporate flash storage models directly. Instead, you'll need to work with SSD which may be slightly slower."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"If five is a good price and one is a high price, I would rate the price a two or three out of five."
"This solution is expensive compared to other solutions."
"They've been much more aggressive in the last five, six years than they were before that."
"The total storage capacity vs price is still quite high for the IBM Flash Array."
"Our customers would like IMB FlashSystem to be less expensive."
"For a yearly license, it is about $100,000. There are no additional costs. The entire system is included."
"It pays to go back and get the best price you can from your supplier. The first offer is not always at the best discount."
"The cost is pretty high in terms of licensing. We pay at least $100,000 USD in licensing fees for the storage."
"This product is priced well. The ratio between cost and productivity is very high and we're happy with it."
"Its price is fair. IBM is quite fair in price when you compare it with others. We also use Hitachi internally, and Hitachi is always a little bit more expensive. NetApp is also a bit more expensive. So, IBM has good positioning in terms of price."
"Compared to other vendors, I think it's expensive."
"The basic functionalities of the product are provided within the normal license, but users can opt for some optional features from IBM's licensing model."
"We mounted all the virtualization with less than 1,50,000 USD. We are negotiating to get the tool for 800,000,000 Argentine Pesos. The tool is expensive, but it is worth the money."
"It's an expensive solution."
"It is a competitively priced solution. The cost can vary depending on whether it is purchased from the hardware or the software departments."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Financial Services Firm
28%
Construction Company
10%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business48
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise60
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise7
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM FlashSystem?
The pricing is high; storage solutions are always expensive. I do not know if the price needs to be reviewed, but it is worth considering.
What needs improvement with IBM FlashSystem?
As far as I know, IBM FlashSystem has already improved, but I do not see room for improvement. It is simple to use and manage via SVC, simple to configure, and even for the zoning, I do not see imp...
What is your primary use case for IBM FlashSystem?
We are not working with Object Storage or Storage Protect; we are working with SAN storage and LUN storage. I am a consultant assigned to a customer in France. We are working with SVC in regard to ...
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Also Known As

IBM Storwize
System Storage DS5000 series
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Celero, Friedhelm Loh Group, Clarks, Mingkang Natregro Health Food Group, Sofia, Etisalat Fights Fraud, UF Health Shands Hospital, Generali, Elecon Engineering Company Limited, Ventiv , Technology, CPFL Energia, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., SciQuest, Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated, Paddy Power, Kelsey-Seybold Clinic, Interconnect Services, Severstal IP-Only AB, PVU Group GmbH
Engine Informštica
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM FlashSystem vs. IBM System Storage DS5000 Series and other solutions. Updated: November 2026.
920,769 professionals have used our research since 2012.