IBM FlashSystem Reviews

We are using IBM FlashSystem as a storage system for core banking operations.

IBM FlashSystem has improved our company. We run multiple reports for management and it would take more than 12 reports sometimes and more than 18 hours to complete. With IBM FlashSystem the report takes two hours or less than a two-hour on a rotation. We can get our reports very quickly and this is something very valuable to our management.

The performance of IBM FlashSystem is very good. The new technology and high throughput have given us more confidence in the solution. The management of the system has improved and we can control the monitoring system alerts and multiple FlashSystems with the Enterprise Cloud Edition, which is free. The migration of recently stored data to a new flash is much easier. You can move your data because you can utilize it externally. Additionally, the front menu of the FlashSystem is very user-friendly and easy to understand.

I have been using IBM FlashSystem for approximately one year.

The solution is highly stable. We did not receive any errors in the two years since we have been using them. We had one occasion when we had to call IBM for a replacement flashcard, otherwise, we did not have and performance impact or any issue with the FlashSystem.

IBM FlashSystem is scalable as per our organization's requirements. We have also upgraded the capacity after two years and it is working fine and it was quite easy to add more capacity to the existing pool. We can use the same capacity to increase the existing two drives or for the new workload.

I work for medium to large enterprises which use this solution.

The technical support in my region is satisfactory but it could improve. Support is very important for customers and downtime is very critical for us. We would like onsite or complete technical support which can help us to minimize our downtime or if problems occur.

The initial setup was straightforward.

I did the implementation myself.

I rate IBM FlashSystem an eight out of ten.

The solution can be used for backing up data, such as in databases and local clouds.

One of the valuable features is the performance, it is one of the best in the market.

I have been involved with IBM FlashSystem for approximately four years.

The solution is stable.

I would recommend this solution.

IBM FlashSystem can expand very well, it is scalable.

The technical support is very good.

The installation is not easy. You need to have extensive knowledge to handle it.

We have a team of three engineers that do the implementation.

Overall the price of the solution is expensive and this includes the license.

I rate IBM FlashSystem a nine out of ten. 

We use this solution for database system storage in our organization.

The most valuable features are flexibility and performance.

The Data Reduction Pools (DRP) support could be better.

I have been using this solution for many years.

The solution is stable.

I have found the solution to be scalable.

We have approximately 1,000 users using the solution in my organization. 

The installation is straightforward. The solution is delivered with an operating system, which can be updated in about half an hour. 

We did the implementation ourselves.

We have 10 technicians that do the maintenance for the solution.

The solution requires a license and could be less expensive.

I recommend this solution to others.

I rate IBM FlashSystem a nine out of ten.

I am an IBM reseller and I sell this solution to our clients. I have a lot of knowledge of this solution.

Our clients use this solution for database performance.

The most valuable feature is reliability.

Cloud file sharing is an area that needs improvement.

I have been selling this solution since it was released.

We sell the whole model, the entire line.

IBM FlashSytem is very stable.

This solution is very scalable. We have no issues with the scalability of the IBM FlashSystem.

Technical support is complicated.

The technical support can be improved. it should be more automated.

The initial setup is straightforward. 

It is well documented.

You purchase it as a bundle and the price is comparable.

I would rate IBM FlashSystem a nine out of ten.

We use it for data reduction technology. We are using this solution on-premises, and we are also providing services to customers.

I like most of the features. Its speed, performance, and availability are valuable. We are implementing the data reduction technology the most.

Their technical support needs improvement in terms of reachability for the clients and response times. They should be more responsive and have more online platforms for support. 

They should make more technical information available online. There could be some kind of documentation community.

I have been using this solution for three or four years.

It is stable.

We are only using one box or enclosure for now. We don't have experience with scaling the systems. Our companies here don't need big systems for now.

Their technical support needs improvement.

The initial setup is very simple.

Its price is very good.

I would recommend this solution. I would rate IBM FlashSystem an eight out of ten.

The solution is like a storage device that is for our old organized cloud infrastructure. We are using it as storage for all our databases, for the data we are preparing for in developing our own applications, or for running some infrastructure services. 

The solution is very flexible.

It's a very fast product. It's not slow in any way.

The product is very, very easy to configure.

The installation is nice and easy.

The stability of the solution isn't great. We have had a lot of issues with discs over the years.

There should be better integration with utilization platforms.

The pricing needs to be more competitive.

I've basically been using the solution for ten years or so.

It isn't really stable per se. We've had some problems over the years. We experienced some problems with the backplane, from what I recall. There were issues switching the discs. We had a lot of issues with discs. Of course, the problems didn't really happen in production.

We have about 100 users on the solution currently.

We've dealt with technical support in the past and we were satisfied with their level of service. However, we no longer pay for support. We have enough knowledgeable people in house to handle everything.

We are actually in the process of changing solutions. We're going to switch to Lenovo's DE4000.

The initial setup was not complex at all. It's pretty straightforward and easy to handle.

The deployment was very fast as well and may have only taken about a day or two.

We had a team of three that handled everything. They don't just handle the storage, however. They're handling the servers and network as well.

We didn't need to use a consultant when we were implementing the solution. We did everything in-house and with our own internal teams.

We initially paid for licenses and support for I don't remember how many years. Later on, if you want to extend the support you needed to pay for the license. However, due to the fact that we are rather experienced, we decided we didn't need to renew the support.

Currently, on the market, I see a lot of different vendors who are offering the same functionalities or even better options for the same or less money. They should try to be more competitive.

Overall, I would rate the solution at a six out of ten. If it was less expensive and a bit more stable, I would likely rate it higher.

We use the FlashSystem to store our company data that is used in production systems.

The maintenance service and support from IBM is very good.

It could be easier to implement.

This is an expensive product and if the price were reduced it would be better.

We have been using the IBM FlashSystem for a few years.

This is absolutely a stable product. However, we will probably not continue to use it in the future. One of the reasons for wanting to switch is the price. Also, technology is evolving and we will probably adopt a hyper-converged solution.

This storage solution is scalable. It is used in production and not directly linked to users. It runs various routines and batches, although the developers and IT interact with this. Together, this is about 50 people.

Technical support from IBM is very good.

We did not use another similar product prior to this one.

The initial setup is quite complex. To get it in place and configured took about one week.

We deployed with the help of an integrator.

There are three administrators who handle the routine maintenance and the hardware is well maintained by IBM.

In summary, this is a good product and I absolutely recommend it.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

We are solution providers. We deploy solutions around VMware. Typically we deploy data protection, and disaster recovery of workloads in the cloud, and on-premises.

If I need to know about a platform or the base platform on which I'm working, I try to read up on their model. We are also storage integrators and solution providers.

The primary use case is for storage, enterprise workloads, and databases.

The V5000, and the V7000, both are equally good.

Over the years, it has become increasingly user-friendly.

There is always room for improvement, but IBM is less interested in on-premise storage or on-premises solutions going forward. 

They're highly focused on the cloud. I don't see IBM being a very major player, the way that they used to be because they are moving away from this and are trying to move all their customers to the cloud.

Nothing really comes to mind for needing improvement. Some years ago, there would have been an answer to what could be better about this product, but nowadays, virtually all of the companies are meeting all of the features.

More and more, we would like to see how it's easier for the solutions to be bought by the customer more on a pay-per-use basis. That is certainly an improvement.

The customer's expectations are what they get on the cloud, they're expecting even in the on-premises deployments, going forward. 

They want to pay-per-use and not own and get stuck with what they're buying. 

They want flexibility.

IBM does that in a few products, but then more and more you see the business model changing towards that. We'd like to see that in all IBM products.

We have been a services and deployment company for more than 30 years.

We've worked across the board with the various solutions across various vendors.

It's very, very stable, and we have never had issues.

It's extremely scalable. There are no limitations, because of the profile of the customers they work with. 

Most of their boxes are highly scalable to meet that requirement and the scaling is pretty straightforward. 

There's no rip and replace. It's a very scalable tool.

Previously, I had experience with Hitachi SAN.

The suitability of either solution depends on the use case. If you talk about modular storage virtually from any company, they will have solutions which more or less do the same thing. 

There will be a competing model at each bracket of requirements. When you talk about storage hardware, you can't really say which is better, or which is worse. 

You can talk about reliability and support, or you can talk about how good it is in a particular geography. But, this is not like Mercedes Benz is a good car and the Fiat is not, it doesn't work like that.

We find the initial setup to be fairly straightforward because we understand the technology.

We do this as service delivery, so we understand that we have trained ourselves in it.

It can take half a day to get the initial things up and running.

In today's world, nothing is reasonable because the customer's budgets are thinking on a daily basis. 

They've been much more aggressive in the last five or six years than they were before that.

They are more realistic.

My basic advice is to work with partners who really understand what they're talking about. Anybody who sells one of these boxes doesn't necessarily have the capability to supply or support them. Be very clear that you're dealing with organizations that have the experience to actually deploy and support you. 

That would be what is critical. Because it's not something that we just rack it up and switch it on and it works. There are many things involved. 

Also, initially, before purchasing, the sizing is very critical. There has to be enough time spent on performance metrics, analyzing the workload requirements, and things like that.

Before the purchase and after the purchase and the deployment, there needs to be quite a bit of involvement. This is why I would advise the customer to work with partners of IBM or Hitachi. 

Whoever you're talking about, and who has experience. Not somebody who just comes and says, "I'll do anything, and for the price, I'll give you the best deal." 

The best deal is not always the best deal. 

Once you buy it and it doesn't work for you, ultimately you are paying more.

I would rate IBM XIV and eight out of ten.