Dell PowerEdge XR-Series vs IBM Power Systems comparison

Dell Technologies and IBM are both solutions in the Rack Servers category. Dell Technologies is ranked #8 with an average rating of 8.5, while IBM is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.5. Dell Technologies holds a 1.3% mindshare in Rack Servers, compared to IBM’s 7.5% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Dell Technologies users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 97% of IBM users who would recommend it.

Dell PowerEdge XR-Series

Read 6 Dell PowerEdge XR-Series reviews

486 Views
471 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

IBM Power Systems

Read 73 IBM Power Systems reviews

3,565 Views
3,565 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

Dell PowerEdge XR-Series

IBM Power Systems

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 14, 2025

IBM Power Systems and Dell PowerEdge XR-Series are competitive products in the enterprise server market, delivering high-performance solutions for data-intensive operations. IBM Power Systems demonstrates superiority in scalability and integration, whereas Dell PowerEdge XR-Series excels in ruggedness and flexibility, suitable for diverse environments.

Features: IBM Power Systems provides advanced integrated virtualization, enhanced security features, and efficient workload management, prioritizing stability and high performance. Dell PowerEdge XR-Series focuses on delivering robust durability, extensive configuration options, and advanced edge computing support, targeting versatility and environmental resilience.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM Power Systems offers seamless deployment with strong integration support and dependable customer service, benefiting complex enterprise environments. Dell PowerEdge XR-Series simplifies deployment through modular designs and offers comprehensive service support, catering to operations in harsh conditions across diverse locations.

Pricing and ROI: IBM Power Systems involves higher initial setup costs but offers potential for greater ROI due to enhanced performance and energy efficiency. Dell PowerEdge XR-Series presents a more cost-effective setup and provides substantial ROI through its adaptability in edge computing markets, where versatile operational demand aligns with its cost-conscious approach.

To learn more, read our detailed Dell PowerEdge XR-Series vs. IBM Power Systems Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Dell PowerEdge XR-Series vs. IBM Power Systems

December 2025

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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

Dell PowerEdge XR-Series

Ranking in Rack Servers

8th

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

5.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Rugged Servers (1st)

IBM Power Systems

Ranking in Rack Servers

4th

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

5.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of Dell PowerEdge XR-Series is 1.3%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Power Systems is 7.5%, down from 9.1% 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	7.5%
Dell PowerEdge XR-Series	1.3%
Other	91.2%

Rack Servers

Featured Reviews

Igor Tiskov

Senior Virtualization Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees

Redfish manageability has supported remote site operations and consistent private cloud deployment

I think Dell PowerEdge R-Series can be improved in appearance. I would say that the improvement opportunity is probably on the monitoring side, the overall monitoring side. I would love to see closer integration with different vendors. As a company, we are still using a multi-vendor approach and cannot go all-in with one single vendor. What we struggle with is that we cannot afford to have three different monitoring systems, management systems, or lifecycle management systems for different environments. I would love to see in the future how that integrates with other vendors as well. Perhaps not as a primary tool, but at least some features and functions from other vendors.

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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.

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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

"The scalability of the Dell XR2 Rugged Server is good and easy to do."

"Stability, good performance, and good tools to manage the system are the best features for me."

"The storage and the disc performance in terms of IOPS is great."

"What I like the most about Dell PowerEdge R-Series is probably the Redfish manageability, which provides management, remote management, and remote configuration capabilities."

"Dell PowerEdge XR-Series is better compared to other servers and runs more efficiently, with stability and reliability that have been good so far."

"I appreciate the management tool, iDRAC, in Dell PowerEdge XR-Series, as it is convenient for administrators to use when managing Dell PowerEdge XR-Series."

"IBM Power Systems are secure and have fast processing."

"Additionally, the processing power is far superior, especially with the RSA feature for reliability, serviceability, and availability."

"IBM Power Systems' best features are its reliability, resilience, and performance per rack unit."

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

"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."

"They are reliable, their availability is very good, and their scalability is second to none; I can go from really small to very, very large, and still stay on the same platform, still go with a single server, rather than using multiple boxes and clustering them."

"The backups work great, data recovery works great."

"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."

More IBM Power Systems pros

Cons

"Dell XR2 Rugged Server could improve if there was more customization allowed."

"Service is a specific aspect that could be improved, but it is nothing bad."

"I think Dell PowerEdge R-Series can be improved in appearance. I would say that the improvement opportunity is probably on the monitoring side, the overall monitoring side."

"The support could work faster, but that is the only small thing that could be better."

"It lacks a modular option to expand to a 16-bay system."

"Regarding the weakness of Dell PowerEdge XR-Series, I think the main drawback is that it is more expensive than other servers."

"In my country, there are power supply interruptions. IBM could find ways to make the product stable through these interruptions."

"Software testing and the compatibility of software products that are available in the market should be addressed."

"The lack of software vendors moving onto the platform, as opposed to fleeing the platform, is an issue."

"Price and complexity related to the management of the solution are areas of concern in the solution where improvements are required."

"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."

"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."

"I would like to see firmware available to all of the systems."

"Better manage heterogeneous footprints of all the different operating systems that are out there across one common interface."

More IBM Power Systems cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of one Dell XR2 Rugged Server is approximately $10,000."

"The pricing is reasonable."

"Its price is too high."

"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."

"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."

"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."

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

More IBM Power Systems pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

15%

University

11%

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

12%

Computer Software Company

University

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	17
Midsize Enterprise	19
Large Enterprise	42

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell EMC XR2 Rugged Server?

The pricing, the setup cost, and the licensing of Dell PowerEdge R-Series is competitive. It is based on the deal and everything involved. I will say that because Dell is a partner of choice for us...

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What needs improvement with Dell EMC XR2 Rugged Server?

There is always room for improvement. Dell PowerEdge XR-Series is acceptable and will work. Service is a specific aspect that could be improved, but it is nothing bad. The service is better than ba...

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What is your primary use case for Dell EMC XR2 Rugged Server?

In the data center, Dell PowerEdge XR-Series runs through the router and the switch.Dell PowerEdge XR-Series is beginning to play a role in AI initiatives in the company. The server will be turned ...

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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 XE-Series vs Dell PowerEdge XR-Series

Compared 28% of the time

Dell PowerEdge R-Series vs Dell PowerEdge XR-Series

Compared 25% of the time

HPE ProLiant DL Servers vs Dell PowerEdge XR-Series

Compared 18% of the time

Lenovo Edge Servers vs Dell PowerEdge XR-Series

Compared 17% of the time

HPE Apollo Systems vs Dell PowerEdge XR-Series

Compared 13% of the time

More Dell PowerEdge XR-Series Competitors

Dell PowerEdge R-Series vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 25% of the time

Intel Server System vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 22% 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

Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 7% of the time

More IBM Power Systems Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Rack Servers

January 2026

Download Dell PowerEdge XR-Series product report

Buyer's Guide

IBM Power Systems

January 2026

Download IBM Power Systems product report

Also Known As

XR2 Rugged Server

IBM OpenPOWER LC

Overview

Dell PowerEdge XR-Series transforms edge computing by offering high-performance servers equipped for environments outside traditional data centers, designed to deliver when it counts.

PowerEdge XR-Series is crafted to endure harsh and unpredictable conditions with a robust focus on security, remote manageability, and intelligent system monitoring. It excels in IoT, manufacturing, retail, and telecommunications, providing a cost-effective, energy-efficient solution for edge infrastructure. These compact, rugged servers are built to handle edge-based workloads, facilitating real-time data processing and analysis at the source.

What are the key features of PowerEdge XR-Series?

Durability: Built for harsh conditions, offering reliable performance in extreme environments.
Security: Comprehensive security features to protect data at the edge.
Remote Manageability: Ease of management from any location, enhancing operational efficiency.
Intelligent Monitoring: Advanced system monitoring for predictive maintenance and reduced downtime.
Energy Efficiency: Optimized design reduces energy consumption while maintaining high performance.

What benefits does PowerEdge XR-Series offer?

Cost-Efficiency: Reduces costs by enabling businesses to manage infrastructure efficiently.
Real-Time Processing: Facilitates immediate analysis and decision-making at the data source.
Scalability: Easily scales with business growth and evolving data demands.
Improved Resilience: Enhances system resilience in demanding edge settings.

Industries such as IoT, manufacturing, retail, and telecommunications implement Dell PowerEdge XR-Series to handle edge-based workloads effectively. Its reliability and adaptability make it a vital component for processing data in real time, providing significant advantages in environments where data-driven decision-making is key.

Dell Technologies

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

DIGISTOR - Secure Data Storage

Cipher

Buyer's Guide

Dell PowerEdge XR-Series vs. IBM Power Systems

December 2025

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