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Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs Dell PowerEdge XE-Series comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 30, 2025

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 C-Series Rack Ser...
Ranking in Rack Servers
5th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
4.3
Number of Reviews
31
Ranking in other categories
Density Optimized Servers (2nd)
Dell PowerEdge XE-Series
Ranking in Rack Servers
7th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.0
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is 5.3%, up from 4.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell PowerEdge XE-Series is 2.0%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Rack Servers Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers5.3%
Dell PowerEdge XE-Series2.0%
Other92.7%
Rack Servers
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer1441011 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr, Manager- Network Solution Architect at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
Comprehensive support and integration ensure smooth cloud infrastructure operations
I may not be the right person to comment on advanced improvements because we are just using basic functionalities. We are getting all the functionalities which we used to get in other OEM rack servers. Potential areas for improvement may include a more flexible pricing model, better technical support, or tutorials from the vendor for users.
HM
CEO at Matrix ITS
Positive feedback highlights seamless integration and exceptional support
The reviewer primarily works with HCI, specifically Dell VxRail Hyper-Converged Infrastructure. Dell's HCI solution is considered superior to HP's in Egypt, where most customers prefer VxRail. For HP products, they provide blades, servers, C7000, and DL380. Dell's product range includes servers, storage, and hyper-converged infrastructures. Dell offers better pricing for server and technology, especially for HCI since they use VMware, which is considered one of the best hypervisors. Dell's Data Domain is recognized as the leading backup appliance globally, offering cyber resilience backup solutions. The reviewer has experience with Dell PowerProtect from eight years ago and Dell Avamar, which is particularly suitable for larger companies and virtual environments. They have also worked with Unity, VNX, and VMAX all-flash storage solutions, with the VMAX implementation using all NVMe (non-volatile memory). For backup solutions, they utilize GBS, Veeam, Veritas, and Dell solutions including DBS and Data Domain. The reviewer rates this solution 9 out of 10.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The server can be configured easily."
"What I really like about the Cisco USC Server is its service profile."
"The technical support from Cisco is fine."
"It is very nice and stable with an easy administration GUI."
"The VIC card is the most important feature."
"The most valuable features of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers are integration and customization."
"Cisco rack servers are very easy to integrate with other products from different vendors."
"The solution is easily scalable."
"The resource management features are valuable."
"The most valuable feature is the trusted platform module."
"In general, it works well. We haven't had issues."
"Its reliability and consistency are most valuable."
"One of the most valuable features of Dell PowerEdge XE Servers is the ease of fixing issues if there are any."
"The most valuable feature of these servers is the ability to store a lot—the capacity and the number of hard disk drives."
"PowerEdge XE servers are high-performing. We're hardly using 15 percent of their computing power, so there's a lot left over that we could utilize."
"The solution is flexible in my experience."
 

Cons

"The product's stability and delivery time could be better."
"The scalability of the product is an area of concern where Cisco needs to focus on making some improvements."
"Definitely the support area needs improving. Especially the time response in case of hardware failure."
"On the contact center and video conferencing, I would definitely like to see more AI features. The AI features are key for us. You will find a lot of them in the cloud-based solution, but in the on-premises solution, they're hardly there. I would like to see the same AI features that are there in the cloud-based Cisco UC."
"There is room for better integration with other brands."
"Cisco UCS C-Series Rack could improve by selling storage. Cisco doesn't sell storage, which is a problem because some customers ask for storage. There are several brands in the market, such as HPE, and Dell EMC. However, Cisco doesn't have any storage. This is where the tension comes from buying this solution."
"The pricing is too high and no discounts are available for our country."
"The price of the solution is problematic, not the solution itself. It could be less expensive."
"In future releases, there should be more support options for the latest processor."
"Upgrading can be a bit difficult."
"The support team must improve the speed of response."
"The quality and reliability could be improved."
"It should be easier to extend PowerEdge XE servers. We haven't architected them with an eye toward scalability. They have a fixed number of slots for hard drives, which is enough for our present use case, However, we would have more options if we could extend that. We could deploy the servers in a broader range of use cases with different requirements. It's fine for our current deployment with only a few thousand users. We're exploring other solutions like such as VxRail or PowerFlex for larger public-facing use cases."
"We use OpenManager a lot, and that can be a bit clunky at times. They can make that better."
"I would like to have support for performing a detailed analysis of the server from a mobile device."
"Dell PowerEdge XE Servers can improve by adapting HCI technology."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is expensive."
"We have to pay for the VMware and Cisco licenses."
"This solution is a little expensive."
"The solution could be more cost-effective."
"The price of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is high."
"The price of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is approximately 20 percent more than other solutions."
"The solution is expensive and I give the price a four out of ten."
"The solution requires an annual licensing fee."
"The pricing model is quite competitive."
"Dell has competitive pricing."
"This solution is priced very reasonably."
"There are different types of licensing available, that works well for customers. The product is not very much to purchase."
"If you want an SLA for parts and equipment then you need to purchase a support agreement."
"You always want slightly cheaper, but overall, they are quite comparable and quite neutral."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Retailer
8%
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Retailer
9%
Energy/Utilities Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise13
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise3
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers?
I may not be the right person to comment on advanced improvements because we are just using basic functionalities. We are getting all the functionalities which we used to get in other OEM rack serv...
What needs improvement with Dell PowerEdge XE Servers?
For Dell PowerEdge XE Servers, particularly for standalone servers, extendability would be a great improvement. This feature is currently available only with virtualization environment. Adding exte...
What is your primary use case for Dell PowerEdge XE Servers?
I worked with HP Blade Servers including HP Integrity and Altex for the banking sector where I sold blade servers. I have not sold HP Superdome X or HP NonStop. The customers are using it for big d...
What advice do you have for others considering Dell PowerEdge XE Servers?
The reviewer primarily works with HCI, specifically Dell VxRail Hyper-Converged Infrastructure. Dell's HCI solution is considered superior to HP's in Egypt, where most customers prefer VxRail. For ...
 

Also Known As

Unified Computing System C-Series, Cisco UCS C-Series
PowerEdge XE Servers
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Advanced Medical Transport, Aegean Motorway, Anilana Hotels and Resorts, Artoni Transporti, BH Telecom, Bowling Green State University, City of Mississauga, Dualtec Cloud Builders, Electricity Authority of Cyprus, Grupo Industrial Saltillo (GIS), Kind en Gezin, Kuwait Petroleum Italia, Nationwide, Quest, Talbots, University of St. Gallen
Epsilon, ROZETTA CORP, JIGUANG, RACKSPACE, NEW BELGIUM BREWING
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs. Dell PowerEdge XE-Series and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
880,844 professionals have used our research since 2012.