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IBM System Storage DS5000 Series vs Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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 System Storage DS5000 S...
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
Modular SAN (Storage Area Network) (7th)
Nutanix Cloud Infrastructur...
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
199
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined Storage (SDS) (5th), HCI (2nd), Software Defined Data Center (SDDC) (1st), Hybrid Cloud Computing Platforms (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Storage Solutions solutions, they serve different purposes. IBM System Storage DS5000 Series is designed for Modular SAN (Storage Area Network) and holds a mindshare of 2.9%, up 1.4% compared to last year.
Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI), on the other hand, focuses on HCI, holds 9.0% mindshare, down 9.4% since last year.
Modular SAN (Storage Area Network) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
IBM System Storage DS5000 Series2.9%
HPE 3PAR StoreServ12.9%
IBM FlashSystem10.6%
Other73.6%
Modular SAN (Storage Area Network)
HCI Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI)9.0%
VxRail9.9%
VMware vSAN7.9%
Other73.2%
HCI
 

Featured Reviews

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.
JD
Dsi at OFFICE PUBLIC DE L HABITAT DE ROUEN
Hyper-converged storage has improved performance and now supports high redundancy for our VMs
Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) was transparent because we were on a regular infrastructure before. We went on NCI and were able to improve performance, but it did not really change how things worked. The performance was really better for applications and access times to the data. I regularly looked at the analytics to see what was going on in my servers and what it was saying to optimize performance. It was pretty interesting because it could analyze and give insights on how to get things working better. In the latest versions, the Prism interface has been replaced by Prism Central. This requires another machine to be deployed to manage the servers.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I also like all the software features you get from the IBM System Storage DS5000 Series such as the SVC (SAN volume controller). You can put the code on the controllers, and it really gives you the advantage because you'll have HyperSwap."
"The stability and performance of the drive are the most valuable."
"The security and velocity for fetching data are valuable."
"We use it for applications, databases, media, files, etc."
"The stability is excellent."
"It's very competitive in terms of price."
"IBM System Storage DS5000 series enhances clients' data handling capabilities through improved security, fast systems, and added value features."
"The most valuable feature is compression."
"If you are looking for flexibility, space-saving, power-saving, and the best ROI, this is the solution to use."
"The virtualization environment is now much easier to manage and maintain, there is only one vendor to call in case of issues and one single console to manage everything."
"My advice to others is this solution is great and I highly recommend it, as it is much better than the other technology or the deployed traditional solutions."
"They have OEM partnerships, they've got their own developed OS which can save on licensing, the solution is a bit cheaper, the pricing is pretty good, the stability is very good, the solution can scale well, and technical support is helpful."
"Maintenance is not required for Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure"
"The speed of the operations and of creation of VM is fantastic."
"Best features are around data locality, compression, and deduplication."
"Acropolis' main advantages are high performance and availability."
 

Cons

"IBM System Storage DS5000 is expensive when compared to other vendors."
"Improving software installation and licensing retrieval would make using IBM System Storage DS5000 series easier for customers."
"The amount of storage could be increased."
"The solution's integration with other tools could be improved."
"It would be nice if duplication was possible at the hardware level. As it is now, duplication is a software feature, whereas compression is a hardware feature."
"The solution is not flexible enough."
"There are some functions that can only be used in prompt mode."
"The product is very costly; very few can afford IBM System Storage DS5000 Series, and the renewal or maintenance of the solution is also expensive."
"As of now, Acropolis and VMware cannot talk to each other. Until we have some kind of interface, it would be much better for Nutanix if they built an interface that can talk. Otherwise, if I have a VMware stack and I already have a Nutanix stack, I can create containers, I create clusters on VMware, I create clusters on Nutanix."
"Areas for improvement would be the memory setting and the CPU setting reserve features, which are not available on Acropolis. I also feel that the DR solution, the reporting, and the component that is combined with the Nutanix OSP need to be improved."
"The pricing model for software and hardware subscription renewals can be improved."
"Storage utilization and optimization should be better."
"The initial setup does need a team with experience with it in order to execute it correctly."
"The look and feel of the web GUI of this system needs improvement, when compared to other systems. Its hardware integration also needs improvement."
"The cost of the solution is too expensive. There are other options, such as VMware, that are offered for less money. In Latin America, it seems to be overpriced for the market."
"It was complex, as we needed to move from a Xen environment to Acropolis. The migration process was not easy."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Compared to other vendors, I think it's expensive."
"It is a competitively priced solution. The cost can vary depending on whether it is purchased from the hardware or the software departments."
"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."
"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's an expensive solution."
"This product is priced well. The ratio between cost and productivity is very high and we're happy with it."
"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."
"Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure could be cheaper. It's costly to upgrade the solution. There are no additional costs aside from the license."
"Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure's core licensing needs to have an upper limit since processors are coming out with incredible numbers of cores on them."
"The price is good but I think there is still room for improvement on the price."
"We just have a support license for Nutanix."
"The software only licensing model is priced normally, but the licensing model that comes with hardware is priced very high. You can choose to pay the license yearly, or you can pay every three years, or every five years."
"Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure's pricing is higher now."
"I would rate the price seven out of ten with ten being the most expensive."
"Pricing for Nutanix Acropolis AOS is higher. This is one of the reasons why we were looking into other options."
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Comparison Review

it_user244362 - PeerSpot reviewer
Managing Consultant with 51-200 employees
Aug 30, 2015
Nutanix vs. VMware EVO:RAIL vs. FlexPod
Originally posted at www.storagegaga.com/dont-get-too-drunk-on-hyper-converged/ I hate the fact that I am bursting the big bubble brewing about Hyper Convergence (HC). I urge all to look past the hot air and hype frenzy that are going on, because in the end, the HC platforms have to be aligned…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
32%
Construction Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Renewables & Environment Company
7%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Outsourcing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise7
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business93
Midsize Enterprise76
Large Enterprise88
 

Questions from the Community

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.
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.
What is your primary use case for IBM System Storage DS5000 Series?
We use the DS5000 for mainframe purposes. We have IBM z System and have installed SAP HANA SaaS for IBM equipment. This equipment storage holds very large data of SAP HANA.
How do I choose between Cisco Hyperflex HX Series and Nutanix Acropolis AOS?
Cisco HyperFlex HS series vs Nutanix Acropolis AOS Cisco HyperFlex gives extended hyper-convergence functions from core to edge and multi-cloud environments. It helps IT and OT teams deploy hyper...
What makes Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) worth using?
NCI is a product with many tools and services but the one that, in my opinion, makes it better than similar products and worth using, is the full-stack lifecycle management. This capacity allows u...
Have you received reliable help from Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure's support when you contacted them?
NCI is one of the best out there. For any software, no matter how good it is, technical support makes it or breaks it for me. You may have an amazing product but if there is not anyone to help you ...
 

Also Known As

System Storage DS5000 series
Nutanix Acropolis AOS, Nutanix AOS, Nutanix Acropolis
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Engine Informštica
St. Lukes Health System, the City of Seattle, Yahoo! Japan, Sligro, Empire Life, Hyundai AUS, and many others.
Find out what your peers are saying about NetApp, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, IBM and others in Modular SAN (Storage Area Network). Updated: July 2026.
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