Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs IBM Power Systems comparison

Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs. IBM Power Systems

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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 C-Series Rack Ser...

Ranking in Rack Servers

5th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

5.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Density Optimized Servers (3rd)

IBM Power Systems

Ranking in Rack Servers

4th

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

8.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is 4.7%, down from 4.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Power Systems is 9.2%, up from 8.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Rack Servers

Featured Reviews

Kalpesh Savaliya

Asst. Manager IT at APM Terminals, Inc.

Good support, and this product well-suited to our size of environment

We use these rack servers for terminal operating systems The initial setup could be easier. I have been working with Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers for five years. This is a stable product. For our use case, this product is scalable up to 16 blades, including two sites. I don't know how well…

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Rohintan-Karanjia

Advisory Services at Nangia Andersen LLP

Offers security features, including HIPs, Postgres, intrusion prevention systems, and AI for specific tasks

We've found that sometimes, certain setups require better servers. Ideally, the next level of model that IBM offers would be perfect for those situations. Sometimes, the availability of additional services can be a challenge for some software. Certain IBM software takes time to deliver to the client. It can be slow. So deployment is an area for improvement.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"In most cases, computes compute, and there isn't much differentiation, but one point of differentiation is Intersight cloud management."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is performance."

"The most valuable feature of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack is the use of databases, such as MySQL."

"The most valuable feature of this solution is the expansion and replacement of parts."

"The hardware customization capabilities are great."

"Its hardware is really reliable. We also like Cisco for its support."

"It has centralized our server management and allows us to treat servers like a pool of resources instead of discrete devices."

"On the Cisco side, there is a benefit in terms of server management. Cisco provides UCS Manager, which is a multi-tenant site manager. We can manage multiple sites while maintaining disaster recovery, a feature not available on other platforms."

More Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers pros

"The performance is the solution's most valuable asset. It has one of the highest levels of performance I have ever seen. It's quite remarkable, in that sense."

"Power Systems' best features include its user-friendliness and self-checking/self-healing abilities."

"It scales a lot, you can just keep on adding frames, you can add on CPUs, you get capacity on demand, you can tune the machine very easily to handle different workloads."

"The virtualization and the quality you get from it is one reason we like the solution."

"We've been using it for a long time, and it's stable."

"The SMT that they've improved has really helped open up boundaries for other applications that can use it."

"The performance and stability are great."

"We value the stability and technology capability of this solution the most. It is very stable, and the processor technology of IBM is very good. When you have a CIO and you are dealing with C-level every day, you can, without any doubt, support the core banking or critical applications with this solution."

More IBM Power Systems pros

Cons

"The only thing I would change is to provide more proactive support."

"The improvement should be done as per customer requirements."

"The price of the solution is problematic, not the solution itself. It could be less expensive."

"Technical support could be more responsive."

"The warranty and support periods should be extended."

"The solution needs more capacity and more scalability."

"I think the pricing is high. Cisco has to look for bundling this solutions with other applications."

"The C-Series is not designed to be as scalable. They are designed to have enough RAM and enough CPU on their own side. If you want scalability, it's better to choose the B-Series— the Blade Servers — because those are much more scalable with Fabric Interconnect."

More Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers cons

"The pricing of the product could always be lowered."

"I would like to see the scaling model improved so it's not just either tiny or huge."

"Technical support and documentation need to be improved."

"I think the cost should be cheaper."

"The pricing is high."

"I would like to see firmware available to all of the systems."

"Everyone likes speed. Not that speed has been an issue up until now but you can never be too fast."

"One of the features that we would like, and I think they are also adapting to the latest trends in the market, is to make it more open, more flexible... With VMware, anybody can create a virtual machine without any knowledge of the server side. But with AIX it's a bit difficult."

More IBM Power Systems cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price for Cisco is a bit higher than its competitors. We paid 40k for one server."

"The price of the Cisco UCS C-Series Rack could improve. It's a little more expensive in comparison with Dell or HPE solutions."

"Best to buy all the blades configured for the same purposes of load balancing and failover or load shifting."

"This product is slightly more expensive when compared to others."

"The server itself isn't costly at all, but the CPU and the RAM can be pretty expensive. You can buy a UCS for $2,000, but the RAM and CPU can cost up to $80,000. The most expensive asset is the intel processor, but it depends on how many cores you want and the technology you want to use on your CPU, like Hyper-V, etc."

"This solution is a little expensive."

"We have to pay for the VMware and Cisco licenses."

"The prices of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers are higher compared to the competition. When we try and sell against the competition, then it becomes quite difficult to sell"

More Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers pricing and cost advice

"The cost model is great. There is so much built in to the technology, that if you know how to use it you can save yourself a lot of money."

"When there is an error in the SAS drive of 10,000 RPM, my company buys support for 1,500 USD."

"There is a yearly licensing cost, and it's an expensive solution."

"IBM Power Systems is a really expensive product."

"It is designed for a large workload, as opposed to a small workload. For our circumstances, and even as an independent, I can't buy a Power system to experiment on. It can't happen. You cannot buy them."

"Its price depends on the sizing."

"The solution's pricing is very, very high compared to other platforms."

"The pricing is reasonable."

More IBM Power Systems pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

19%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Healthcare Company

Financial Services Firm

17%

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers?

The C-series is the most valuable.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers?

The solution is moderately priced.

What needs improvement with Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers?

The improvement should be done as per customer requirements.

What do you like most about IBM Power Systems?

IBM Power Systems provides very good performance and stability compared to other brands or processors.

What needs improvement with IBM Power Systems?

IBM should provide a platform where users can learn about the storage and security of IBM Power Systems.

What is your primary use case for IBM Power Systems?

In my company, we use the system for the data center and our IBM Cloud Pak System.

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

Comparisons

Compared 56% of the time

HPE ProLiant DL Servers vs Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers

Compared 24% of the time

Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers vs Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers

Compared 10% of the time

HPE Synergy vs Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers

Compared 3% of the time

HPE Apollo Systems vs Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers

Compared 2% of the time

More Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers Competitors

Intel Server System vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 40% of the time

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 18% of the time

Oracle SPARC Servers vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 17% of the time

HPE ProLiant DL Servers vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 15% of the time

Huawei KunLun Mission Critical Server vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 1% of the time

More IBM Power Systems Competitors

Product Reports

Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers

Download Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers product report

IBM Power Systems

Download IBM Power Systems product report

Also Known As

Unified Computing System C-Series, Cisco UCS C-Series

IBM OpenPOWER LC

Overview

UCS C-Series Rack Servers deliver unified computing in an industry-standard form factor to reduce TCO and increase agility. Each server addresses varying workload challenges through a balance of processing, memory, I/O, and internal storage resources.

Cisco

IBM Power Systems are built to crush the most advanced data applications - from the mission-critical workloads you run today to the next generation of AI.

IBM

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

Cipher

Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs. IBM Power Systems