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

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 8, 2024

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
29
Ranking in other categories
Density Optimized Servers (3rd)
IBM Power Systems
Ranking in Rack Servers
4th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
2.5
Number of Reviews
70
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is 4.8%, down from 4.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Power Systems is 9.1%, up from 8.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Rack Servers
 

Featured Reviews

Kalpesh Savaliya - PeerSpot reviewer
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…
Rohintan-Karanjia - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The product's stability is good. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a nine to ten out of ten."
"The most valuable features of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers are agileness, ease of operation, and manageability."
"It is very stable and easy to use. It integrates easily with Cisco's cloud-based UC solutions. There are tools for management that make the management a bit easier, but we don't use them. We don't use what you would term as power users."
"It has centralized our server management and allows us to treat servers like a pool of resources instead of discrete devices."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the expansion and replacement of parts."
"The most valuable features of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers are integration and customization."
"The server can be configured easily."
"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."
"BM Power Systems get updated every two years and are scalable and stable."
"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."
"The virtualization and the quality you get from it is one reason we like the solution."
"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."
"On the security side, we get regular security patch updates and system hardening. There are free tools available to harden the system."
"The initial setup is simple and straightforward."
"IBM Power Systems provides very good performance and stability compared to other brands or processors."
"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."
 

Cons

"Technical support could be more responsive."
"The improvement should be done as per customer requirements."
"I think the pricing is high. Cisco has to look for bundling this solutions with other applications."
"The product must add customer-friendly monitoring features."
"The solution needs more capacity and more scalability."
"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."
"Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers could improve by adding a wider portfolio because they only have two main categories, the C-220 and 240. There is no wide range of options as other solutions have, such as Dell. Additionally, if it was more flexible with the configuration it would be good."
"There is very little scalability for the cluster. If you need a higher availability, there is a user limitation. So that is the low side."
"There are improvements that can be made on the technical side."
"The number of times IBM refreshes its operating system appears to be very slow."
"Technical support and documentation need to be improved."
"IBM should be more flexible with marketing or offer marketing events themselves and invite the partners to attend. That might be far more productive."
"Its price can be improved. It is too high."
"The pricing is high."
"We have a problem with the storage software. The media to restore data is also not found."
"The solution is quite expensive."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is moderately priced."
"This product is quite expensive and it would be better if it were cheaper."
"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis, which is only $2,000 or $3,000."
"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."
"My company has an agreement with Cisco to get discounted rates. It is one of the reasons why we chose the product."
"The price of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is approximately 20 percent more than other solutions."
"Cisco is expensive, but we didn't look at the cost of the product. We were looking at reliability and support."
"IBM Power Systems is a really expensive product."
"Power Systems is very cheap and provides good value for money."
"I give the cost a one out of ten."
"Price-wise, I rate the solution a five out of ten."
"The additional software costs are high."
"The price of IBM Power Systems is expensive and could improve."
"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."
"The solution's pricing is very, very high compared to other platforms."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
17%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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.
 

Also Known As

Unified Computing System C-Series, Cisco UCS C-Series
IBM OpenPOWER LC
 

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
Cipher
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs. IBM Power Systems and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
861,170 professionals have used our research since 2012.