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Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs HPE Synergy comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
5.0
Businesses achieved positive ROI with Cisco UCS C-Series Servers through increased efficiency, reduced costs, and improved operational performance.
Sentiment score
6.8
HPE Synergy reduces operational costs, accelerates deployments, consolidates workloads, and offers substantial ROI through savings and efficiency.
Server consolidation allows us to run multiple virtual machines on the same infrastructure, reducing the need for additional physical servers as workload grows.
Desktop support Engineer at a outsourcing company with 51-200 employees
It is user-friendly and durable, and I have hardware we are using since 2016 that still runs without issue, showcasing its build quality.
Senior Engineer at Continental Engineering Services
We use technology to support the business.
Data Scientist Assistant at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.2
Cisco UCS C-Series support is reliable and expert, yet occasionally inconsistent, with user ratings generally high and favorable.
Sentiment score
6.5
HPE Synergy support praised for knowledgeable responsiveness, though some users faced initial challenges, especially with newer technologies, needing escalation.
They will send a local technical representative to support us for hardware issues or other concerns.
Data Scientist Assistant at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
Cisco's customer support has been generally good, particularly for technical guidance related to server hardware configurations and troubleshooting.
Desktop support Engineer at a outsourcing company with 51-200 employees
Customer support for Cisco is generally reliable, with access to technical expertise, documentation, and escalation resources for the enterprise environment.
Co-Founder at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
I would rate the technical support from HPE Synergy, and for all other solutions, as very good and appreciable with a score of nine out of ten on a scale from one to ten.
Presales engineer and consultant at Hybrid Tech
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
5.7
Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers offer scalable computing resources, integrating with Cisco tools for flexible IT and data applications.
Sentiment score
7.6
HPE Synergy provides scalable expansion with seamless hardware integration, though some users find component management challenging across data centers.
Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers offer good scalability because they allow organizations to expand their computing capacity as business requirements grow.
Desktop support Engineer at a outsourcing company with 51-200 employees
Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers offer good scalability for enterprise environments, allowing organizations to expand compute capacity by adding servers and upgrading resources to support growing workloads.
Co-Founder at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
The solution provides good scalability in terms of increasing memory capacity and disk capacity.
Sr, Manager- Network Solution Architect at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers are stable and reliable, needing proper maintenance for optimal performance under demanding workloads.
Sentiment score
7.9
HPE Synergy is stable and reliable, with minor setup issues mitigated by updates, redundancy, and strong support.
They provide consistent performance under demanding workloads, and features such as redundant power supplies, hardware monitoring, and remote management help minimize downtime and simplify troubleshooting.
Desktop support Engineer at a outsourcing company with 51-200 employees
Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers are generally stable and reliable for enterprise workloads when properly configured and maintained.
Co-Founder at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers need better integration, scalability, support, and proactive monitoring while optimizing pricing and management efficiency.
HPE Synergy users seek better integration, speed, networking simplicity, support, storage sharing, UI enhancements, and improved security and deployment.
This issue affects the stability of customers using Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers products.
Data Scientist Assistant at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers could be improved by making its management interface more intuitive and simplifying configuration and troubleshooting tasks.
Desktop support Engineer at a outsourcing company with 51-200 employees
I believe Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers can be improved by keeping the same level of quality while offering more power and more integration with VMware.
Co-Founder at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
Currently, it supports only two drives in the blade server, which can be limiting.
Pre-Sale Specialist at a computer software company with 201-500 employees
 

Setup Cost

Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers are costly, requiring negotiation due to high component costs and complex pricing.
HPE Synergy's high costs include notable VMware licensing fees, but discounts and strategic value may justify the expense.
However, more transparent pricing, simplified licensing options, and predictable maintenance costs would make budgeting and long-term planning easier.
Desktop support Engineer at a outsourcing company with 51-200 employees
I believe a simplified licensing model, more transparent pricing, and lower implementation costs would improve overall value and make budgeting more predictable.
Co-Founder at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
Cisco pricing is not inexpensive, but I think we can reach a reasonable price through negotiation with the vendor.
Data Scientist Assistant at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
Pricing in the blade server market is very competitive, with HPE offering a competitive price.
Pre-Sale Specialist at a computer software company with 201-500 employees
 

Valuable Features

Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers excel in integration, scalability, adaptability, and ease of management, enhancing business efficiency and performance.
HPE Synergy offers composable infrastructure, flexibility, and OneView integration, enhancing deployment, resource management, scalability, and system reliability.
Cisco support is excellent; they provide instant support via calls, meetings, and WebEx, delivering solutions immediately.
Assistant Manager – Vmware & Computing at syndrometech
It's important because our clients today are seeing hybrid solutions - a solution that they can use on-premises and can use information in the cloud.
Sales Manager at OMNIDATA TRADING, LDA
UCS Central Managed server, which means I can manage multiple servers globally through a single dashboard called the central UCS Manager.
Senior Engineer at Continental Engineering Services
It offers significant compute power in approximately ten rack units, making it practical for workload optimization.
Pre-Sale Specialist at a computer software company with 201-500 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Ser...
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
38
Ranking in other categories
Rack Servers (5th), Density Optimized Servers (2nd)
HPE Synergy
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
91
Ranking in other categories
Blade Servers (5th), Composable Infrastructure (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are IT Hardware and Infrastructure solutions, they serve different purposes. Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is designed for Rack Servers and holds a mindshare of 4.9%, down 5.3% compared to last year.
HPE Synergy, on the other hand, focuses on Blade Servers, holds 8.5% mindshare, down 17.3% since last year.
Rack Servers Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers4.9%
Dell PowerEdge R-Series19.9%
HPE ProLiant DL Servers15.8%
Other59.400000000000006%
Rack Servers
Blade Servers Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
HPE Synergy8.5%
Dell PowerEdge MX- Series8.3%
HPE BladeSystem8.2%
Other75.0%
Blade Servers
 

Featured Reviews

Md Rafique - PeerSpot reviewer
Desktop support Engineer at a outsourcing company with 51-200 employees
Centralized servers have improved virtualization and now support critical workloads reliably
Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers could be improved by making its management interface more intuitive and simplifying configuration and troubleshooting tasks. Better automation for routine maintenance, firmware updates, and server provisioning would help reduce manual efforts for IT teams. I would also like to see more detailed real-time monitoring and predictive analytics to identify potential hardware issues before they affect business operations. Additionally, simplifying integration with third-party monitoring and virtualization tools, along with more transparent licensing and support costs, would make the platform even more efficient and easier to manage. One area where Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers could improve is simplifying day-to-day administration through better automation and a more user-friendly management interface. Our team would benefit from having a single clear view of server health, performance, firmware status, and potential hardware issues. Faster firmware updates, easier troubleshooting, and more detailed alerts would also help reduce manual checks and resolve problems more quickly. Additionally, improved documentation and quicker technical support for complex issues would make maintenance smoother and help the team manage the infrastructure more efficiently. The improvement would be to enhance predictive maintenance and capacity planning so that Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers can help identify potential hardware failures and resource bottlenecks before they affect business operations. More detailed performance analytics, proactive alerts, and simpler integration with third-party monitoring tools would be valuable. Additionally, improving the speed of firmware updates, simplifying lifecycle management, and providing clearer guidance during troubleshooting would help reduce maintenance effort. These improvements would make the platform easier to manage, improve infrastructure visibility, and help our IT team operate more proactively.
MS
Works at Saudi Telecom Company
Manage servers efficiently with an integrated view while reducing downtime
My use case is to serve the complete IT environment of the telecom, including all cloud applications. I use HPE Synergy servers for my private cloud and for network management systems. 70% of my workload is running on HPE servers The integrated view, such as managing complete servers and…
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
10%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
Outsourcing Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business17
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise18
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business31
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise56
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers?
The price is the only disadvantage I see.We are comfortable; the client didn't report to us anything that they want to add to this equipment now or in the future. All that they want is more scalabi...
What is your primary use case for Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers?
My main use case for Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is unified communication on UCS servers. A specific example of how I use Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers for unified communication involves the ...
How would you choose between HPE's Bladesystem and Synergy?
For me, choosing between HPE’s Bladesystem and Synergy came down to which solution was more powerful, reliable, and stable. It turns out Bladesystem was the winner. Bladesystem is excellent because...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HPE Synergy?
As far as the prices are concerned, rack mount solutions are less expensive than HPE Synergy prices; however, HPE Synergy prices are higher but justify themselves as the solution accommodates all t...
What needs improvement with HPE Synergy?
In my opinion, for future improvements in HPE Synergy, there should be better management of power consumption complexity as well as an increase in the number of servers that can fit in a single Syn...
 

Also Known As

Unified Computing System C-Series, Cisco UCS C-Series
No data available
 

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
HudsonAlpha, Virgin Media, EMIS, United
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell Technologies, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Cisco and others in Rack Servers. Updated: October 2026.
920,939 professionals have used our research since 2012.