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

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

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
7th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
4.3
Number of Reviews
32
Ranking in other categories
Density Optimized Servers (3rd)
IBM Power Systems
Ranking in Rack Servers
4th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
5.8
Number of Reviews
73
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is 5.4%, up from 4.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Power Systems is 6.5%, down from 9.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Rack Servers Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
IBM Power Systems6.5%
Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers5.4%
Other88.1%
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.
Foluso  Jibowo - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We've been quite happy with its capabilities so far."
"It is very nice and stable with an easy administration GUI."
"The solution is scalable."
"The VIC card is the most important feature."
"The most valuable features of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers are agileness, ease of operation, and manageability."
"The hardware customization capabilities are great."
"In summary, this is a good product and it's sustainable."
"The product doesn't take up too much space on the rack and I like that."
"The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that the hardware is really good and reliable."
"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten...Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten."
"The Power hardware is rock-solid and reliable; you can't really ask for better hardware support, software support and reliability of the equipment."
"From a software developer standpoint, virtualization is really the key, as we can more easily spin up a new partition, virtual instance of IBM i."
"It runs all our enterprise systems and because of the reliability, we don't have the same issue with downtime and unexpected downtime that other companies may have."
"I would say if you are not using the IBMi solution, you are missing something."
"We've been using it for a long time, and it's stable."
"The uptime feature is great."
 

Cons

"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 capacity is quite small, so I need the CPU performance to be a bit higher. The memory is also limited, and we cannot upgrade more."
"The hard drive of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is not very good. I have already replaced three of them."
"The improvement should be done as per customer requirements."
"This product is quite expensive and it would be better if it were cheaper."
"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."
"The pricing is too high and no discounts are available for our country."
"Its accessibility and manageability can be improved."
"For the i customers, I think that Power, the horsepower, has always been there. So, I would like to see something more on the lower end, where they would make it more cost effective for the small guy, rather than the big guy."
"The solution is quite expensive, and deploying it was also expensive."
"Price and complexity related to the management of the solution are areas of concern in the solution where improvements are required."
"Sometimes, we have issues when we are moving to a new version, which is the case with almost every company."
"What I'd like to see would be more of a usage-based licensing model."
"Overall, IBM actually does restrict us, the sellers, at a limited percentage of margin when you're selling the product. We cannot go above 8%."
"The pricing is high."
"Software testing and the compatibility of software products that are available in the market should be addressed."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This product is slightly more expensive when compared to others."
"This solution is a little expensive."
"The pricing is expensive."
"If they plan to expand their infrastructure in periods, then simply Cisco is not a good choice."
"The price of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is approximately 20 percent more than other solutions."
"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis, which is only $2,000 or $3,000."
"The solution is expensive and I give the price a four out of ten."
"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 the solution depends upon the configuration part of it. Based on what configuration you want to go for it, there is a range like IBM Power Systems POWER9 and IBM Power Systems Power10."
"I give the cost a one out of ten."
"The solution's pricing is very, very high compared to other platforms."
"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."
"When there is an error in the SAS drive of 10,000 RPM, my company buys support for 1,500 USD."
"IBM Power is more expensive than other rack-mount servers, and you have to have a license for everything, including cores and memory."
"Price-wise, I rate the solution a five out of ten."
"Power Systems is a bit more costly than other products in the market, but in terms of ROI and the longevity, performance, and reliability that Power Systems provides, it's worth it in the long run."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Manufacturing Company
8%
University
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise14
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business17
Midsize Enterprise19
Large Enterprise42
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers?
My experience with pricing, setup costs, and licensing for Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is not troublesome, but it is confusing. It takes a lot of time to navigate licensing and to work through ...
What needs improvement with Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers?
I think Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers could be improved, but I'm not really a forward thinker; everything works pretty well with how we're using it. It's not really an improvement, but the soluti...
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 hypervisors, using them as a hypervisor.
What needs improvement with IBM Power Systems?
In my opinion, the product can be improved by maintaining it and not sunsetting it; that would be my recommendation for IBM. I used to work for IBM for nineteen years, and I know, unfortunately, I ...
What is your primary use case for IBM Power Systems?
I am an architect and system administrator, and I'm responsible for anything related to IBM Power Systems. In IBM Power Systems, I have found a lot of valuable features such as LVM, TCP, ODM, RSCT,...
What advice do you have for others considering IBM Power Systems?
I would recommend IBM Power Systems to others. I have given this review a rating of ten out of ten.
 

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 2026.
900,838 professionals have used our research since 2012.