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HPE Apollo Systems 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

HPE Apollo Systems
Ranking in Rack Servers
8th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
4.7
Number of Reviews
23
Ranking in other categories
Density Optimized Servers (3rd)
IBM Power Systems
Ranking in Rack Servers
4th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
4.8
Number of Reviews
72
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of HPE Apollo Systems is 3.7%, down from 4.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Power Systems is 8.6%, up from 8.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Rack Servers Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
IBM Power Systems8.6%
HPE Apollo Systems3.7%
Other87.7%
Rack Servers
 

Featured Reviews

Aruna Udawatte - PeerSpot reviewer
An affordable and easy-to-implement solution, but its after-sales support and technical support should be improved
We use HPE Apollo for specific requirements of Linux servers HPE Apollo's pricing is low, and implementation is very easy compared to other products. HPE Apollo's after-sales support and technical support should be improved. The solution should provide fast delivery when it comes to replacing a…
Foluso  Jibowo - PeerSpot reviewer
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

"It enables us to implement software defined solutions very easily, because Apollo servers are certified for use with Linux systems"
"With HPE Apollo, we can propose configurations with many hard drives, making it suitable for large storage needs."
"HPE Apollo's pricing is low, and implementation is very easy compared to other products."
"It's going to meet our needs moving forward, it is scalable."
"It's pretty flexible. You can choose how much storage you put on the server. You can have one to three nodes, depending on whether you want more CPU or storage."
"The technical support from HPE has always been good in my experience."
"We usually use three blades for two-rack units, and with enough storage, it's really a small system with a powerful CPU, powerful hard drives, powerful disks."
"Apollo Systems provide stuff that standard services do not. More HTDs, more compute power, at very reasonable pricing."
"With IBM Power11, downtime is virtually eliminated because the system has been fully optimized."
"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."
"I can have what they call multi-tenancy, meaning that I can have multiple tenants within the same server."
"BM Power Systems get updated every two years and are scalable and stable."
"Some of the most valuable features are the processing power, stability, and security."
"What we like the most is the ability to upgrade the scaling of the system itself. Whenever we need extra storage, we can do that. Whenever we need extra memory, we can do that as well. It's fast and it's available."
"The backups work great, data recovery works great."
"The best features of the solution are its robustness and service level."
 

Cons

"We have tried to used standardization using Ubuntu Linux and it's been hard. They had some difficulties getting the RAID configuration up and running because there are no drivers for it. It's not supported by HPE."
"I would want to see the flexibility of being able to run various network protocols including InfiniBand, Fibre Channel, as well as iSCSI, with iSCSI going up to 100 gigabytes per second -that would be outstanding."
"We could, perhaps, use more GPUs in the future, go from eight to 16 GPUs per instance. That could run head-to-head against the DGX-1, the DGX-2 that NVIDIA has developed in their own chassis. That would be interesting to see."
"What's coming out in Gen 10 is very strong in terms of additional security."
"The technical support for HPE Apollo Systems could be improved."
"HPE Apollo's after-sales support and technical support should be improved."
"Lustre seems to be just a little bit unstable overall."
"One drawback which I had: When I needed to expand storage on the Apollo, I had significant problems getting disks for it. It was a very long wait-time. So, if I were to give any advice in regards to improving this product, I would say make more of the 8TB disks available quicker."
"I think the cost should be cheaper."
"IBM should provide a platform where users can learn about the storage and security of IBM Power Systems."
"In the next release, I would like to see additional graphical dashboards to help the administrators access information more easily."
"The price is a bit high and could be improved."
"No available price list is on the web. Due to this, the customer cannot compare pricing."
"I would like to see IBM Power Systems integrate with all cloud types."
"One of the features that we would like, and I think they are also adapting to the latest trends in the market, is to make it more open, more flexible... With VMware, anybody can create a virtual machine without any knowledge of the server side. But with AIX it's a bit difficult."
"One of the main challenges with IBM Power Systems is the functionality of live partnership mobility."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Obviously I would like to see the cost go down. That speaks for itself."
"It is an expensive solution but it is worth the money. The standard licensing cost is for the GPU and the features that someone is using. There are additional charges but they depend on the solution."
"The price of the solution is more expensive than Dell which is their main competitor. However, there are times we have managed to receive a comparable price."
"There is an annual license required to use HPE Apollo."
"Compared to other products, HPE Apollo is not an expensive solution."
"I give the cost a one out of ten."
"Its price is too high."
"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."
"Why should I be charged for that use rather than a single CPU, a single socket?"
"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."
"IBM Power is more expensive than other rack-mount servers, and you have to have a license for everything, including cores and memory."
"IBM Power Systems is very expensive."
"It is designed for a large workload, as opposed to a small workload. For our circumstances, and even as an independent, I can't buy a Power system to experiment on. It can't happen. You cannot buy them."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
13%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise12
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business17
Midsize Enterprise18
Large Enterprise42
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with HPE Apollo?
Additional features would be beneficial in the next release of HPE Apollo Systems.
What is your primary use case for HPE Apollo?
We were working with HPE Apollo Systems for one of our projects for the company named VVDN. We were using HPE Apollo Systems, GPU systems and CPU systems. For GPU systems, the model was 6500, in wh...
What advice do you have for others considering HPE Apollo?
Our company is a platinum partner with HPE, and we continue to deal with HPE. We sell many of their hardware products. Depending on the requirement or deal, we may sell HPE Converged System, hardwa...
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?
There are definitely areas for improvement, but that's not really from the technological side of things. I rarely find any people with Power skills on the market. When I get young people from unive...
What is your primary use case for IBM Power Systems?
I use IBM Power Systems for online transactional processing, and in parts, also for online analytical processing. We mainly use IBM Power Systems' IBMI, which is an operating system with an integra...
 

Also Known As

HP Apollo Systems, HP ProLiant SL, HP Apollo
IBM OpenPOWER LC
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Weta Digital
Cipher
Find out what your peers are saying about HPE Apollo Systems vs. IBM Power Systems and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
867,349 professionals have used our research since 2012.