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Cisco UCS E-Series Servers vs HPE BladeSystem comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 3, 2025

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 E-Series Servers
Ranking in Blade Servers
12th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
HPE BladeSystem
Ranking in Blade Servers
3rd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
139
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Blade Servers category, the mindshare of Cisco UCS E-Series Servers is 2.7%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HPE BladeSystem is 13.9%, down from 15.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Blade Servers
 

Featured Reviews

DavidMbugua - PeerSpot reviewer
Stable product with efficient security features
We use Cisco UCS E-Series Servers to host enterprise systems The product's most valuable features are stability, speed, and scalability. We rarely encounter downtime issues, and it has an expandable memory storage. Additionally, it blends well with Cisco's security tools. The platform's pricing…
Fatai Akinwande - PeerSpot reviewer
Enables you to manage all resources from a single dashboard using the OneView feature
In terms of improvements, I'd suggest enhancing the stability of the HPE BladeSystem, especially regarding network connectivity. We once had an issue where a system didn’t communicate with the network, and it took a while to diagnose the problem. Eventually, we discovered it was a motherboard issue, but we initially thought it was the network card. Improving the onboard administratordashboard to provide more granular insights, like clearly identifying faultycomponents, would make troubleshooting much more efficient. Aside from that, the system is superb and has been reliable.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Cisco has better visibility and manageability for disaster recovery."
"The most valuable features are that they are efficient and easy to setup."
"They are really easy to maintain. I've added RAM to them. I've done a lot of other things with the virtualization."
"The server management and automation capabilities have been outstanding in automation, greatly benefiting our IT team."
"The product is overall stable."
"The Cisco chassis is very easy to configure and any network engineer or expert can configure the solution and easily integrate it with the chassis."
"The product's most valuable features are stability, speed, and scalability."
"Stability-wise, it is a good product that remains stable."
"The monitoring and support HP provides is far better compared to other systems, and if we are using HP servers along with HP tools such as HP Service Manager and HP OpenView for integrating server management and automating incident management systems, it is quite helpful and the best in the market currently."
"It is very stable."
"They are reliable, and they hardly break down. They are fast, and they serve us very well."
"I like the stability."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is its high availability."
"When it comes to the BladeSystem, what we love about it most is being able to actually manage it using OneView."
"Basically, in a cluster, it works really nicely, especially within a cluster environment. Also, it's easily configurable."
"Remote management features are valuable."
 

Cons

"The platform's pricing needs improvement. There could be more collaborative tools included."
"The tool must be made compatible with multi-vendor ecosystems."
"The processing capacity could be improved."
"The product should also be available in a standard edition or a standard license since currently there is a need to pay for an extra license, which is very expensive, especially when considering the budgeting part of our company."
"The biggest pain point for us is the matrix for the firmware upgrades. It is a pain. You look at that thing, you might as well be reading Greek. It would be a whole lot better if they could clean up their documentation on it."
"I would like to see improvements in VMware integration with Cisco, especially in terms of documentation and integration tools. Support of NVIDIA integration would also make it better."
"It is not a solution that is cloud ready."
"One thing that could be improved is the cost - it is very high for this Blade chassis as compared to other vendors. Especially in Asia. Asian customers mostly prefer a cost effective, cheaper solution."
"There is always room for improvement everywhere with the HPE BladeSystem."
"There could be more management capability to work with integrations."
"The response time in terms of getting technical support assistance could be improved."
"This product needs a wider range of firmware compatibility matrix from the oldest to the newest blade server."
"HPE BladeSystem can improve proactive monitoring."
"The latest version of this system is called Synergy from HPE, and it comes with more advanced features. This is currently the most advanced solution available in the market. One of its key features is its energy efficiency, which optimizes energy usage."
"I rate the stability of HPE BladeSystem a nine out of ten."
"The interface in terms of management could be much more intuitive."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's expensive, they are quite pricey."
"There is a need to pay towards the licensing costs of the solution. The most expensive server from Cisco is Cisco UCS B-Series."
"The solution is expensive."
"The product is expensive."
"The pricing of the solution is reasonable. From a commercial point of view, the prices are okay."
"We have an annual license."
"It is not expensive, really, in this class of server products."
"​The price could be cheaper."
"The price of HPE BladeSystem could improve. They need to reduce the price to be able to compete better with other vendors, such as Dell."
"I don't have access to your financial information or the specific details of this solution's pricing. There are no additional fees. It is the hardware and the support."
"Their licensing program is pretty simple."
"The pricing is competitive."
"I would recommend this solution for large enterprises. Medium-sized companies would find it difficult to afford the HPE BladeSystem's overall capital expenses."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco UCS E-Series Servers?
The product's most valuable features are stability, speed, and scalability.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco UCS E-Series Servers?
The pricing of Cisco UCS E-Series Servers is okay, costing around 30,000 per year. Support is included in this cost.
What needs improvement with Cisco UCS E-Series Servers?
I would like to see improvements in VMware integration with Cisco, especially in terms of documentation and integration tools. Support of NVIDIA integration would also make it better.
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 do you like most about HPE BladeSystem?
The solution is scalable, offering flexibility and expansion options to meet changing business needs.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HPE BladeSystem?
With around 19 years of exposure in working with various servers, including HPE, I encounter challenges in identifying reasonable prices during the setup cost and licensing process, especially for ...
 

Also Known As

UCS E-Series Servers
HP ProLiant BL Series Servers, HP ProLiant BladeSystem
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Navaho,  MiroNet AG, Columbia Sportswear
EMIS Health
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco UCS E-Series Servers vs. HPE BladeSystem and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,168 professionals have used our research since 2012.