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Cisco UCS B-Series vs Lenovo Flex System comparison

Cisco and Lenovo are both solutions in the Blade Servers category. Cisco is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.3, while Lenovo is ranked #11 with an average rating of 8.7. Cisco holds a 8.8% mindshare in Blade Servers, compared to Lenovo’s 3.1% mindshare. Additionally, 98% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Lenovo users who would recommend it.
Cisco UCS B-Series
Read 73 Cisco UCS B-Series reviews
  • 1,334 Views
  • 941 Comparison Views
98% willing to recommend
Lenovo Flex System
Read 10 Lenovo Flex System reviews
  • 394 Views
  • 264 Comparison Views
100% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 3, 2025

Cisco UCS B-Series and Lenovo Flex System compete in the server systems category, with each known for scalability and performance. Cisco gains the upper hand in integration with virtualization and centralized management, whereas Lenovo is noted for user-friendly features and resource expansion.

Features: Cisco UCS B-Series offers scalability, virtualization integration, and centralized management capabilities, enhancing memory capacity and port reduction. Lenovo Flex System is praised for high performance, stability, and a robust storage system, allowing extensive resource consumption before upgrades.

Room for Improvement: Cisco UCS B-Series requires significant technical expertise, with users wanting easier initial setup and management interfaces, reporting high power consumption and complex licensing. Lenovo Flex System could benefit from enhanced management application integration and increased platform flexibility, with some integration challenges and a need for improved customer support.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco UCS B-Series supports diverse cloud models, with highly rated technical support known for quick responses and knowledgeability. On the other hand, Lenovo Flex System is more focused on on-premises deployment, facing some gaps in support services despite efficient issue resolution.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco UCS B-Series is perceived as expensive, yet the high cost is offset by reliability and ROI, saving on operational and maintenance expenses. Lenovo Flex System is competitively priced and offers significant resource expansion, aligning with user expectations for value and performance.

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To learn more, read our detailed Cisco UCS B-Series vs. Lenovo Flex System Report (Updated: April 2025).
Buyer's Guide
Cisco UCS B-Series vs. Lenovo Flex System
April 2025
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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco UCS B-Series
Ranking in Blade Servers
4th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
73
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Lenovo Flex System
Ranking in Blade Servers
11th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Blade Servers category, the mindshare of Cisco UCS B-Series is 8.8%, down from 10.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Lenovo Flex System is 3.1%, up from 2.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Blade Servers
 

Featured Reviews

Filip Kopecký - PeerSpot reviewer
A highly stable and secure solution that has a straightforward setup
We are running many applications for a logistics provider. We do the storing of goods for our partners and transport and so on The most valuable features of the solution are stability and security. The solution’s pricing could be improved and made cheaper. I have been using Cisco UCS B-Series…
Read full review
Syed Ibrahim - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides a high initial ceiling before upscaling is required, user-friendly and rich in resources, but has occasional stability issues
The solution should come with cloud native applications to prepare for cloud based solutions. Forced restarts due to free upgrades is an issue that needs to be resolved. We can manage this as we have high availability and redundancy, but without that it could be a real problem. The level of customer support needs to be improved. There is currently an issue with Lenovo switching out SAN switches from the chassis, which will cause problems for people who already have a set up with the SAN switch connected to the central storage. This could require an entirely different network, adding an additional cost for the user.
Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"I can connect Cisco UCS B-Series to multiple chassis and rack servers using a unified platform, then manage them on a single console."
"The most valuable features are monitoring and processing, which can handle a lot of throughput and are more powerful than the HPE series."
"The scalability and easy management of the lifecycle, upgrades, and hardware failures are valuable."
"The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that it is easily scalable."
"Dell has a huge portfolio of products."
"The Cisco solution provides a unified dashboard which enhances virtualization tasks, allowing configurations from a single interface. It also helps with space and power management, which are vital for data center efficiency."
"The most valuable features of the solution are stability and security."
"Great security and functionality."
More Cisco UCS B-Series pros
"The most valuable feature of the Lenovo Flex System is the storage system."
"One of the most valuable features of this solution is its ease of use."
"The functionality is reliable and requires minimal support."
"The initial setup is straightforward."
"We use the solution as a compute model to run the compute load on servers."
"The Lenovo Flex System is very stable."
"The stability and speed are always good. The processor is good and it's still working with our loads."
"It comes at a good price. We didn't face any problems with this product."
More Lenovo Flex System pros
 

Cons

"Cisco is expensive and difficult to manage. The product is not intuitive. It also needs to improve storage management and upgrades."
"The pricing could be less."
"The main issue with this solution is that it is quite vendor-restricted, meaning that when we use third party software, we cannot use all of the available configuration tools or pre-validated design features."
"This product uses a converged network adapter because it is the only way to provide flexibility with both fiber and ethernet connections."
"The UCS manager interface needs to be cleaned up a bit and can be streamlined, but no major complaints."
"The solution is difficult to set up."
"There is a delay in the product's reporting and the rebooting system compared to servers from other vendors."
"We have to have Java to manage the infrastructure. It would be great if we can manage the infrastructure through a web browser."
More Cisco UCS B-Series cons
"The solution could improve by providing more integration with other platforms."
"The most valuable feature of the Lenovo Flex System is the storage system."
"I had some difficulties with the initial setup."
"Flex System's integration with the XClarity Management System could be improved."
"It does not have the same module flexibility that was present in IBM Blade. On the Blade System, I was able to choose between the Cisco module, or BMC module. Since the switch to Lenovo, I have not had the same choice of modules, only the BMC modules."
"The solution's firmware and driver upgrades are a bit difficult."
"The product could improve its integration capabilities."
"The user-interface needs improvement, because they have an application from which we have to manage the whole system and all the infrastructure. This application is not working at our premises, because of some problem with the hardware itself. So although we brought it with our systems, and we used it to manage all the systems: the storage, the switches, and everything, nevertheless we have to support every part alone and enter the interface in one-by-one."
More Lenovo Flex System cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cisco products are at the high end in terms of cost, but everything is included with the licensing fees."
"Cisco UCS B-Series is not a cheap solution."
"The licensing cost is a little bit expensive because by default, it depends on your fabric interconnect model. Most of the time, however, Cisco provides a lot of promotions to the customers, so the cost can be waived for many projects. The price of the chassis itself is fair."
"There is a need to pay towards the licensing costs of the solution on a yearly basis. Price-wise, it is an expensive product"
"Cisco UCS does not require a license. However, this license is not specific to users."
"The product cost is high."
"From a business point of view, the price is on the higher end."
"It is highly-priced."
More Cisco UCS B-Series pricing and cost advice
"There is a one-off payment to buy the equipment and the support is purchased annually."
"The is an annual license cost to use the Lenovo Flex System. If the price was less expensive and flexible overall and for additional features, our customers would be happier."
"We are just paying the operational cost, which is not much."
"We have the whole maintenance for the 3 years, starting the deployment. We also have the VMware license for 3 years and I think we have another license to buy. There are no additional costs besides licensing."
"The 14 blade server allows significant room for upscaling before having to invest in another chassis. You would have to purchase another chassis much sooner in the case of an eight or nine blade server."
"The price is interesting. I am able to quote a client based on their needs and offer them either Lenovo or Dell."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
19%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Healthcare Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
17%
Computer Software Company
16%
Government
14%
Educational Organization
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco UCS B-Series?
The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that it is easily scalable.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco UCS B-Series?
The licensing cost for three years, followed by an AMC for two years, is reasonable. However, the management software, Cisco One, is priced a bit high but still considered reasonable. No additional...
See all answers
What needs improvement with Cisco UCS B-Series?
Last year, we faced challenges with firmware upgrades, but they were quickly resolved with assistance from Cisco TAC.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Lenovo Flex System?
Compared to its quality, the pricing is very reasonable and represents good value.
See all answers
What needs improvement with Lenovo Flex System?
Continuing the production of this product is necessary. It is currently out of support, and we are seeking support from other sources besides Lenovo.
See all answers
What is your primary use case for Lenovo Flex System?
We are using Lenovo Flex System on the server for our VMware environment, which includes our VMs and all our servers, Linux and Windows. It manages the daily operation efficiently.
See all answers
 

Comparisons

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Compared 15% of the time
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Cisco UCS E-Series Servers vs Cisco UCS B-Series
Compared 12% of the time
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HPE Superdome X vs Lenovo Flex System
Compared 57% of the time
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HPE Synergy vs Lenovo Flex System
Compared 43% of the time
More Lenovo Flex System Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Cisco UCS B-Series
April 2025
Cisco UCS B-Series reportDownload Cisco UCS B-Series product report
Buyer's Guide
Blade Servers
April 2025
Lenovo Flex System reportDownload Lenovo Flex System product report
 

Also Known As

UCS B-Series, Unified Computing System B-Series
Flex System Blade Servers, Flex System SN Series
 

Overview

Based on Intel Xeon processor E7 and E5 product families, Cisco UCS B-Series Blade Servers work with virtualized and non-virtualized applications to increase: Performance, Energy efficiency, Flexibility and Administrator productivity.
Cisco

Flex System is Lenovo’s proven, 2nd generation blade, that efficiently runs your infrastructure applications with up to 80% better density than standard rack server deployments.

Lenovo
 

Sample Customers

Aegean Motorway, Anilana Hotels and Resorts, Anonymous Banking Group, Artoni Transporti, Bellevue, BH Telecom, Bowling Green State University, Children's Hospital Colorado, City of Biel, Dimension Data, Dualtec Cloud Builders, Hertz, Houston Methodist, Kuwait Petroleum Italia, Lufthansa Systems GmbH & Co.KG, Outscale, Sony Corporation, Talbots
Information Not Available
Buyer's Guide
Cisco UCS B-Series vs. Lenovo Flex System
April 2025
Free Report: Cisco UCS B-Series vs. Lenovo Flex System
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