Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

HPE Apollo Systems vs PowerEdge C comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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 Density Optimized Servers
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
Rack Servers (6th)
PowerEdge C
Ranking in Density Optimized Servers
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
28
Ranking in other categories
Blade Servers (7th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Density Optimized Servers category, the mindshare of HPE Apollo Systems is 20.9%, down from 30.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of PowerEdge C is 26.3%, up from 18.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Density Optimized Servers
 

Featured Reviews

Gayan Senadheera - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers higher capacities compared to other solutions, making it suitable for handling large storage needs
In terms of improvement, we could benefit from some training. If there could be some training for our team, we would be better equipped to promote and support HPE Apollo. Currently, we haven't received any specific training related to HPE Apollo throughout my career. If HPE Apollo provides training, we can share the knowledge with our partners, which could lead to more opportunities for HPE Apollo in the market. Deal protection and other support measures would also be beneficial, as they could help us achieve better results in this market.
Al Vasek - PeerSpot reviewer
Supports business apps and VDI with reliable compute
The solution is all about compute. The solutions are easy to handle, priced correctly, reliable, and dependable. Cisco is similar but more complex to configure and usually more expensive. My team supports a lot of Dell, focusing on hybrid environments like Azure Stack, splitting workloads between high compute needs in databases, which are expensive in the cloud, and other workloads in the cloud.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It's going to meet our needs moving forward, it is scalable."
"The solution is well documented in a data sheet."
"HPE Apollo's most valuable feature is the ability to expand our storage capacity."
"When we moved to the Apollo and all flash drives, we gained a lot of performance."
"The cost benefit of this solution is most valuable. It is quite effective for the work for which we are using it. We are mainly running video servers on these, and we are quite happy with the resilience, density storage, and streaming capacity of the system."
"HPE Apollo's support is the most valuable feature."
"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."
"The solutions are easy to handle, priced correctly, reliable, and dependable."
"Every new version is better than the previous one."
"The hybrid solution is much more stable than other products."
"I have found the compression capability the most valuable feature."
"It was not complex to deploy."
"The product has high performance and no downtime."
"The product stability has been excellent."
"PowerEdge C is the best server I have worked with. I like that it's user-friendly. PowerEdge C performs very well."
 

Cons

"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 would like to see improved cooling because that is quite an issue. If you put that much compute power into a single rack, cooling really becomes an issue. And there is room for improvement there."
"There is a shared battery for all cache controllers in the node. When you have to replace that element, you have to take down all three nodes and not just one."
"The technical support from HPE has always been good in my experience."
"What's coming out in Gen 10 is very strong in terms of additional security."
"We would like to see SimpliVity on top of the Apollo."
"The solution's deployment, security, and scalability need improvement."
"The predictive analysis feature could be improved."
"A feature that needs to be added is the ability for full container storage."
"The pricing of PowerEdge solutions is very high nowadays."
"The reliability needs improvement."
"HP is a little bit lower in terms of price."
"It would be easier if data center management and disaster recovery were combined."
"Customer service and support have been generally helpful but can be slow due to the need to navigate different specialists."
"It would be better if the solution provided simplified storage and hardware with an integrated one-tier architecture."
"It should be improved in terms of future expansion. We should be able to have additional free slots for future extensions in terms of memory."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"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."
"Compared to other products, HPE Apollo is not an expensive solution."
"Obviously I would like to see the cost go down. That speaks for itself."
"There is an annual license required to use HPE Apollo."
"When we talk about pricing it is the cheapest on the market that I have found."
"PowerEdge C is very expensive, but personally, I think it's worth the price."
"PowerEdge C is a reasonably priced product, and the pricing depends on how many years you need the product. The cost also includes the support."
"I don't handle the financial aspects, so I don't know the exact costs, but in terms of the value it brings, it's worth it."
"The price of the solution is reasonable."
"There is a need to pay towards the annual subscription-based licensing model offered by the solution. The product is moderately priced. Price is a critical issue, and it is always good to have moderately priced solutions."
"The licensing cost of PowerEdge C is very high."
"The cost depends on the configuration."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Density Optimized Servers solutions are best for your needs.
860,711 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Computer Software Company
12%
Venture Capital & Private Equity Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about HPE Apollo?
HPE Apollo's pricing is low, and implementation is very easy compared to other products.
What needs improvement with HPE Apollo?
HPE Apollo's after-sales support and technical support should be improved. The solution should provide fast delivery when it comes to replacing a particular product that is under warranty.
What is your primary use case for HPE Apollo?
We use HPE Apollo for specific requirements of Linux servers.
What do you like most about PowerEdge C?
The solution provides good support and service.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for PowerEdge C?
PowerEdge is quite a costly solution, and I would rate the pricing around seven or eight on a scale from one to ten with ten being the most expensive.
What needs improvement with PowerEdge C?
With reference architectures like VX rack, the update process is quite painful. They could automate or simplify it more. There are prerequisites to go through, and that's usually the only time-cons...
 

Also Known As

HP Apollo Systems, HP ProLiant SL, HP Apollo
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Weta Digital
NxtGen Datacenter, Medien-Service Untermain (MSU), Exasol, IndigoVision, Dayco
Find out what your peers are saying about HPE Apollo Systems vs. PowerEdge C and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,711 professionals have used our research since 2012.