HPE SimpliVity Reviews

HPE SimpliVity is mainly used for virtualized environments.

The most valuable features of SimpliVity are the built-in backup and immunity to ransomware.

I have been using HPE SimpliVity for approximately four years.

When it comes to virtualization, SimpliVity is based on VMware, and VMware is more stable than other solutions, such as Hyper-V.

I would recommend this solution to others.

We have approximately 10 customers using this solution.

The technical support has been good. They know a lot of information and are helpful.

The installation is quite easy but it could still be improved.

You have to have the environment set up correctly before the installation of SimpliVity, such as vCenter Server and AD. If you have the environment configured then the installation is approximately 45 minutes.

We have approximately five engineers that do the implementation and maintenance of the solution.

The solution is priced high. However, there are plenty of features as part of the package that other solutions do not have.

The solution comes with the VMware license that you need, but you can also buy the license outside of the initial purchase.

The features SimpliVity has there is no other solution in the market that can match it.

I rate HPE SimpliVity a nine out of ten.

We are resellers. We provide HPE products to our customers.

This solution is used with UDI, HCI, the hybrid cloud, Microsoft Azure, and other Microsoft products.

The most valuable features of this solution are the backup rate and the backup transfer.

You don't have to purchase any other licenses other than Microsoft or for VMware, everything is included in your box.

Your backup and transfer time is less. You can move one TB of VM data in one minute, which is one of SimpliVity's benefits.

In my experience, the only improvement that can be made is the price. It is much more costly than other solutions such as VxRail.

We would like to provide our customers with a virtual demo and have not been able to find this available. We don't have access to show the demo virtually to our customers or partners. This is lacking in this sector. We are not able to provide hands-on experience.

The centric management could be simplified or more user-friendly. Customers require an easier way to handle any product.

I have been selling this solution for two years.

We always register our clients with the newest versions.

For stability, our customers prefer on-premises solutions, but they can also deploy the hybrid cloud, which allows them to instantly transfer from on-premises to the cloud.

This solution is quite stable. We have not found any issues with stability to remote to our customers.

HPE SimpliVity is easy to scale.

We have been in contact with technical support when we have had some issues. We have always received answers in a timely fashion.

VxRail is the only competitor, no other product comes near HPE SimpliVity.

The initial setup is straightforward. It's simple. 

Maintenance is required because it is complex. You are getting your storage, the server, and the networking protocol in one box. It requires a few technical engineers, otherwise, you can manage this product after the installation. 

We provide our customers with a demo in our data center and an hour per day.

It's a costly solution and is more expensive than VxRail.

When you compare with other competitors, such as Cisco HyperFlex, it is much more expensive than SimpliVity. In the rankings, Cisco is seventh and SimpliVity comes in fifth.

Many customers are using this solution and have said that it comes down to the price. Otherwise, it's a good product.

This product is not suitable for small companies as they don't require this much. Unless they have 20 to 30 lakhs (two to three million), it would be better suited for medium to large companies.

I would recommend this solution to others who are interested in using it.

I would rate HPE SimpliVity a ten out of ten.

We use it for servers, like the domain controller, DHCP, print server, file server, and distribution server as well as application servers.

We like the backup feature, which is inbuilt. This means that we didn't require an additional storage device. Everything is backed up in a single box and that always makes it easy to manage.

I think the licensing cost could be lower.

I've been using HPE SimpliVity for more than two years.

HPE SimpliVity is definitely a stable solution.

I think it is scalable.

I have found technical support to be good and have appreciated their immediate response.

The initial setup was straightforward.

We currently have a yearly license, and I think the cost could be lower.

If you go with a single node only, then you may encounter some issues if you don't have any backup nodes. However, if you go with at least two nodes, then you will be able to manage a disaster well.

If one of the nodes goes down, then the server and data center will be moved to another node. This will ensure that you don't lose anything.

I am very satisfied with HPE SimpliVity and would rate it at ten, on a scale from one to ten.

We use it for our production system. We have many production systems.

It has helped us a lot. HPE SimpliVity reduces the administrative tasks for the system admin. It doesn't require many people for support. One or two guys are enough.

The feature that I like the most is the backup feature embedded inside the HPE SimpliVity. When we have any activity, within five minutes, we have a backup. It also has PDR for performing disaster recovery.

We had some hardware compatibility issues with the earlier versions of HPE SimpliVity. We upgraded to the latest version a few months ago, and since then, there is no hardware failure, and it is better.

They don't provide a portal to create a ticket directly for the HPE SimpliVity. We have a web portal to create a ticket when we have an issue, but for HPE SimpliVity, we need to call the local vendor for support. If they are not able to resolve the issue, they contact the global support, which takes more time.

Technology is moving very fast, and everybody nowadays is focusing on the cloud base. In the future, they should integrate it with the cloud base for the backup.

I have been using this solution for two years.

It has good stability.

It is easy to scale. We have more than 2,000 users.

We contact a local vendor for support. If they are not able to resolve the issue, they contact the global support, which takes time.

We used vSAN for the VMware solution.

The initial setup is complex. It is not easy like other solutions such as Windows Server. You need to have enough knowledge to set up SimpliVity. Your normal staff won't be able to do it. Only someone with experience and knowledge of SimpliVity can set it up. Each phase of deployment took around two hours.

We have a local consultant and a vendor. We work directly with the vendor. If there is any issue, they resolve it, but it can take time because if they aren't able to resolve it on their own, they have to create a ticket with global support. For its maintenance, we have two people.

We are seeing a return on investment.

The licensing is on a yearly basis. The licensing cost also includes vCenter at a cost in the cloud solution.

It is a good solution. It is a good hyper-converged solution as compared to other solutions like Cisco or Dell because they don't embed software inside the solution. SimpliVity is more useful for us because, during the month-to-month activity, it provides good features to back up, install, and roll back everything.

I would rate HPE SimpliVity an eight out of ten.

We have about 45 virtual servers running for the company. These include file servers, SQL servers, public safety, GIS, Exchange, and all other applications used by a local government.

The whole backup and recovery capability. We are able to create full backups and restore full backups in typically 40 to 50 seconds. This has been a great feature.

The deduplication is resulting in a data reduction ratio of 290:1 at the moment.

The interface is fairly user-friendly.

Prior to the latest release, it was a real pain to upgrade SimpliVity. First, the host server had to be upgraded with the latest drivers, followed by an upgrade of the OmniStack controller software, and lastly, an upgrade of the VMware ESXi software. Each of the three steps were done independently and the process took 2 to 3 hours per node. Starting with the 4.0 Release, an Upgrade Manager orchestrates the whole process and greatly simplifies it. It still takes 2+ hours per node, however.

We have been using SimpliVity for about two years.

SimpliVity has been very stable. We've had no downtime.

Scalability is something that needs to be improved because if you need more storage then you have to add more nodes. You can't just add more disks to it.

We have about 250 users.

We've had a few instances where we've had to work with HPE support and they've resolved everything very quickly. We've had zero downtime.

The initial setup was fairly straightforward.

We had HPE implement and deploy the product for us. We purchased it from a local HPE partner and they set the whole thing up.

We bought this solution as a package that included all of the hardware and all of the software.

We evaluated options from Dell, IBM, Nutanix, Scale, and others before choosing SimpliVity.

In summary, this is a good solution aside from the issues with scalability and improving the ease of upgrading. The upgradability has improved but it's still far from simply clicking a link and it automatically upgrades. It's not quite that simple yet, but it's getting there.

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

With SimpliVity, we can easily deploy multiple solutions, including storage, and allocate servers as needed. It's quite versatile.

I like the expandability of the solution. We can effortlessly grow the storage and resources without downtime.

The installation process could be simplified. It's a bit technical for non-IT users. 

So, the deployment could be simpler. 

I have been using it for one and a half years. 

I would rate the stability a ten out of ten. I faced no issues with stability. 

I would rate the scalability a nine out of ten. There are around nine end users in our company using this solution. 

The customer service and support are okay. Compared to Cisco, there is a big difference. Cisco has dedicated engineers. Cisco throws everything at it. An engineer will always be there, which is better.

Positive

Cisco's more about immediate support, like calling them. But HPE SimpliVity is a set-and-forget solution. Once you configure it, it runs itself. 

Cisco requires human intervention for management.

The initial setup was complicated for me. It took me a couple of weeks to deploy the solution.

The pricing is very high. I would rate the pricing a five out of ten, where one is high price, and ten is low price. Pricing is another point for improvement. 

I evaluated VxRail. 

Overall, I would rate the solution a nine out of ten. 

We use it for HCI and backup. 

The solution is simple to use and has the ability to do online backup. Our customers can view the list from ransomware. 

One thing that I would like to see improved is the flexibility of the node expansion. Currently, you have to match the same storage capacity and performance when you expand a node. This can be a challenge if you need to add more storage or performance to an existing cluster.

I have been using this solution for two years. 

It is a stable solution.

It is a scalable solution. However, you will need to add the same number of storage pods and compute nodes to each node.

The main reason customers choose this solution is the fast backup and recovery capabilities.  

It is easy to set up the solution.

We use the deployment manager to deploy the HCI node. The same deployment manager handled the deployment through the federation. It took around two hours. Around two people were involved in the process.

The solution is set up on VMware, so it is easy to maintain. 

If the customers deploy the new HCI solution with backup, then it is cheaper. 

The pricing is competitive. I would rate the pricing a seven out of ten, where one is a reasonable price, and ten is the most unreasonable pricing. There are no additional fees.

I would recommend using this solution if you are looking for an HCI solution with fast backup and performance.

Overall, I would rate the solution an eight out of ten.

We use this product when our customers need software protection, built-in backup, and an NDR solution. I'm a solutions specialist. 

The built-in backup and quick restore are good features. In general, the technology is very robust. 

If I want to upgrade any hardware components or make any changes to the hardware configuration, there are a lot of parameters I need to consider with respect to HP security. If I want to upgrade, I sometimes have to replace the box or add a new server to the environment or setup. It's a limitation of HP connectivity.

I've been using this solution for three years. 

For small and medium-sized businesses the scalability is fine. There are likely to be issues in large environments and it requires extra planning.

The technical support is good. They take on end-to-end responsibility for our Hypervisor as well as HPE components and security software. It's a good combination because both the hardware and software are supported by a single entity. 

We sometimes face challenges during the initial setup. Once the setup is completed everything is stable. HP has its own customization and deployment process. In theory, it's pretty simple. It's essential to have a properly configured network for successful completion of the deployment. Including the network configuration, implementation can be completed in less than two days. It just requires a certified engineer to complete the installation.

Licensing is slightly more expensive in comparison to the competition but I think SimpliVity provides very good value. 

I think SimpliVity has an edge over other solutions when it comes to the package as a whole.

I recommend Simplivity. It helps organizations implement their business applications and it provides a robust infrastructure to run a business. 

I rate this solution 10 out of 10.