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IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe pros and cons

Vendor: IBM

4.4 out of 5

21 reviews
95% willing to recommend

Pros & Cons summary

IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe is valued for its speed and reliability in high-traffic environments. Its unique architecture and predictable four-year battery life enhance its appeal, especially among small Israeli companies. Despite cost concerns and lacking built-in replication and file systems, it excels in high I/O operations. Users seek improvements in deduplication, compression, and support for backup tape drives to manage via a single interface, challenging its reputation for high availability and efficiency.

Buyer's Guide

Get pricing advice, tips, use cases and valuable features from real users of this product.

Prominent pros & cons

PROS

IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe is renowned for its speed and high performance, which significantly improves overall processes.

The architecture of IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe features unique flash modules with computational capability, enhancing reliability and capacity, leading to a highly stable system.

IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe boasts a predictable maintenance cycle with a reliable four-year battery life, contrasting with other solutions that may cause unexpected downtime.

The snapshot feature of IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe is highly valuable and utilized daily across storage units.

IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe is offered at a low cost in certain regions, providing an advantage for small companies.

CONS

The pricing of IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe should be more competitive.

IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe needs improvement in deduplication and compression features.

Users are looking for replication functionality to be built directly in IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe, without needing separate devices.

IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe lacks integrated support for connecting backup tape drives, adding complexity for users.

IBM's support is reported as unsatisfactory, with difficulties faced in product identification and assistance.

IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe Pros review quotes

reviewer1364211

Senior Client Specialist at a tech services company with 201-500 employees

Jul 5, 2020

The most valuable feature is the speed.

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GS

General Manager at SinergyHard Ecuador

Oct 21, 2020

The high performance and high availability improved our overall processes.

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Information Technology Senior Administrator at Genpa

Nov 12, 2020

It's easy to use, has good stability, and many features.

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IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe

Free Report: IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe Reviews and More

Learn what your peers think about IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2026.

881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Consulting Client Executive at Jeskell Systems, LLC

Feb 10, 2022

A key feature is that compared to storage systems that we've been familiar with over decades, IBM simply does not fail. The reason is that IBM is the only manufacturer that engineers its own flash module, and there is a key architectural difference from everything else that we have seen in the market. The difference is that the flash module has the computational capability, which allows reliability and capacity enhancements to be uploaded from the main controllers and run in each module. So, each of the flash drives becomes its own little storage system, and that is extremely effective architecture. In this field, with this type of system, IBM has made a statement. They've never had one of these modules cause an outage. So, the failure rates on these things are just in a whole different universe from what we were accustomed to.

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Team Lead IT Infrastructure & Datacenter at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees

Jul 19, 2022

Good performance with a user-friendly UI.

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Microfinance at a consultancy with 11-50 employees

Jan 18, 2023

The most valuable features of IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe are its steady performance and usefulness in high-traffic environments.

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AN

Anslim Narinesingh

Directors at NYCO Solutions Ltd

Jan 31, 2023

There are many valuable features of IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMele I have found to meet my needs. Specifically, the maintenance cycle is a standout feature of this solution. The main component of the IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe is the maintenance of the batteries, which have a predetermined and reliable four-year life cycle. This is in stark contrast to other solutions that may use spinning disks, which can fail unexpectedly, causing unwanted downtime and maintenance. Having a predictable maintenance cycle is a significant advantage and has made this solution a preferred choice for me.

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AA

System & Information Security Section Head at Ragab Son's

Feb 21, 2023

The solution is more available for IOPS warehousing, resolving issues, and reporting than other products.

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Information Technology Senior Administrator at Genpa

Mar 27, 2023

The most valuable feature of IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe is the snapshot. We use it daily for all of the storage units.

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Product Manager at Hiperdist Ltd

Apr 4, 2023

IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe is one of the leading storage systems in the world...I rate the solution's stability a ten out of ten.

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IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe Cons review quotes

reviewer1364211

Senior Client Specialist at a tech services company with 201-500 employees

Jul 5, 2020

The pricing should be more competitive.

Read full review

GS

General Manager at SinergyHard Ecuador

Oct 21, 2020

Other vendors have included a block and file system. IBM doesn't include a file system. And yet, it's very necessary for all organizations' networks to have file systems. We have other systems for the file system, however, ideally, we would like to have one system with these features.

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Information Technology Senior Administrator at Genpa

Nov 12, 2020

IBM's support is not good. I experienced a big problem where I opened the console IBM Storage and would see that something was broken. I called the call centers, and I said, "I have a problem. My drive is not working." They want me to give them the serial number, I gave it to them and they told me "I cannot find your product. Your product is not here."

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IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe

Free Report: IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe Reviews and More

Learn what your peers think about IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2026.

881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Consulting Client Executive at Jeskell Systems, LLC

Feb 10, 2022

I'd like to be able to connect to tape drives behind the storage device to back up the tape if need be. We have all of our storage running in all-flash, and we make a copy on tape. Currently, when we want to hook up tape drives, we have to add some extra equipment, which is a little bit complex. We want IBM to add a feature where we could install a tape into the storage so that we can connect it through a single pane of glass. We'd like to have a feature in the IBM flash storage system so that we can connect backup tape drives through the IBM storage system and we can manage the backup tape from the storage system.

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Team Lead IT Infrastructure & Datacenter at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees

Jul 19, 2022

Deduplication and compression should be improved.

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Microfinance at a consultancy with 11-50 employees

Jan 18, 2023

In the future, the limitation is upgrading the same storage by adding a shelf to the desk. There is a limitation in the backend connection between the storage and extended shelf.

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AN

Anslim Narinesingh

Directors at NYCO Solutions Ltd

Jan 31, 2023

There is a tool provided by IBM for repairing batteries which can only be utilized by those who have an IBM technical advisor under service contract. However, for individuals who do not have such a contract, the tool can be difficult to use and requires a zip file copy. I believe that it would be greatly beneficial if the tool were made more user-friendly and accessible for all individuals who need to repair batteries.

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AA

System & Information Security Section Head at Ragab Son's

Feb 21, 2023

The ZIO interface could be improved.

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Information Technology Senior Administrator at Genpa

Mar 27, 2023

The efficacy of the GUI in IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe could be enhanced, and it would be beneficial to include a feature that can prevent ransomware attacks.

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Product Manager at Hiperdist Ltd

Apr 4, 2023

IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe is currently at the end of its lifespan and will soon become obsolete in the markets.

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Product Categories

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Product Categories

Product Categories

NVMe All-Flash Storage Arrays

All-Flash Storage

Popular Comparisons

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Dell PowerStore vs IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe

Pure Storage FlashArray vs IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe

NetApp AFF vs IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe

HPE Alletra Storage vs IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe

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Dell PowerMax vs IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe

Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform vs IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe

Huawei OceanStor Dorado vs IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe

HPE Primera vs IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe

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