Dell PowerEdge VRTX vs FlexPod XCS vs HPE ConvergedSystem comparison

Dell Technologies and NetApp are both solutions in the Converged Infrastructure category. Dell Technologies is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.2, while NetApp is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.3. Dell Technologies holds a 19.4% mindshare in CI, compared to NetApp’s 9.2% mindshare. Additionally, 90% of Dell Technologies users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of NetApp users who would recommend it.

Dell PowerEdge VRTX

Read 20 Dell PowerEdge VRTX reviews

1,367 Views
1,271 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

FlexPod XCS

Read 295 FlexPod XCS reviews

1,703 Views
630 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

HPE ConvergedSystem

Read 21 HPE ConvergedSystem reviews

703 Views
633 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Dell PowerEdge VRTX

FlexPod XCS

HPE ConvergedSystem

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Dell PowerEdge VRTX, FlexPod XCS, and HPE ConvergedSystem based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Dell Technologies, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Oracle and others in Converged Infrastructure.

To learn more, read our detailed Converged Infrastructure Report (Updated: August 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Converged Infrastructure

August 2025

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Helped 865,295 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:

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Converged Infrastructure category, the mindshare of Dell PowerEdge VRTX is 19.4%, down from 22.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of FlexPod XCS is 9.2%, down from 10.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HPE ConvergedSystem is 17.7%, up from 17.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Converged Infrastructure

Featured Reviews

Sheikh Sakil Ahmed

Chief Executive Officer at Cogent Broadband

Has delivered reliable and dynamic server performance

This process is very good, with a processor that has 32 cores, which is sufficient to meet my qualifications and needs. It's quite a good server, and I've been using it for the last three years. I also use different types of dynamic solutions for network design like AutoCAD and SolarWind.

Read full review

John Kevin

Deputy IT Manager at MBBank

Enforces standardized setup procedures following Certified Validated Design (CVD) guidelines and offers greater flexibility and control over the system compared to traditional systems

The GUI setup follows the right setup, meaning we have to follow the CVDi.e. Certified Validated Design. Everything is clear, because you can build CI yourself, but without rules, it can be messy. With FlexPod, there are rules to follow, making it more standardized. This helps with troubleshooting and compatibility assessments, simplifying troubleshooting significantly. We also use FlexPod pre-validated architectures to validate the design. It is very, very important to us because we had a bad case in 2015 where separate items integrated poorly due to no version or firmware compatibility certification. Troubleshooting became a nightmare. So, standards are crucial for us, and everything entering production should be verified or at least documented for certification.

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Fatai Akinwande

Specialist Datacenter and Server at IHS Towers

Has the ability to easily scale resources and redistribute workloads across multiple hosts

HPE ConvergedSystem could be enhanced by improving the built-in backup solution, as the current one fell short of our needs and led us to opt for third-party tools like Veeam. Additionally, addressing challenges related to remote copy functionality, especially in low-bandwidth conditions, would significantly improve the overall usability and effectiveness of HPE solutions in our setup.

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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

"From a hardware perspective, it's interesting. The selling point of VRTX is that everything is built-in. For a small company that doesn't have a server room or the capabilities of hosting several servers, VRTX has four blades. The equivalent in regular server models would be four servers, which is a minimum of 4U, but it could easily be 8U, and then it would have storage. The storage is included inside the enclosure, and it would require a storage unit. It would also require connectivity, which would be ethernet or another protocol switch. From a software perspective, it's a little bit more integrated. You have an integrated way of managing the whole thing, including storage and networking. It has an internal network that can also be useful. I know for a fact that Dell is almost fazing out the product, and it is not that available anymore because it will just cannibalize their sales. They want to sell the more expensive stuff."

"We now find that the solution is quite stable."

"Dell PowerEdge VRTX is almost perfect in terms of stability, and I would rate it ten out of ten."

"Dell PowerEdge VRTX's most valuable feature is its reliability. It offers a good experience for my IT teams."

"The system is very intuitive."

"The online UA is very good in comparison to others."

"We started off with a base because we started our infrastructure with Dell and we always propose or prefer Dell which is easier to manage the warranty than with different vendors."

"With Dell PowerEdge VRTX, there are fewer points, and it is easier to troubleshoot and find your way around it."

More Dell PowerEdge VRTX pros

"I can leverage its multiple storage abilities. We have various kinds of storage in our environment, like IBM or NetApp. We can mix those types of storage with the FlexPod environment."

"The solution is resilient, because it has good scalability, and other products in the market don't have this. It has scalable storage and service."

"The most valuable feature of this solution is the stability."

"Everything is preconfigured. We can ship it and manage it remotely from any server. It is all in a box."

"FlexPod's unified support for the entire stack is very important. Before, the customers would log a ticket by Cisco and a ticket by NetApp. It's better when vendors can parter and look for a solution together."

"A valuable feature of the FlexPod solution is that it is all one architecture and I can call one number and get support for Cisco and NetApp without having to jump through open TAC (Technical Assistance Center) cases and do multiple things to get issues addressed."

"The solution’s validated designs for major enterprise apps are also extremely important in our organization. We don't always have time to research products and solutions ourselves. By going with a validated design, we're assured that it's the latest and greatest. It's supported by the three major vendors that we deal with."

"The most significant benefit is storage flexibility. FlexPod is a reference design to build on and add the appropriate resources you need for your workloads. That's what differentiates it from something like HCI, where you have to buy certain size pieces when you want to expand."

More FlexPod XCS pros

"Most of the HP products I come across are they are easy to install. That's not very complex."

"The storage, BladeSystems, Virtual Connect, and simplicity with hyper-converged solutions are the most valuable features of this solution."

"We use the solution for DDI."

"This solution is very simple to use."

"The solution's technical support was good. I rate the technical support a ten out of ten."

"The tool's most valuable features are stability and scalability."

"This is a scalable solution. Our customers begin with an initial configuration and later add more servers, memory and other options to meet the demands of increased processing."

"We find the deduplication and compression features to be most valuable, as well as that of the backup solution inside."

More HPE ConvergedSystem pros

Cons

"The support must be improved."

"I'd like to be able to increase capacity."

"A disadvantage could be the price."

"The problem is with our configuration. We know we can use PowerEdge for hyper-convergence if we have PowerEdge and configure vSAN. We will be able to achieve what VxRail is being able to provide, but we need to migrate it to a new infrastructure instead of changing our existing. It will be much more difficult for us."

"The licensing can be difficult to understand."

"The cost of Dell PowerEdge VRTX is high, making it difficult for small and medium businesses to bear."

"Dell PowerEdge VRTX can improve by providing support for M2 drives."

"It would be better to have a compact version of this solution for customers that have a small office and don't require a proper data center with power or an industrial type HP."

More Dell PowerEdge VRTX cons

"The last two calls that I have made to NetApp support have been handled too casually. People are too lax, not quite as professional as I would have liked."

"The biggest thing that I would like to see is more cost-effective FlexPod solutions."

"Not a perfect ten because it could use better integration on the network side between UCS and the switching layer. The fact that LACP is not supported on UCS blades isn't so great. It would be nice if it was."

"The initial setup is complex because it has to be done in a certain way."

"Not a ten because it could always be cheaper, it could always be faster."

"I would like to see improvements in the documentation. I understanding how things are coming together and a lot of that is from the UCS side."

"Hyper-V is not as well supported by NetApp and Cisco as VMware is, which is something that should be improved."

"Installation with FlexPod is a bit complex, but it can be upgraded easily. I think Flexpod is phasing out, but it is still the right solution."

More FlexPod XCS cons

"The interface is not fully integrated with the ESXi, which is something that could be improved."

"The solution needs to add NFS features."

"The MTG inside HP could be improved."

"The tool has shortcomings in its performance monitoring part."

"Features that should be addressed concern the HPE functionality and the interaction with VMware."

"There is some scope for improvement in support. The response time could be better."

"Pricing is an area of concern in the solution where improvements are required."

"This is an expensive solution."

More HPE ConvergedSystem cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We are renewing the support and we are purchasing the license for the software."

"This product is more reasonably-priced than similar solutions by HPE."

"Fully configured, it costs about $50,000 or $55,000. I did purchase a used one or refurbished one. I have been very happy with it so far. Even if it is an older unit, it doesn't look like its age, and I would say it has been a great choice so far for me. Obviously, I would have thought twice if I had to pay for a brand new one because it is still an older technology with the risk of being discontinued. I talked to Dell, and they're still selling it, but they're not promoting it. They're promoting another line of products right now for hyper-converged, which are much more expensive."

"The tool's pricing is fine."

"We bought a license for seven years."

"The solution is less expensive than competitors."

"On the scale of pricing, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I would rate it as a three. I am familiar with the overall cost, which involves licenses from Dell and VMware, among others, making it a combination of various license types."

"The solution price of Dell PowerEdge VRTX could be reduced. However, when comparing the price of Dell PowerEdge VRTX to other solutions, such as HP and Lenovo, it was the best price for what they offer."

"It is not going to save you money, but that is not the point. The opportunity to stay competitive in the marketplace is not a cost."

"We have saved 50 percent on new service deployments."

"Overall, the solution works pretty well. The biggest complaint I have from customers is the cost."

"We have absolutely seen ROI. We have saved between two to four million dollars on travel alone over the past 24 months."

"We have a lease for approximately $10,000 USD per month."

"It is not cheap, but there is a return on investment in time saved and efficiency."

"As a whole, it is inexpensive, and it uses the least amount of parts."

"Buy storage based on the solutions you need, the technologies you need, and what will make your life a lot easier down the road."

More FlexPod XCS pricing and cost advice

"The pricing is competitive. Not a major problem. We have a subscription model."

"Pricing is good. We have not calculated what hyper-converged infrastructure has brought us but I think there has to be some lower cost for us, compared to the public cloud. Obviously, there would be a lower cost, probably by more than half."

"This is an expensive solution."

"The pricing is sensitive."

"There are some extra costs in addition to the licensing costs for the yearly maintenance from professional third-party services."

"I rate the product price an eight and a half on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive."

"My company has a five year contract for HPE ConvergedSystem. The contracts depend on companies and sometimes it can be three years. The solution is worth its price."

"This is an expensive system and not every customer has the kind of budget to support it."

More HPE ConvergedSystem pricing and cost advice

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Comparison Review

it_user244362

Managing Consultant with 51-200 employees

Aug 30, 2015

Nutanix vs. VMware EVO:RAIL vs. FlexPod

Originally posted at www.storagegaga.com/dont-get-too-drunk-on-hyper-converged/ I hate the fact that I am bursting the big bubble brewing about Hyper Convergence (HC). I urge all to look past the hot air and hype frenzy that are going on, because in the end, the HC platforms have to be aligned…

Read full review

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

19%

Computer Software Company

12%

Comms Service Provider

Government

Manufacturing Company

20%

Educational Organization

15%

Performing Arts

Computer Software Company

14%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Dell PowerEdge VRTX?

The system is very intuitive.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell PowerEdge VRTX?

The cost of Dell PowerEdge VRTX is high, making it difficult for small and medium businesses to bear. I would rate th...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Dell PowerEdge VRTX?

It would be much better for customers if Dell could provide firmware updates even after the end of the product's life...

See all answers

What do you like most about FlexPod?

The system is designed for easy scaling. Because we define everything clearly. So when we plug the system in, we appl...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for FlexPod?

The pricing is not cheaper, but stability is more important for us now. We focus on business gains, not static number...

See all answers

What needs improvement with FlexPod?

FlexPod should focus more on automation. Integrating an automation tool with FlexPod would enable customers to levera...

See all answers

What do you like most about HPE ConvergedSystem?

The most valuable features of the solution are the flexibility and the availability of the machines.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HPE ConvergedSystem?

I rate the product price an eight and a half on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with HPE ConvergedSystem?

Pricing is an area of concern in the solution where improvements are required.

See all answers

Comparisons

IBM PureSystems vs Dell PowerEdge VRTX

Compared 15% of the time

More Dell PowerEdge VRTX Competitors

Dell PowerFlex vs FlexPod XCS

Compared 23% of the time

Oracle Private Cloud Appliance vs FlexPod XCS

Compared 11% of the time

HPE Hyper Converged vs FlexPod XCS

Compared 10% of the time

VxRail vs FlexPod XCS

Compared 8% of the time

Dell Vscale Architecture vs FlexPod XCS

Compared 8% of the time

More FlexPod XCS Competitors

Oracle Private Cloud Appliance vs HPE ConvergedSystem

Compared 18% of the time

Dell VxBlock System vs HPE ConvergedSystem

Compared 9% of the time

More HPE ConvergedSystem Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Dell PowerEdge VRTX

August 2025

Download Dell PowerEdge VRTX product report

Buyer's Guide

FlexPod XCS

August 2025

Download FlexPod XCS product report

Buyer's Guide

HPE ConvergedSystem

August 2025

Download HPE ConvergedSystem product report

Also Known As

No data available

HPE ConvergedSystem 700, HPE ConvergedSystem for SAP HANA, CS500, HPE ConvergedSystem 900, HPE ConvergedSystem 500, HPE ConvergedSystem 300

Overview

PowerEdge VRTX modular infrastructure platform integrates servers, storage, networking and management together in a single compact chassis.

Dell Technologies

FlexPod XCS is the secure platform your applications need from edge to cloud. Easily manage your suite of cloud-native, edge, and enterprise apps. Integrate advanced cloud services without compromising performance, security, reliability, or scale.

NetApp

HPE ConvergedSystem is designed for high availability, scalability, and seamless integration with HPE software and devices. It is valued for its stability, performance, and cost-efficiency, especially in areas such as power and cooling, making it suitable for diverse IT environments.

HPE ConvergedSystem offers a flexible and compact design, making it manageable even for IT novices. It serves multiple purposes, including server provisioning, container hosting, and recovery and backup operations. Users appreciate its capability to optimize virtual environments and its compatibility with VMware hosting and on-premises deployments. The system's seamless operation with HPE software and devices like Serviceguard, Synergy, and SimpliVity supports complex IT tasks. However, challenges include pricing and compatibility with new software versions, with room for improvements in scalability, full flash arrays, and monitoring tools. Enhancements in integration with third-party tools, remote copy functionality in low-bandwidth environments, and cloud management features are desired for better performance.

What are the key features of HPE ConvergedSystem?

High Availability: Ensures continuous operation of IT environments.
Scalability: Allows easy expansion to meet growing IT demands.
Easy Integration: Seamlessly works with HPE and third-party software.
Simplicity and Flexibility: User-friendly for IT novices with adaptable configurations.

What benefits should users look for when evaluating HPE ConvergedSystem?

Cost-Efficiency: Reduces expenses in power and cooling.
Performance: Provides stable and efficient IT operations.
Backup Capabilities: Supports robust data recovery processes.
Security: Delivers secure IT environments for complex tasks.

HPE ConvergedSystem is implemented in industries such as government, healthcare, and education. Consulting firms, resellers, and integrators use it to meet diverse client requirements, benefiting from its efficiency in virtual machine scaling and exceptional user experience delivery.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Sample Customers

University of Dundee, GE Healthcare Japan

University of Sao Paulo, WD-40, The Commonwell Mutual Insurance Group

FAW-Volkswagen, NICS, NBrIX, Pinpoint, HPE Technology Services, SWS, Ko Sistem, HPE

Buyer's Guide

Converged Infrastructure

August 2025

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