Pure Storage FlashArray vs. Pure Storage FlashBlade

Pure Storage Flashblade and Pure Storage FlashArray are both storage solutions used by businesses to allow for affordable, scalable storage for business data.  Pure Storage FlashBlade is an Object Storage software built to store files and objects in a blade architecture that can be accessed by servers.  Pure Storage FlashArray is an Enterprise Flash Array Solution that compresses files to store for access from servers.  PureStorage FlashArray is most popular with mid-sized businesses, while Pure Storage FlashBlade is most popular with larger enterprises.

Features

Pure Storage FlashBlade and Pure Storage FlashArray are both all flash storage solutions, but they have some unique features that set them apart from each other. 

Pure Storage FlashBlade provides support for large amounts of data storage and analysis, which makes it a popular choice for larger enterprises.  Additionally, implementation and management of Pure Storage FlashBlade is simple, allowing new users to get their storage set up easily, with dashboards to provide information about their storage solution.  Additionally, storage backups are simple to set up, and data restoration is efficient.

Pure Storage FlashArray includes data compression and deduplication, allowing Pure Storage arrays to hold larger amounts of data then one would normally expect in a single array.  In addition to storing large amounts of data, Pure Storage FlashArray also has high reliability, with many users stating they never experienced unplanned downtime.  Lastly, Pure Storage FlashArray offers high speed and performance in virtual environments.

Limitations

Pure Storage FlashBlade and Pure Storage FlashArray both provide storage solutions, but they also have some limitations that are important to consider.

Pure Storage FlashBlade has limited replication features, which can be a problem for businesses seeking to replicate large amounts of data.  Additionally, Pure Storage FlashBlade doesn’t include block-level deduplication.

Pure Storage FlashArray provides an API for building integrations with other software, but there aren’t many connectors out of the box.  Businesses with many needed integrations may need to consider other options if they aren’t comfortable building out integrations. 

Pricing

Pure Storage FlashBlade and FlashArray both offer free trials businesses can use to see if the solutions will work for them before making a purchasing decision.  Detailed pricing for either solution is not available online, but businesses can reach out to the vendor for an exact quote.