Manager, Technical Services, IBM Storage & Backup Solutions. at Thakral
MSP
Top 5
Dec 5, 2024
Many factors affect purchasing directly from IBM, often involving a multi-step process. Customers, especially in banking, often use the latest devices as they are upgrading, indicating they do not face significant financial problems.
To install or upgrade any software features, the cost is high, which makes it challenging for smaller companies who do not require advanced features like deduplication or compression typically needed by larger organizations.
My customers got the IBM FlashSystem bundle offer. It was a one-time purchase for three years of service. The price would depend on the storage size and could reach between $25,000 to $55,000.
UNIX Security Consultant at a retailer with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Top 20
Oct 6, 2022
The pricing is competitive in our country. In some countries, IBM is the most expensive vendor but that is not the case for us. We also negotiated a 60% discount directly with IBM because we are the largest consumer of enterprise hardware in the country.
The price of IBM FlashSystem is a little high because you pay a premium because the solution is from IBM. We had paid for the SLA prior to using the solution.
Head of IT Infrastructure at a insurance company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Dec 27, 2021
The cost is pretty high in terms of licensing. We pay at least $100,000 USD in licensing fees for the storage. We have multiple types of storage, not only flash. We have the older versions of other storage and other versions of IBM flash as well. In addition, we have a maintenance contract for this product when the warranty support period expires.
The pricing may be a bit higher than other brands. If you compare the IBM FlashSystems in midrange with Dell EMC in midrange, IBM costs a bit more, but I prefer IBM because it has more specs that I can benefit from. Two years ago, we had all features installed in the midrange box without any need for extra licensing. However, lately we have features like Easy Tier and FlashCopy, which need extra licensing. We can purchase it with the box or afterward, and it's a smooth process.
BT Area Champion/Trainer at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
Real User
Feb 19, 2021
When we procure enterprise storage solutions, the license is always be bundled with the deal. There are different licenses for encryption, replication, deduplication, data reduction pools, et cetera, and all should be included in one bundle when we buy a new solution. It's part of that deal.
Deputy Chief Technology Officer at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
Real User
Jan 8, 2021
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.
Storage Manager at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Top 5
Dec 20, 2020
Among IBM, Dell EMC, and Pure Storage, IBM is the cheapest. The price is also based on our location, the size of our entity, and our regular annual purchases from them. We are a very big IBM customer, so we normally get very high discounts. We are not a big customer of Pure Storage. We don't buy that much from Pure Storage per year. Everything is included in the price. There is no extra license for different functions.
Director Technical at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Real User
Nov 16, 2020
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.
Infrastructure Architect Supervisor; Solution Delivery Supervisor at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Nov 1, 2020
The integration is already included in the license cost of IBM FlashSystem. The integration is very easy. You get the IBM storage core with all software, firmware, and upgrades. EMC provides the features in the box, but they are not free for customers. There is a licensing cost for features. We have yearly licensing, but IBM has also provided a new option where you pay as you go. They provide a big box, and I pay, for example, for 10 terabytes. If I exceed 10 terabytes, IBM will charge for the new storage after 10 terabytes. It is a good opportunity in the market for using the storage as a cloud and paying as you go.
In our case, we calculated the storage capacity and performance we would need for five years and we bought the product outright. After five years we might have to scale the product, but then we will need to invest in the upgrade. Right now I'm not paying anything because everything from support to subscription was paid upfront. Their upgrades are free as well, so we are getting new features for the product, from the website.
IT Manager at a financial services firm with 201-500 employees
Real User
Jul 10, 2019
Licensing is very straight forward for IBM Flash System and the warranty includes highest level of support conditions. The initial setup was very easy and smooth. The cost was higher than some other competitors.
Senior System & Storage Engineer at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Apr 8, 2019
- setup cost is cheap as you can do it yourself - IBM SVC licensing on non IBM back-end storage used to cost a lot in terms of licenses per shelf or even per TB. The equipment on itself is relatively cheap. Watch out for license costs !
COO at a comms service provider with 5,001-10,000 employees
Reseller
Aug 19, 2018
The pricing has been very competitive for the last few years. IBM got to the point where they changed the pricing model and we feel very comfortable with the pricing. It's very competitive. Over the last two years, IBM has been coming up with all kinds of interesting promos, especially for the SMB systems. That makes it very competitive price-wise and in terms of performance to help convince customers. It benefits both the customer and us.
IBM FlashSystem products are enterprise computer data storage systems that store data on flash memory chips. Unlike storage systems that use standard solid-state drives, IBM FlashSystem products incorporate custom hardware based on technology from the 2012 acquisition of Texas Memory Systems. This hardware provides performance, reliability, and efficiency benefits versus competitive offerings.
The pricing is high; storage solutions are always expensive. I do not know if the price needs to be reviewed, but it is worth considering.
The pricing is reasonable for IBM FlashSystem.
Many factors affect purchasing directly from IBM, often involving a multi-step process. Customers, especially in banking, often use the latest devices as they are upgrading, indicating they do not face significant financial problems.
To install or upgrade any software features, the cost is high, which makes it challenging for smaller companies who do not require advanced features like deduplication or compression typically needed by larger organizations.
The product is expensive. It costs around 150k for five years.
I rate the pricing a three out of ten. The tool is cost-efficient. The prices are good.
The solution has good pricing, but it is not cheaper.
I rate FlashSystem seven out of 10 for affordability. It's a great value for the price.
The price is a little bit high so is rated a six out of ten. There is always room for improvement on the solution's price.
I rate the pricing an eight out of ten.
The price depends of the technology that our customers need.The price can come at a lower cost but this may increase as storage is added.
My customers got the IBM FlashSystem bundle offer. It was a one-time purchase for three years of service. The price would depend on the storage size and could reach between $25,000 to $55,000.
The pricing is competitive in our country. In some countries, IBM is the most expensive vendor but that is not the case for us. We also negotiated a 60% discount directly with IBM because we are the largest consumer of enterprise hardware in the country.
The price of IBM FlashSystem is a little high because you pay a premium because the solution is from IBM. We had paid for the SLA prior to using the solution.
I price of IBM FlashSystem is reasonable and competitive.
The pricing is reasonable.
This is an expensive solution compared to other similar solutions.
The cost is pretty high in terms of licensing. We pay at least $100,000 USD in licensing fees for the storage. We have multiple types of storage, not only flash. We have the older versions of other storage and other versions of IBM flash as well. In addition, we have a maintenance contract for this product when the warranty support period expires.
The pricing may be a bit higher than other brands. If you compare the IBM FlashSystems in midrange with Dell EMC in midrange, IBM costs a bit more, but I prefer IBM because it has more specs that I can benefit from. Two years ago, we had all features installed in the midrange box without any need for extra licensing. However, lately we have features like Easy Tier and FlashCopy, which need extra licensing. We can purchase it with the box or afterward, and it's a smooth process.
The product is available on a perpetual license based on the capacity used and the features required.
The cost of the IBM FlashSystem is lower than the HPE solution.
Hi, in competitive Flash Storage situations the pricing is very agressive and good.
Overall the price of the solution is expensive and this includes the license.
The solution requires a license and could be less expensive.
You purchase it as a bundle and the price is comparable.
I find the pricing of the solution to be very reasonable.
When we procure enterprise storage solutions, the license is always be bundled with the deal. There are different licenses for encryption, replication, deduplication, data reduction pools, et cetera, and all should be included in one bundle when we buy a new solution. It's part of that deal.
Its price is very good.
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.
Among IBM, Dell EMC, and Pure Storage, IBM is the cheapest. The price is also based on our location, the size of our entity, and our regular annual purchases from them. We are a very big IBM customer, so we normally get very high discounts. We are not a big customer of Pure Storage. We don't buy that much from Pure Storage per year. Everything is included in the price. There is no extra license for different functions.
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.
The integration is already included in the license cost of IBM FlashSystem. The integration is very easy. You get the IBM storage core with all software, firmware, and upgrades. EMC provides the features in the box, but they are not free for customers. There is a licensing cost for features. We have yearly licensing, but IBM has also provided a new option where you pay as you go. They provide a big box, and I pay, for example, for 10 terabytes. If I exceed 10 terabytes, IBM will charge for the new storage after 10 terabytes. It is a good opportunity in the market for using the storage as a cloud and paying as you go.
The price is fair.
The price is good. We are also IBM partners and the give big discounts for the same product.
In our case, we calculated the storage capacity and performance we would need for five years and we bought the product outright. After five years we might have to scale the product, but then we will need to invest in the upgrade. Right now I'm not paying anything because everything from support to subscription was paid upfront. Their upgrades are free as well, so we are getting new features for the product, from the website.
Licensing is very straight forward for IBM Flash System and the warranty includes highest level of support conditions. The initial setup was very easy and smooth. The cost was higher than some other competitors.
- setup cost is cheap as you can do it yourself - IBM SVC licensing on non IBM back-end storage used to cost a lot in terms of licenses per shelf or even per TB. The equipment on itself is relatively cheap. Watch out for license costs !
The pricing has been very competitive for the last few years. IBM got to the point where they changed the pricing model and we feel very comfortable with the pricing. It's very competitive. Over the last two years, IBM has been coming up with all kinds of interesting promos, especially for the SMB systems. That makes it very competitive price-wise and in terms of performance to help convince customers. It benefits both the customer and us.