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

Cisco and IBM are both solutions in the Rack Servers category. Cisco is ranked #5 with an average rating of 9.0, while IBM is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.8. Cisco holds a 5.2% mindshare in Rack Servers, compared to IBM’s 8.3% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 97% of IBM users who would recommend it.

Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Ser...

Read 31 Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers reviews

2,347 Views
2,253 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

IBM Power Systems

Read 72 IBM Power Systems reviews

3,643 Views
3,643 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Ser...

IBM Power Systems

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 8, 2024

Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers and IBM Power Systems compete in the server solutions category. Cisco UCS C-Series shows advantages in cost-effectiveness and ease of management, while IBM Power Systems have the upper hand in terms of performance and reliability.

Features: Cisco UCS C-Series offers integration capabilities, flexibility, and ease of management, enhancing operational efficiency. IBM Power Systems highlights include reliability, high processing power, and scalability, supporting demanding workloads efficiently.

Room for Improvement: Cisco UCS C-Series could enhance performance under heavy workloads, improve support for high-demand applications, and optimize hardware resources. IBM Power Systems require simpler configuration processes, streamlined management tools, and more intuitive interface options.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco UCS C-Series is straightforward in deployment with responsive customer service, facilitating adoption and integration. IBM Power Systems may have a longer deployment curve but are supported by a knowledgeable team for handling complex queries.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco UCS C-Series offers competitive pricing and favorable ROI, appealing to budget-conscious businesses. IBM Power Systems, despite a higher setup cost, deliver robust long-term ROI through superior performance and reliability.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs. IBM Power Systems Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

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

September 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 873,085 peers since 2012

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

Ranking in other categories

Density Optimized Servers (3rd)

IBM Power Systems

Ranking in Rack Servers

4th

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

4.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2025, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is 5.2%, up from 4.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Power Systems is 8.3%, down from 9.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Rack Servers Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
IBM Power Systems	8.3%
Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers	5.2%
Other	86.5%

Rack Servers

Featured Reviews

Berthold Manz

CTO at ExperTeach GmbH

Seamless server transitions enhance IT infrastructure for AI projects and improve management capabilities

If you are integrated into the Cisco management solution, it is very easy to handle. The performance aspects of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers are very strong. The ability to move from one server to another without changing anything is excellent. We can transfer all the identity of the servers between the servers.

Read full review

Foluso Jibowo

Product Manager at Hiperdist Ltd

Has empowered enterprises with secure and cost-effective solutions

When discussing disadvantages, I do not see many areas for improvement because we have received good testimonies from every client. IBM gives customers peace of mind. One challenge, which I would not really call a challenge, is that initially people have the notion that IBM Power Systems is quite expensive. However, IBM does not lose deals based on price. This is a message we need to keep communicating to people who feel that IBM is on the high side in terms of cost. We encourage them to have a discussion with us about their total cost of ownership over three or five years. There is a notion in the market that IBM is expensive, which is false. However, once we engage and show them their return on investments and their total cost of ownership savings, they tend to embrace IBM.

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

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

"The product's stability is good. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a nine to ten out of ten."

"Excellent server solution with incredible network throughput."

"The solution is stable."

"The hardware customization capabilities are great."

"The solution is easily scalable."

"The product doesn't take up too much space on the rack and I like that."

"In terms of the features that I have found most valuable, that is basically the hardware, which is more dynamic."

More Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers pros

"Power Systems is like a dream solution for every IT person because it has redundancy, and it doesn't stop. It doesn't get affected easily. I don't see any weaknesses in this solution. At the moment, we have Power8. It is stable and runs smoothly. We have a big load, and it is working very well. It can be customized based on our needs. Flash copy is helping us amazingly. We have virtualization for vDisks, which is again very helpful. We are working on this virtualization technology, and we have a team that is working on redundancy and architecture."

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

"It is a very scalable solution."

"The main feature that I have found most valuable is PowerVM - its virtualization feature which is the most powerful."

"PowerVM."

"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 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."

"I use the hypervisor of IBM Power Systems a lot."

More IBM Power Systems pros

Cons

"Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers could improve integration with third-party solutions."

"Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers can improve by providing customization features to allow us to deploy them on the cloud. For example, we need VMware to allow us to accomplish a cloud deployment."

"The solution can be improved by adjusting the cost."

"Some customers have complained about delivery time. So, the main weakness is the lead time."

"Technical support could be more responsive."

"Its accessibility and manageability can be improved. Currently, we have to visit the office to manage it. It should be manageable outside our network. I would like it to be on the cloud."

"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."

"In the version we need to use, the manager is still reliant on a full Java install on a Windows OS. This is inconvenient and problematic if you have multiple management tools on different versions of Java or if you move to a machine without the appropriate Java environment."

More Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers cons

"The number of times IBM refreshes its operating system appears to be very slow."

"One of the main challenges with IBM Power Systems is the functionality of live partnership mobility."

"If you asked me what I'd like added, I'd say that it'd be nice if they ran GPUs, however, I know that's not the direction they're going. That said, I would appreciate it if they offered GPU support."

"In Power6, latency was an issue, but nowadays, we are on Power8, which doesn't have any such problems. Sometimes, we have issues when we are moving to a new version, which is the case with almost every company. Some new issues or problems show up suddenly, and you do not have the time to research and find the solution. That's when we contact IBM technical support."

"The solution could improve the memory database for better integration with SAP HANA."

"IBM Power Systems could improve by having a cloud feature."

"The solution is quite expensive."

"It does not offer the ability to run any X86 or X64 Intel architecture-based application on Power Systems. There are a lot of applications, lots of business use cases that do not support this architecture as of now. If somehow application tasks can be ported on to IBM Power Systems, that would be a big improvement."

More IBM Power Systems cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution requires an annual licensing fee."

"The price of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is approximately 20 percent more than other solutions."

"This product is quite expensive and it would be better if it were cheaper."

"The price of the solution could be better when compared to other solutions. However, when we purchased the solution we received Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers in a bundle with other hardware, such as IP phones and networking switches."

"The pricing is expensive."

"The solution is expensive and I give the price a four out of ten."

"The price of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is high."

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

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

"Power Systems is very cheap and provides good value for money."

"Price-wise, I rate the solution a five out of ten."

"I give the cost a one out of ten."

"The price of the solution could be somewhat better and this is what lowers my rating of it to a seven or eight out of ten."

"The pricing is reasonable."

"IBM Power Systems is very expensive."

"The licensing costs are okay. With IBM Power Systems, it's inclusive, so you can differentiate the price of the hardware from the software itself."

"Its price depends on the sizing."

More IBM Power Systems pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Rack Servers solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

873,085 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Retailer

Financial Services Firm

13%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	11
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	13

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	17
Midsize Enterprise	18
Large Enterprise	42

Questions from the Community

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

The C-series is the most valuable.

See all answers

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

The solution is moderately priced.

See all answers

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...

See all answers

What do you like most about IBM Power Systems?

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

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM Power Systems?

See all answers

What is your primary use case for IBM Power Systems?

IBM Power Systems are used mainly in large organizations, generally in the financial industry, government, telecommunications, oil and gas sectors for their high availability environment. These sys...

See all answers

Comparisons

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

Compared 52% of the time

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

Compared 20% of the time

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

Compared 10% of the time

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

Compared 3% of the time

HPE Synergy vs Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers

Compared 3% of the time

More Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers Competitors

Intel Server System vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 27% of the time

Dell PowerEdge R-Series vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 23% of the time

Oracle SPARC Servers vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 17% of the time

HPE ProLiant DL Servers vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 17% of the time

Huawei KunLun Mission Critical Server vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 2% of the time

More IBM Power Systems Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers

November 2025

Download Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers product report

Buyer's Guide

IBM Power Systems

October 2025

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

Buyer's Guide

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

September 2025

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

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs. IBM Power Systems and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.

DOWNLOAD NOW

873,085 professionals have used our research since 2012.

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

See our list of best Rack Servers vendors.

We monitor all Rack Servers reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.