Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series vs VAST Data comparison

Lenovo and VAST Data are both solutions in the All-Flash Storage category. Lenovo is ranked #21 with an average rating of 10.0, while VAST Data is ranked #30. Lenovo holds a 2.0% mindshare in AFS, compared to VAST Data’s 2.7% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Lenovo users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of VAST Data users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 18, 2024

Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series and VAST Data are both competitive products in the enterprise storage market. While Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series provides cost advantages and customer service support, VAST Data stands out for its advanced features, justifying its higher price according to user reviews.

Features: Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is praised for its scalability, robust performance, and reliable cost-effectiveness. VAST Data is commended for its innovative architecture, enterprise-level capabilities, and technological sophistication.

Room for Improvement: Users suggest improvements for Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series in areas such as resiliency, firmware updates, and advanced data protection. For VAST Data, users note the steep learning curve, initial setup complexity, and potential improvements in user interface simplicity.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is noted for its straightforward deployment and reliable customer service. User feedback on VAST Data indicates that while the deployment process can be complex, the support team is very responsive.

Pricing and ROI: Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is considered cost-effective with good ROI according to user reviews. VAST Data, although more expensive, is viewed as worth the investment due to its advanced features and potential long-term benefits.

To learn more, read our detailed Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series vs. VAST Data Report (Updated: February 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series vs. VAST Data

February 2026

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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 February 2026, in the All-Flash Storage category, the mindshare of Pure FlashArray X NVMe is 1.5%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is 2.0%, down from 2.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VAST Data is 2.7%, up from 2.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

All-Flash Storage Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Pure FlashArray X NVMe	1.5%
Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series	2.0%
VAST Data	2.7%
Other	93.8%

All-Flash Storage

Featured Reviews

Jaehoon Oh

Chief Technology Officer at Lambda256

Supports efficient storage management through volume snapshots and offers reliable non-disruptive upgrades

I have no specific improvements to suggest for Pure FlashArray X NVMe at this time. The performance statistics could be enhanced. I can see the performance statistics in the Pure Storage console, but it does not show the performance by 4K byte unit. It displays IOPS and bandwidth, but IOPS is about real use, and I want to know how many IOPS are currently running in 4K byte units. I cannot see that IOPS because most storage systems report their performance by 4K byte unit. I want to see Pure Storage performance by 4K byte unit to compare with other storage or other internal NVMe SSD.

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Giorgio Pozzi

System Administrator at PORTGUARDIAN.COM SRL

Performance and cost-effectiveness are maximized with seamless setup and significant ROI

I use Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series to replace the old storage in our infrastructure. Additionally, I use it in customer infrastructures to migrate from the old storage to the new one On the M storage, I find the best features to be deduplication and compression. On the DE storage, the most…

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Alan Powers

HPC CTO at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees

Stability-wise, a device that has been up and running for years

The failover capability and resiliency are some of the solution's valuable features. The big thing is resilience because it has richer coding in it, so multiple devices can't fail. Also, one can still access a number of CBoxes that can allow one to access their file system. Once a device fails, it fails the transparency of the end-user, and it just starts using another resource. The encryption capability, the snapshots, along with a whole bunch of features make the tool valuable. VAST Data keeps adding more and more features all the time.

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 duplication algorithm allows us to get a lot more use out of less storage. We're running a five terabyte array right now and we're running probably about 30 terabytes on it. So the duplication rate is pretty phenomenal, without a cost to performance. It still runs pretty smoothly."

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

"Overall stability is very good. It is a very stable solution."

"The initial setup was extremely simple and straightforward."

"It's incredibly easy to use and greatly simplified our ability to both deploy and manage our storage subsystems."

"It offers competitive performance, and the Evergreen storage model of Pure fits well with my organization."

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

"It has good, reliable, fast storage."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pros

"The solution is very easy to troubleshoot. It's one of the most valuable features. It also doesn't take long to deploy and normally it comes with a three-year warranty."

"The most valuable features of the Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series are the dual controllers, available installation documentation, and the option of multiple host bus adapter interfaces."

"The solution is very easy to set up."

"This solution is good for virtualization and meets the need for CPU and RAM requirements."

"I would rate the stability of Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series as a ten."

"ThinkSystem's storage performs well, and the price per gigabyte is good, especially on SSD solutions. It's also easy to use."

"Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is quite an elementary box, no frills. It does not have all the functionality of the DM but it is acceptable, it does its task. It integrates pretty well."

"Fewer features is not necessarily a negative as it leads to simpler operation and lower price."

More Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series pros

"The solution is useful for machine learning and scientific applications, including computer simulations."

"This has been one of the most reliable storage systems that I have ever used."

Cons

"Many options to check performance, like read, writes, random writes, and random reads, are missing in Pure FlashArray X NVMe."

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

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

"We would like to see more visibility into garbage collection and CPU performance in the GUI."

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

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

"Managing data isn't difficult for me. The performance is usually perfect, but we sometimes have capacity problems."

"It feels more suitable for small and medium-sized businesses rather than enterprises."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe cons

"In the next release, I would like to see support for Hyper-converged infrastructure."

"The features are limited."

"ThinkSystem could be better integrated with backup software like Commvault, Veritas, or Symantec."

"The solution could be more scalable, although it suits our present needs."

"The product could support advanced software integrations."

"Its performance could be faster."

"Improvements can be made to the product's performance."

"In the next release, I would like to see more functionality. But, again, it is an entry-level product."

More Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series cons

"The read/write ratio is an area in the solution with some flaws and needs improvement."

"The write performance could be improved because it is less than half of the read performance."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

"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 product is expensive."

"Given its price, Pure is not the first option."

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

"Our licensing fees are $500,000+ USD."

"The licensing is on a yearly basis."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pricing and cost advice

"We have a five-year contract for providing support."

"All of the features are bundled together, and you can renew the bundle with all of the features included."

"The best thing about this solution is its price, which reduces our costs."

"The pricing for this solution is good compared to HP or Dell EMC."

"The pricing is fair and low compared to other products in this category."

"The price of the Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is a one-time purchase. There is a global price list available to find the price of the solution."

"For an all-flash setup, the cost is around $20,000 for a decent configuration."

"The solution's price could be better."

More Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series pricing and cost advice

"Price-wise, VAST Data is not the cheapest, not the most expensive one."

"We acquired VAST Data as a one-time, capital purchase."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Government

Computer Software Company

16%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

University

Financial Services Firm

13%

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

12%

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	15
Midsize Enterprise	11
Large Enterprise	12

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	10
Midsize Enterprise	3

No data available

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?

The price of Pure FlashArray X NVMe is very expensive, though I do not know the actual price because I am using the E...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Pure FlashArray X NVMe?

I have no specific improvements to suggest for Pure FlashArray X NVMe at this time. The performance statistics could ...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series?

The price of Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is very good. We chose this type of storage for the performance and the price.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series?

The type of connection that is used in Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series should be improved.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series?

I use Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series to replace the old storage in our infrastructure. Additionally, I use it in custom...

See all answers

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Comparisons

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Compared 16% of the time

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Compared 22% of the time

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Compared 11% of the time

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Compared 9% of the time

Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

Compared 9% of the time

HPE Alletra Storage vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

Compared 8% of the time

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Compared 9% of the time

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Compared 8% of the time

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Compared 7% of the time

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Compared 7% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Pure FlashArray X NVMe

January 2026

Download Pure FlashArray X NVMe product report

Buyer's Guide

All-Flash Storage

January 2026

Download Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series product report

Buyer's Guide

NVMe All-Flash Storage Arrays

January 2026

Download VAST Data product report

Also Known As

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

ThinkSystem DE Series

No data available

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

The DE All-Flash Series delivers the performance of more than 2,000 15k rpm HDDs, yet requires only 2% of the rack space, power, and cooling. Because it consumes 98% less space and power, DE Series can significantly improve the overall efficiency of your IT operations while continuing to meet your performance requirements.

Lenovo

Innovation to break decades of data storage trade-offs.

VAST Data

Sample Customers

Fremont Bank, Judson ISD, The Nielsen Company

Information Not Available

Norwest Venture Partners, General Dynamics Information Technology, Ginkgo Bioworks

Buyer's Guide

Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series vs. VAST Data

February 2026

Free Report: Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series vs. VAST Data

Find out what your peers are saying about Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series vs. VAST Data and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.

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