IBM FlashSystem vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe comparison

IBM and Pure Storage are both solutions in the All-Flash Storage category. IBM is ranked #13 with an average rating of 8.5, while Pure Storage is ranked #15 with an average rating of 8.6. IBM holds a 6.7% mindshare in AFS, compared to Pure Storage’s 0.8% mindshare. Additionally, 91% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Pure Storage users who would recommend it.

IBM FlashSystem

Read 110 IBM FlashSystem reviews

7,761 Views
5,977 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Read 35 Pure FlashArray X NVMe reviews

1,532 Views
743 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

IBM FlashSystem

Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 18, 2024

IBM FlashSystem and Pure FlashArray X NVMe are two competitive storage solutions in the market. Pure FlashArray X NVMe stands out as a superior product overall due to its feature set.

Features: IBM FlashSystem is praised for its high performance, data compression capabilities, and integration with existing infrastructure. Pure FlashArray X NVMe is noted for its advanced NVMe protocol support, consistent performance, and ease of management. The main difference lies in Pure FlashArray's modern NVMe architecture, providing it a performance edge.

Room for Improvement: Users of IBM FlashSystem point out the need for better documentation, more intuitive configuration processes, and more user-friendly features. Reviews of Pure FlashArray X NVMe cite desires for improved reporting tools, lower costs, and additional support tools.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM FlashSystem is considered straightforward to deploy with reliable customer support. Pure FlashArray X NVMe users highlight the simplicity of deployment and highly responsive customer service and find their support experience slightly superior.

Pricing and ROI: IBM FlashSystem users appreciate the competitive setup cost and favorable ROI. Pure FlashArray X NVMe's setup costs are perceived as higher, but users justify it with superior performance and long-term ROI. Pure FlashArray X NVMe is seen as more cost-effective over time despite a higher initial investment.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM FlashSystem vs. Pure FlashArray X NVMe Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM FlashSystem vs. Pure FlashArray X NVMe

March 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 All-Flash Storage

13th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

110

Ranking in other categories

NAS (4th), Modular SAN (Storage Area Network) (4th)

Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Ranking in All-Flash Storage

15th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

NVMe All-Flash Storage Arrays (6th)

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the All-Flash Storage category, the mindshare of IBM FlashSystem is 6.7%, down from 6.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Pure FlashArray X NVMe is 0.8%, down from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

All-Flash Storage

Q&A Highlights

reviewer1942008

Senior Storage Consultant at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Aug 22, 2022

Which SAN product would you choose: IBM FlashSystem (FS9500) vs PureFlash Array/X NVMe vs PureFlash Array/XL NVMe?

Have you considered a NetApp FAS Storage for your NAS needs? I am sure it fits very well.

See all answers

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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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.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The pricing is reasonable."

"The GUI is very easy and performance is also good."

"The most valuable features in IBM FlashSystem are IOPS, performance, duplication, and compression."

"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."

"The speed, performance, and stability are the best features of IBM FlashSystem."

"At the FlashSystem level, customers are especially fond of multi-tier and distributed rate systems, particularly the dynamic rate six arrays."

"It's very easy to manage."

"This solution is convenient, user-friendly, convenient and reliable."

More IBM FlashSystem pros

"Pure FlashArray X NVMe has low latency and high Ops. It is an evergreen model."

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

"The database workloads are pretty fast because I frequently move data from here to there."

"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."

"The standout features for us in Pure FlashArray X NVMe are its robust DDoS protection, seamless transparent failover, and failback capabilities ensuring high availability."

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

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

"Everything, especially the VMs inside, is pretty fast."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pros

Cons

"IBM FlashSystems is lagging in optimizing storage technologies."

"With regards to the IBM V7000 storage system, where we have multiple tiers of storage, a heat map would show I/O distribution across the tiers of storage."

"We use some open-source tools for monitoring, such as Grafana and it should be bundled along with IBM FlashSystem."

"If you want to expand, you cannot expand the disc enclosure. You have to buy a total individual node. Sometimes, this is difficult because we are just looking for capacity and not a node."

"There could be some extra features added."

"Cloud file sharing is an area that needs improvement."

"When you provision a datastore auto-format takes a long time"

"GUI interface should be enhanced more as there is some issues in copy services."

More IBM FlashSystem cons

"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."

"The tool's pricing is higher than competitors."

"It is on the expensive side."

"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."

"The UI for this solution needs to be improved."

"I want to see Pure Storage not only be for fast storage, but I want to see it be for the entire data center."

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

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cost is pretty high in terms of licensing. We pay at least $100,000 USD in licensing fees for the storage."

"This solution is expensive compared to other solutions."

"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."

"Our customers would like IMB FlashSystem to be less expensive."

"The solution has good pricing, but it is not cheaper."

"The price depends of the technology that our customers need. The price can come at a lower cost but this may increase as storage is added."

"I find the pricing of the solution to be very reasonable."

"They've been much more aggressive in the last five, six years than they were before that."

More IBM FlashSystem pricing and cost advice

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

"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."

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

"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."

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

"The product is expensive."

"The licensing is on a yearly basis."

"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."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Government

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 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.

See all answers

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 should not incur extra charges. This is one of the main things organizations need.

See all answers

Comparisons

Dell PowerStore vs IBM FlashSystem

Compared 24% of the time

Huawei OceanStor Dorado vs IBM FlashSystem

Compared 8% of the time

Pure Storage FlashArray vs IBM FlashSystem

Compared 8% of the time

HPE Alletra Storage vs IBM FlashSystem

Compared 8% of the time

Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform vs IBM FlashSystem

Compared 6% of the time

More IBM FlashSystem Competitors

Dell PowerStore vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 32% of the time

TrueNAS R-Series vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 16% of the time

Pure Storage FlashBlade vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 14% of the time

Dell Unity XT vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 8% of the time

Dell PowerMax NVMe vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 7% of the time

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM FlashSystem

March 2025

Download IBM FlashSystem product report

Buyer's Guide

Pure FlashArray X NVMe

March 2025

Download Pure FlashArray X NVMe product report

Also Known As

IBM Storwize

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

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

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

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

Fremont Bank, Judson ISD, The Nielsen Company

Buyer's Guide

IBM FlashSystem vs. Pure FlashArray X NVMe

March 2025

Free Report: IBM FlashSystem vs. Pure FlashArray X NVMe

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