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Pros & Cons summary

Buyer's Guide

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Prominent pros & cons

PROS

HPE MSA offers excellent cost-to-performance value.
Valuable features include dual controllers, storage levels, and snapshot features.
It is highly scalable and easy to manage, providing scalability benefits.
The speed, performance, and automation offer significant enhancements for storage management.
Integration with Veeamware and advanced version improvements enhance backup capabilities.

CONS

HPE MSA lacks synchronized replication which is crucial for its operations.
Support contract is expensive and often not as prompt as expected, leading to delays in critical situations.
The license for HPE MSA should be integrated rather than requiring separate purchases.
Improvements in scalability and storage capacity expansion are needed, as upgrades and firmware updates can be challenging.
Data security features in HPE MSA require enhancements to meet users' requirements.
 

HPE MSA Pros review quotes

it_user476355 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Systems Engineer at Cardinal Glass
Jul 8, 2016
We've been very happy with the product, and have had good luck with them as far as not having any issues.
it_user476793 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT - Director at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Jul 10, 2016
We use the MSA outside of our data center, and it's a nice robust platform that we can use without buying a whole enterprise SAN, so it gives us the flexibility we need.
it_user482805 - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Engineer at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Jul 20, 2016
It's a great product for the price.
Learn what your peers think about HPE MSA. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2026.
884,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.
DG
Senior System Administrator at a manufacturing company with 201-500 employees
Oct 27, 2016
Was purchased as a DR solution but became our production SAN, very fast and easy to use, a great SAN for SMB's with enterprise features.
HL
Senior System Engineer at Feng Chia University
Feb 3, 2019
The cost to performance for HPE StorageWorks MSA is good.
reviewer1426899 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT MGR at a retailer with 51-200 employees
Oct 7, 2020
The most valuable features were the dual controllers and being able to expand it.
AB
Computer and Network Engineer at Jooya Informatics Group
Nov 20, 2020
The simple configuration feature is great. It is very simple, allowing you to set up MSA very easily.
AK
Head of cloud service. at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
Apr 14, 2021
The most valuable features are the storage levels and snapshot features.
MS
Manager of Customer Services at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees
Feb 10, 2021
The product is very easy to deploy.
MD
Technical Account Manager at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Jul 20, 2021
The solution is very easy to use, it is not really complex for any user, such as non-technical individuals.
 

HPE MSA Cons review quotes

it_user476355 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Systems Engineer at Cardinal Glass
Jul 8, 2016
We had a few issues with some of the firmware codes, probably about five years ago.
it_user476793 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT - Director at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Jul 10, 2016
However, we did have some issues at first but we worked through them and currently we have no issues.
it_user482805 - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Engineer at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Jul 20, 2016
It's a fairly simple product to set up as well, but it's a little bit more entry level; for those customers that can't afford something larger or whatnot, but would still like to get that shared storage or that SAN functionality.
Learn what your peers think about HPE MSA. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2026.
884,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.
DG
Senior System Administrator at a manufacturing company with 201-500 employees
Oct 27, 2016
GUI can be improved Firmware updates need improvement Hardware could use a little refinement. (The fiber ports on one controller pushed through the case causing us to replace that controller under warranty.
HL
Senior System Engineer at Feng Chia University
Feb 3, 2019
HPE StorageWorks MSA could maybe include a pay-top of texture feature or something like job replication.
reviewer1426899 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT MGR at a retailer with 51-200 employees
Oct 7, 2020
The support contract is expensive, although they are very responsive.
AB
Computer and Network Engineer at Jooya Informatics Group
Nov 20, 2020
Synchronized replication is very important for MSA; however, HPE StorageWorks MSA doesn't provide synchronized replication.
AK
Head of cloud service. at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
Apr 14, 2021
This product is getting a little bit older, so new features like deduplication are not included.
MS
Manager of Customer Services at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees
Feb 10, 2021
It would be ideal if there was a better management interface.
MD
Technical Account Manager at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Jul 20, 2021
The solution could improve by adding configuration tools.