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 #32. Lenovo holds a 2.4% mindshare in AFS, compared to VAST Data’s 2.2% 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: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series vs. VAST Data

September 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

Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the All-Flash Storage category, the mindshare of Pure FlashArray X NVMe is 1.0%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is 2.4%, down from 2.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VAST Data is 2.2%, down from 2.6% 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	1.0%
Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series	2.4%
VAST Data	2.2%
Other	94.4%

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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Gastone Canali

IT Consultant at Effegibi

Provides good stability and is reliable in terms of performance

The solution is reliable in terms of performance They should include a snapshot feature for the solution. We have been using the solution for two to three years. The solution is stable. We have 60 solution users in our organization. The solution's initial setup process is easy. It takes three…

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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

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

"I use the tool for Oracle databases, Oracle virtual machines, and Oracle Linux databases. I'm on the storage side, not a database administrator."

"It has benefited my organization because it has reduced time to insights."

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

"We are satisfied with the performance as it is significantly faster compared to traditional storage options."

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

"The most valuable feature of this solution is reliability."

"It's helped us because we've changed fundamentally what we talk about. We don't talk about storage and different tiers of storage anymore nor do we talk about servers. We talk now about applications and how applications impact the business and end users."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pros

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

"Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is simple to use"

"Its initial setup process is easy."

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

"We have been working with the solution for around a year and so far it has shown itself to be stable."

"Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is highly reliable, especially for block-level storage. It is stable, with minimal downtime and no issues beyond user errors."

"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."

"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."

More Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series pros

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

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

Cons

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

"The software layer has to improve."

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

"If the customer only needs 500 terabytes and doesn't care how much data they'll put in the server, IBM is cheaper than Pure."

"The tool's portfolio is minimal. It is expensive."

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

"There are some challenges with data encryption and reduction."

"Adding some functions to the product would be beneficial."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe cons

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

"The difficult part comes when dealing with the host. You have to enable multi-pathing and other aspects that are needed for proper configuration. I don't know if there is room for a more hyper-conversion structure to work with, but this would be easier."

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

"The product could support advanced software integrations."

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

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

"Its performance could be faster."

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

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 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."

"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."

"Its price could be better. It is not too expensive, but it is the high-end cost. It is kind of a Rolls-Royce. You pay a lot, but you get a lot out of it. So, the price pressure on the way down would be great, but at the end of the day, if you need to do the work, you just pay for 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."

"Pure FlashArray X NVMe’s pricing is cheaper than other products."

"The licensing is on a yearly basis."

"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."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pricing and cost advice

"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."

"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."

"It is an expensive solution."

"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."

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

More Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series pricing and cost advice

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

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

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Government

Computer Software Company

16%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

University

Computer Software Company

14%

Manufacturing Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

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 29% of the time

IBM FlashSystem vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

Compared 14% of the time

NetApp AFF vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

Compared 11% of the time

Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

Compared 10% of the time

HPE Alletra Storage vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

Compared 9% of the time

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NetApp AFF vs VAST Data

Compared 11% of the time

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Compared 9% of the time

Databricks vs VAST Data

Compared 8% of the time

MinIO vs VAST Data

Compared 8% of the time

Pure Storage FlashBlade vs VAST Data

Compared 7% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Pure FlashArray X NVMe

September 2025

Download Pure FlashArray X NVMe product report

Buyer's Guide

All-Flash Storage

September 2025

Download Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series product report

Buyer's Guide

NVMe All-Flash Storage Arrays

October 2025

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

September 2025

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: September 2025.

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