Although hardware differences among competing arrays are important, the key differences between many storage systems tend to have to do with software. For example, in contrast with some other products, with the Storwize V7000 storage virtualization is a built-in feature, not added on. That in conjunction with thin provisioning, a form of virtualization, leads to easier administration and improved utilization of disk storage.
Note that the Storwize V7000 relies on virtualization technology from its flagship SAN Volume Controller (SVC). The Storwize V7000 also offers Easy Tier which enables the use of solid state drives to cost effectively improve performance of data-intensive tasks and applications. In addition, advanced software, including mirroring and snapshot capabilities for high availability and disaster recovery protection, are pre-installed on the Storwize V7000 and ready to use.
Moreover, with the exception of global mirroring, these advanced V7000 features are "freely" included in the base system and price, which is not necessarily true for many competitors' products. This is good for two reasons. First, it helps make the product's total cost of ownership (TCO) more attractive. Secondly, customers can gain the use of advanced features without having to make separate purchase decisions and maybe having to forgo the use of functionality that they may not need when they purchases the storage array but could make use of in the future.
Just one more point to illustrate the details that went into the design of the Storwize V7000. One claim that virtually all storage vendors make is for better manageability or ease of use and a key element of manageability is the user interface. Although a graphical user interface (GUI) is generally preferable to a command line interface (CLI) (except for certain hardcore technical gurus), true ease of use depends on the functionality available in the GUI. To that point, the degree of navigational difficulty to take advantage of that functionality varies greatly from vendor to vendor. The Storwize V7000 has adopted IBM's XIV GUI, which is a very good decision given the enthusiasm of XIV customers for its features.
All in all, while terms like scalability, efficiency, and manageability seem to be used by all vendors, digging in deeply can help one understand their importance in IBM's design of the Storwize V7000. Disclaimer: IBM is currently a client of David Hill and the Mesabi Group.
