IBM FlashSystem vs IBM System Storage DS5000 Series comparison

IBM FlashSystem and IBM System Storage DS5000 Series are both solutions in the Modular SAN (Storage Area Network) category. IBM FlashSystem is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.5, while IBM System Storage DS5000 Series is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.7. IBM FlashSystem holds a 20.1% mindshare in MS, compared to IBM System Storage DS5000 Series’s 1.1% mindshare. Additionally, 91% of IBM FlashSystem users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of IBM System Storage DS5000 Series users who would recommend it.

IBM FlashSystem

Read 111 IBM FlashSystem reviews

1,422 Views
1,080 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

IBM System Storage DS5000 S...

Read 18 IBM System Storage DS5000 Series reviews

235 Views
63 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

IBM FlashSystem

IBM System Storage DS5000 S...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 2, 2025

IBM System Storage DS5000 Series and IBM FlashSystem are competing in the enterprise data storage market, with IBM FlashSystem generally having the edge due to its advanced features and performance. While DS5000 is favored for its competitive pricing and solid support, FlashSystem's superior technology tends to make it the preferred choice.

Features: IBM System Storage DS5000 Series is known for its robust scalability, reliable performance under demanding workloads, and integration capabilities. IBM FlashSystem excels in high-speed data access, efficiency, and cutting-edge flash storage technology.

Room for Improvement: DS5000 could benefit from enhanced data compression capabilities and more advanced storage management features. FlashSystem could improve its cost-effectiveness and possibly offer more flexible pricing models while expanding integration options with third-party products.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM System Storage DS5000 Series offers straightforward deployment with comprehensive support, making it easy to integrate into existing systems. IBM FlashSystem provides rapid deployment and exceptional customer support, facilitating quick adaptation to fast-paced environments.

Pricing and ROI: IBM System Storage DS5000 Series is appreciated for its affordability and good return on investment, making it accessible for organizations with budget constraints. IBM FlashSystem, although more expensive, is considered a worthwhile investment due to its superior performance and long-term benefits.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM FlashSystem vs. IBM System Storage DS5000 Series Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM FlashSystem vs. IBM System Storage DS5000 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

IBM FlashSystem

Ranking in Modular SAN (Storage Area Network)

3rd

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

111

Ranking in other categories

NAS (4th), All-Flash Storage (12th)

IBM System Storage DS5000 S...

Ranking in Modular SAN (Storage Area Network)

6th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Modular SAN (Storage Area Network) category, the mindshare of IBM FlashSystem is 20.1%, up from 16.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM System Storage DS5000 Series is 1.1%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Modular SAN (Storage Area Network)

Featured Reviews

Raanan Sitton

Vice President Sales at BELOCAL LTD

Offers cost-effective storage for small companies with budget constraints

IBM FlashSystem 5300 is offered at a very low cost in Israel, which is advantageous for small companies. However, other features like deduplication and compression do not perform effectively. The price sensitivity makes it a viable option for clients with budgetary constraints, as it allows us to secure deals based on the cost rather than advanced performance.

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Gustavo Rosello

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.

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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 most valuable features were the performance of the array, i.e., very low latency and high IOPS. Plus, the management interface is very easy to use."

"IBM products at the enterprise level are stable solutions, with a score of nine out of ten for stability."

"The most valuable feature is reliability."

"The initial setup is straightforward and can be done in an hour and a half by one person."

"Over the years, it has become increasingly user-friendly."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is SCM (Storage Class Memory), which has the lowest latency value in the storage industry."

"The most valuable features are deduplication and compression."

"The most crucial feature of IBM FlashSystem is compression."

More IBM FlashSystem pros

"I like that it's stable, and I am satisfied with it. We have had some issues, but that is normal in IT. IBM System Storage DS5000 works fine most of the time."

"The security and velocity for fetching data are valuable."

"It is a very stable solution."

"The stability and performance of the drive are the most valuable."

"The stability is excellent."

"You can easily virtualize and share the storage."

"The tool is very stable...The solution's scalability is very good."

"The solution is reliable."

More IBM System Storage DS5000 Series pros

Cons

"Replication features need improvement. Currently, they are there in the product, but I'm not sure as to how it works exactly."

"It has room for improvement in the area of stability."

"They can include Amazon file system S3 protocol in the upcoming releases. It is a cloud file system. IBM FlashSystem doesn't have this feature in the box for high-end or mid-range. We have got requests for this from customers because we need to use S3 for EDI application storage. At the beginning of every year, IBM releases firmware. When I find any bugs in the firmware during the year, I am unable to find any information from IBM regarding the bug. I need to open a ticket, and the IBM engineering team makes a patch only for me. This patch is not public. By creating a customized patch for a client, they don't really solve the issue for everyone. If multiple users have the same bug, IBM should upload the patch on the official website so that we can download it. IBM FlashSystem has a monitoring tool in the box, but it is not advanced. I need a more advanced tool for more advanced equations and monitoring. All top three storage vendors, that is, EMC, IBM, and Pure Storage, don't have a powerful monitoring tool. To monitor our box to show the statistics for I/Os and latency, I need to pay for extra software. The built-in monitoring storage is not mature enough to handle all requests and generate all reports that I need. They can include the functionality to stretch a cluster natively without using any additional boxes. In addition, there are some features that EMC has integrated with the box. These features are not available in IBM FlashSystem."

"The initial setup is complex."

"The security features can be improved such that the encryption does not affect performance in any way."

"The product could be cheaper."

"Include an option to upload the support package to the IBM ECuRep when opening an IBM PMR."

"The marketing could be improved."

More IBM FlashSystem cons

"The amount of storage could be increased."

"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."

"There are some functions that can only be used in prompt mode."

"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."

"IBM is not always as agile as other competitors when it is about cloud integration and user interfaces. They're not renewing themselves very often. They have been slow to evolve from the old GUI. The user interface should be improved, especially regarding performance analysis, which has always been a little bit weak as compared to other solutions. As a global solution, it lacks the feature for containing integration object storage. Even though they have now started to offer this feature, it is quite young and not as developed as some other vendors. There are also no mass possibilities at all. They have a lot of competition in the mid-range segment. They need to have a NAS gateway or something like that. It doesn't specifically need to be integrated into the controllers that are keys to the gateway."

"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 System Storage DS5000 is expensive when compared to other vendors."

More IBM System Storage DS5000 Series cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is reasonable."

"The cost of the IBM FlashSystem is lower than the HPE solution."

"Its price is very good."

"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."

"The price of IBM FlashSystem is a little high because you pay a premium because the solution is from IBM. We had paid for the SLA prior to using the solution."

"I price of IBM FlashSystem is reasonable and competitive."

"Overall the price of the solution is expensive and this includes the license."

More IBM FlashSystem pricing and cost advice

"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."

"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."

"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."

"It is a competitively priced solution. The cost can vary depending on whether it is purchased from the hardware or the software departments."

"It's an expensive solution."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Government

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM FlashSystem?

It is simple to make an update.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM FlashSystem?

Many factors affect purchasing directly from IBM, often involving a multi-step process. Customers, especially in banking, often use the latest devices as they are upgrading, indicating they do not ...

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What needs improvement with IBM FlashSystem?

The deduplication technology in IBM FlashSystem needs significant improvement. Other vendors like NetApp ( /products/netapp-41749-reviews ) offer better deduplication technology, which is noticeabl...

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What do you like most about IBM System Storage DS5000 Series?

The solution is reliable.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM System Storage DS5000 Series?

The price fits well with the proposal of this equipment. Although IBM is not cheap, the cost fits well with the propose.

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM System Storage DS5000 Series?

There are some functions that can only be used in prompt mode. If these functions could be shown in the graphical interface, it could be better.

See all answers

Comparisons

Dell PowerStore vs IBM FlashSystem

Compared 23% of the time

Pure Storage FlashArray vs IBM FlashSystem

Compared 8% of the time

Huawei OceanStor Dorado vs IBM FlashSystem

Compared 8% of the time

HPE Alletra Storage vs IBM FlashSystem

Compared 8% of the time

NetApp AFF vs IBM FlashSystem

Compared 6% of the time

More IBM FlashSystem Competitors

No data available

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM FlashSystem

May 2025

Download IBM FlashSystem product report

Buyer's Guide

IBM System Storage DS5000 Series

May 2025

Download IBM System Storage DS5000 Series product report

Also Known As

IBM Storwize

System Storage DS5000 series

Overview

IBM FlashSystem products are enterprise computer data storage systems that store data on flash memory chips. Unlike storage systems that use standard solid-state drives, IBM FlashSystem products incorporate custom hardware based on technology from the 2012 acquisition of Texas Memory Systems. This hardware provides performance, reliability, and efficiency benefits versus competitive offerings.

IBM

DS5000 storage systems are equally adept at supporting transactional applications such as databases and online transaction processing (OLTP), throughput-intensive applications such as high-performance computing (HPC) and rich media, and concurrent workloads for consolidation and virtualization. DS5000 series storage systems can support service level agreements (SLAs) for the most common operating systems, including Microsoft Windows, UNIX, Linux and Apple Macintosh.
With drive-level encryption, DS5000 series storage systems support affordable data security with no performance penalty. The DS5000 storage system’s multiple replication options, drive-level encryption, and persistent cache backup can help ensure that any data in cache is captured and safe in the event of a power outage.

IBM

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

Buyer's Guide

IBM FlashSystem vs. IBM System Storage DS5000 Series

April 2025

Free Report: IBM FlashSystem vs. IBM System Storage DS5000 Series

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