It is used for storage purposes.
Managing Director at Insunginfo
A radically simple, enterprise-grade storage platform built on modular architecture
Pros and Cons
- "I find this version to be more budget-friendly compared to products from other vendors. This aspect greatly benefits my customers. It's highly advantageous due to its affordability. The operational aspect is also noteworthy. Additionally, its availability and performance are commendable. The speaker are also equally powerful."
- "I would like to improve the processing ability."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
I find this version to be more budget-friendly compared to products from other vendors. This aspect greatly benefits my customers. It's highly advantageous due to its affordability. The operational aspect is also noteworthy. Additionally, its availability and performance are commendable. The speaker are also equally powerful.
What needs improvement?
I would like to improve the processing ability.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Dell SC Series for three years.
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Dell SC Series
September 2026
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I would rate the stability of this solution eight out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I would rate the scalability nine out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
The customer support is very fast and reliable.
How was the initial setup?
The setup is easy comparatively and I would rate it seven out of ten.I engaged in researching vendor reports and comparing outputs with other options. I also attend vendor seminars to gather knowledge. So, while I'm responsible for the necessary preparation leading up to deployment, I'm not directly engaged in the deployment process itself.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There are costs involving the solution, vendor fees and product safety which are additional.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate this solution nine out of ten and recommend it to bigger organizations.
Performance
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. reseller
System Architect at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
Offers good technical support, has strong usability and is reliable
Pros and Cons
- "I've found the stability to be very good."
- "Technical support has been quite good; we are very satisfied with the level of support we receive."
- "From a performance point of view, it's getting a bit old."
What is most valuable?
The useability is the most valuable aspect of the solution.
I've found the stability to be very good.
The solution is scalable.
We have found the solution's technical support to be helpful.
What needs improvement?
The model of the device is quite old. They need to update it a bit.
From a performance point of view, it's getting a bit old. Although I know that the storage that we are using is a bit old as well. Beyond that, I don't see any other features that I'm exactly missing.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for about two years or so, give or take. It hasn't been that long.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is quite stable and the performance is good even though it is getting old. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. We find it reliable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution can scale well.
We have about ten people using the solution in our organization.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support has been quite good. We are very satisfied with the level of support we receive.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We've worked with a few similar solutions, including HPE Nimble Storage. If you compared it to this solution, I'd say that both have good value and both have their place in environments that are a bit different. I wouldn't compare them directly.
How was the initial setup?
I haven't been involved in the usage or installation of the device.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution is coming to the end of life. They don't really sell them as new products.
What other advice do I have?
I'm a user, consultant, and reseller.
I can't remember the exact version number of the solution, however, the model of the series is 5020.
I'd rate the solution at an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Buyer's Guide
Dell SC Series
September 2026
Learn what your peers think about Dell SC Series. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: September 2026.
913,683 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Head of IT Infrastructure at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
Good technical support, and has many features that work well
Pros and Cons
- "The user interface is good, I would rate it a nine out of ten."
- "Technical support is good."
- "The price could be improved."
- "We had some issues with the battery in the previous version that we were unable to resolve."
What is most valuable?
Dell EMC SC Series has many valuable features.
We are very satisfied with Dell EMC SC Series.
The user interface is good, I would rate it a nine out of ten.
What needs improvement?
We had some issues with the battery in the previous version that we were unable to resolve. We are unable to resolve this issue, despite the fact that we have been using this product for over five years.
The price could be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been working with Dell EMC SC Series and storage for more than 10 years.
We work with both the MD3620F and PowerStore 1000T versions.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support is good. We have received good next-day technical support from them.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We are also working with NetApp.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing is reasonable, but it is expensive.
What other advice do I have?
We are partners with both NetApp, and Dell EMC.
I would rate Dell EMC SC Series a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
Senior Presales Solutions Engineer at rawasedtech
Storage software that offers flexibility and easy deployment
Pros and Cons
- "The flexibility of this solution has been valuable for our business."
- "This solution could be improved if overall performance was improved and operated with a higher speed and supported a higher volume of RAM."
What is most valuable?
The flexibility of this solution has been valuable for our business.
What needs improvement?
This solution could be improved if overall performance was improved and operated with a higher speed and supported a higher volume of RAM.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used this solution for one year.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was complex, specifically when integrating this solution with other technology. The deployment was easier and offered flexibility. Before deployment, I would suggest checking other technology to ensure there is compatibility.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
This solution could be better priced in comparison with other vendors.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution for customers looking for Unity or PowerStore functionality.
I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
System Administrator at a consultancy with 51-200 employees
The solution is stable
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is stable."
- "While the scalability is good, there are certain limitations. Our racks are at their limit, so we do not have the requisite scalability to expand."
What is our primary use case?
We use the product in our company and I deal with it personally.
What needs improvement?
The solution is automated, but we still don't get a complete speech from the disc. The flash speed should be addressed.
While the scalability is good, there are certain limitations. Our racks are at their limit, so we do not have the requisite scalability to expand.
We would like to see replication of the data storage without the need to resort to third party tools. Storage to storage repetition would be a nice feature.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Dell EMC SC Series for four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
While the scalability is good, there are certain limitations. Our racks are at their limit, so we do not have the requisite scalability to expand.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
When it comes to upgrading, we are contemplating a move to TISON, TI-1, TI-2 and TI-3. There may be a need to move between the TISON.
What other advice do I have?
As this is our first product, I cannot give a comprehensive review or rating.
I rate Dell EMC SC Series as an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Director at a tech company with 11-50 employees
Many features like a snapshot, replication, on-the-file RAID levels, and mix-and-match files
Pros and Cons
- "It had many features, like a snapshot, replication, on-the-file RAID levels, mix-and-match files, those kinds of things."
- "We never had a single crash with this product."
- "Dell could improve the upgrading process. It was the lifecycle that made it very short."
What is our primary use case?
We use this product for daily business and normal IT operations. We also use it for replication of one system to another system. We also use it for the hostings for HANA virtualization. Those kinds of replications and IT applications. We use a hybrid version.
What is most valuable?
It had a lot of integration and supported all the platforms, so I was happy with what they were offering. The biggest selling point was when the vendor upgraded it. Dell upgraded the software licenses sold with that. Whenever the hardware is end-of-life, we could upgrade the controller or add a new disk or whatever. There was no lifecycle of three years or five years. We could carry on just by upgrading. It had many features, like a snapshot, replication, on-the-file RAID levels, mix-and-match files, those kinds of things.
What needs improvement?
Dell could improve the upgrading process. It was the lifecycle that made it very short. You'd upgrade the disk, and in eight, nine months, it would be obsolete. They cancelled an enhancement that included an all-flash unit. This would have improved the product.
For how long have I used the solution?
We had worked with this product from Compellent's days before Dell bought them over, so I'll presume from 2006.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We never had a single crash with this product. It was just fine.
How are customer service and technical support?
The support was excellent. We had this storage for a while and server monitoring from Compellent.
How was the initial setup?
Any IT company can do it. It's straightforward.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Pricing is market-related and is flexible for the solution. Pricing depends on varying life cycles.
What other advice do I have?
We're trying to move some people across to some other storage solutions because this product is at end-of-life. I would give this product 10 out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Other
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
Information Technology Operations Manager at Weber Metals
An expensive product that should be more user-friendly, but they have good support that is proactive
Pros and Cons
- "One time, we had a drive fail and we were notified before we even saw it on the device."
- "The technical support is great, we have 24/7 support with a four-hour response, they are responsive and they stay to help until the problem is resolved."
- "This product should be a lot more user-friendly."
- "This product is too expensive compared to others, and I don't see any value in using it."
What is our primary use case?
This is our SAN product for use with a traditional VMware setup, using VMware clusters. We have the 150 terabyte enclosure.
What needs improvement?
This product should be a lot more user-friendly.
A central management system should be put in place to make it easier to configure.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for two years.
How are customer service and technical support?
The technical support is great. We have 24/7 support with a four-hour response. They are responsive and they stay to help until the problem is resolved.
One time, we had a drive fail and we were notified before we even saw it on the device. Then, the new hardware was shipped to us the next day.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I also use HPE Nimble and I find that it is a lot easier to use and offers us more features.
How was the initial setup?
I inherited this solution when I joined the company. In terms of setting it up, we add this SAN into a VMware cluster. The initial setup is unnecessarily complex, and much more so than a solution like HPE Nimble.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
This product is too expensive compared to others, and I don't see any value in using it.
What other advice do I have?
In summary, it's a nice product but it's too expensive and too complicated to set up.
If I were rating this product solely on the management or administrative side, I would rate it a one out of ten because it's just ridiculous. Performance-wise, I can rate it a four or five out of ten.
Overall, I would rate this solution a four out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Senior Systems Consultant at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Easy to manage with a good price-performance ratio, but the initial setup is somewhat complex
Pros and Cons
- "Its leading feature is the price-performance ratio, which is very good."
- "This is a solution with good performance that I recommend, and for anybody who is considering it, I would tell them to give it a shot."
- "The initial setup is somewhat complex and should be made simpler to do."
What is our primary use case?
We are a solution provider and the Dell EMC SC Series is one of the products that we implement for our customers. Our clients often use this product in a virtualized server environment for mid-range database use.
How has it helped my organization?
Once it's put in place, it becomes a vital tool.
What is most valuable?
Its leading feature is the price-performance ratio, which is very good.
The management is pretty good.
It has good expandability options.
What needs improvement?
The initial setup is somewhat complex and should be made simpler to do.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have about five years' experience with this product.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I have not heard any feedback about bugs or glitches in the system. Once it's in place, it's solid.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It's fairly scalable, as long as you size it properly, to begin with. The expansion options are pretty good. Our clients for this product range in size from small to large businesses.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support for this product is excellent and I would rate them a ten out of ten.
When you have questions, you get them answered
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We have deployed HPE storage in some cases where it was what the customer already had installed. Some of these customers switched to Dell because their technical staff was more familiar with it.
How was the initial setup?
My understanding from our engineers is that the initial setup is on the complex side. There are things that are not intuitive that make it a little more complex.
What other advice do I have?
This is a solution with good performance that I recommend, and for anybody who is considering it, I would tell them to give it a shot.
I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
Managing Director at Consult BenJ Ltd
A straightforward setup with good performance and excellent redundancy in place
Pros and Cons
- "The product offers good performance and is quite powerful."
- "While there's always room for improvement in everything, I can't really think of a specific feature of the solution that requires immediate attention."
What is our primary use case?
The solution is used for shared storage for the ESX cluster, VMware, or Vcenter cluster. It's a virtual machine and it's hosting space for virtual service. The primary reason we use the solution is to host the core infrastructure, the virtual servers including file servers, domain controllers, application servers, sequel servers, etc. Basically, the servers that run the business.
What is most valuable?
The solution's most valuable feature is its performance redundancy. The solution works quite well for that. The redundancy is important to us for snapshot and recovery purposes.
The product offers good performance and is quite powerful.
The implementation is straightforward.
What needs improvement?
While there's always room for improvement in everything, I can't really think of a specific feature of the solution that requires immediate attention.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution on and off for over a decade. It's been about 12 years at this point. However, I should note that I don't use it every day.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability of the solution is good. There don't seem to be any issues with reliability. There aren't bugs or glitches. It works well.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is targeted at small to medium businesses, I would say. It's usually something that you would put in and expand on, so, in that sense, yes, it is scalable to a degree.
However, it is not infinitely scalable. That's not a criticism. You just need to buy the right product in the first place. I don't have any problems recommending it for companies of a certain size that may need to expand a bit.
How are customer service and technical support?
We contact technical support all the time, so we've been in touch on multiple occasions. They are very good. They're responsive and knowledgeable. They help us when we have issues. We're very satisfied with the level of service they provide.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is fairly straightforward. It's not complex by any means.
The time it takes to deploy the solution depends on how big it is. It's difficult to say exactly how long it will take as each company is different. At the most, it might take three days, however, it depends on where it is and what has to be set up. Right from out of the box users can start putting data on the storage.
What about the implementation team?
We handle the implementation for our clients. On top of that, wherever we've been asked to either install or work with Compellent SAN, there's usually someone on site who is trained to do basic maintenance and tasks of that nature.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I don't really have experience across different vendors.
What other advice do I have?
I'm a contractor and a Dell partner; I help implement the solution for clients, however, I'm not a reseller. I help fix and update the solution and occasionally maintain the product for clients. In my experience, the solution is usually deployed either on-premise within the office or the head office, or quite often in a co-located data center.
I would recommend the solution, however, only if it made sense for the individual company. It's not right for everyone and it would depend on the situation. A company considering implementing it should always check their requirements.
I'd rate the solution eight out of ten overall. Now and then, they do break and you do have to replace them. With any solution, something always goes wrong at some point. That's not a mark against this particular product. I don't believe any product is perfect.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
IT Director - Enterprise Storage and Data Protection at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Great features, good compression, and relatively inexpensive
Pros and Cons
- "The solution has a wide variety of valuable features. The data progression works well. We use the snapshot functionality quite a bit and really like it."
- "With the hybrid storage approach, we can balance between cheap space and good performance."
- "It would be helpful if the solution offered higher performance, at least on the back end."
- "The only issue with scaling up is that the pricing gets pretty high."
What is our primary use case?
We use it for various type of data but mainly for virtual environments.
How has it helped my organization?
With the hybrid storage approach, we can balance between cheap space and good performance.
What is most valuable?
The solution has a wide variety of valuable features. The data progression works quite well. We use a lot the snapshots functionality.
We appreciate the solution offers deduplication and compression as well.
What needs improvement?
I would prefer to have NVME, at least on the back-end and inline deduplication. Anyhow as Dell EMC has announced the new product - Power Store these features will not be available for Compellent.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for six years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is very stable.
We have about 60 ongoing operations. As you can imagine, we have had some challenges in the past, but not something that it's more concerning than what might happen when compared to the other storage vendors.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We didn't have a need to replace the controllers. These can be added, however, we didn't replace the controllers in any of the cages. As I understand it, that is something you can do.
The only issue with scaling up is that the pricing gets pretty high. It's not easy to get a discount for a vendor if you want to extend the box. It might be about 1000 Euros for a few terabytes and goes up pretty quickly from there.
How are customer service and technical support?
The support works very well. We deal with support from different parts of the world including Europe, Asia, and America. There are local support centers in each region. It's easy to engage the support and usually they are very proactive. I have very good feedback for support. We have had some challenges sometimes in a very few amount of cases where the parts were not delivered on time.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very straightforward. It's simple and lower models are customer installable.
What about the implementation team?
We do the physical installation for our clients. We handle the initialization of the site. We get access and do the initial configuration where we configure the storage pool, the profile, and whatever is needed there. Then we do a series of tests. Functional tests, such as failover tests, are something we do for our clients during the implementation process.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution is not expensive. Initialization is strait forward, not complicated
They have a few features that can be licensed.
What other advice do I have?
THe solution works well for small to medium-sized environment. The storage isn't enterprise-level.
I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Buyer's Guide
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Updated: September 2026
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