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HPE BladeSystem vs HPE Synergy vs Lenovo Flex System 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:
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Blade Servers category, the mindshare of HPE BladeSystem is 8.6%, down from 13.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HPE Synergy is 9.7%, down from 21.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Lenovo Flex System is 4.5%, up from 3.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Blade Servers Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
HPE BladeSystem8.6%
HPE Synergy9.7%
Lenovo Flex System4.5%
Other77.2%
Blade Servers
 

Featured Reviews

Kapil Pandey - PeerSpot reviewer
Technology Management Consultant at National Institute for Smart Government - NISG
Reliability and reasonable pricing enhance data center management
I researched on peerspot.com about IT solutions, specifically about HPE BladeSystem and HPE Synergy, because we are already using HP servers in our state data center. In HP Cloud System, we are using a converged infrastructure to connect LAN and SAN connectivity across the network. Regarding Virtual Connect technology, there is a noticeable impact on network management. For day-to-day operations, we use various applications such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams to connect virtually. Using HPE BladeSystem Virtual Connect technology in HP Cloud System, we achieve efficient network management with well-defined LAN and SAN connectivity. We already have a defined modular architecture in place designed by the HP team for our data center. My company name is National Institute for Smart Government, also called NISG, under the National e-Governance Division. My title is Technology Management Consultant. I would rate HPE BladeSystem as an eight out of ten.
MR
Presales engineer and consultant at Hybrid Tech
Redundant components and single console management improve efficiency while high costs warrant attention
Regarding HPE Synergy, the most valuable feature is that the whole solution and the whole system operate in passive mode, and there are very few chances of downtime as all the components in HPE Synergy are redundant, including VC Flex modules and interconnect modules, as well as power supply and fan modules. Other networking and storage connectivity modules are also redundant, and we can mount the entire Synergy frame in a single rack. If we fully populate a Synergy frame with 12 servers, 12 physical machines could be mounted in one Synergy frame, mostly with redundant power supplies and networking ports along with SAN connectivity on a single console.
FA
Senior System Administrator at Khushhali Microfinance Bank
Used to run the compute load on servers, but firmware and driver upgrades are a bit difficult
We use the solution for multiple purposes, such as in the virtualization cluster and the standalone applications We use the solution as a compute model to run the compute load on servers. The solution's firmware and driver upgrades are a bit difficult. I have been using Lenovo Flex System for…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of the HPE BladeSystem is the ease of management and the robust design."
"Users with feedback in terms of workload performance have reported that a job that typically took 3 or 4 hours to run took a few minutes."
"We feel it is the best fit and the most reliable product that we can use and it is a reasonable price."
"For me, the most valuable features are integration and simple defining."
"We use a lot of HP products, in fact, and so HP is a big partner of ours, and it makes things in our organization run more efficiently and with less interruption when we run the BladeSystem with our other HP solutions."
"The solution uses a smaller space in our data centers. It uses less feeder and network cable, which reduces costs."
"They have served different needs for us from virtualized web servers to dedicated databases and application servers."
"The most valuable feature, of course, is its size as I can build a huge compute resource on it."
"It is a good product for hypervisors."
"It's a fully integrated solution with OneView."
"This is above and beyond anything else any of the competitors have on the market. If you're researching this, you're going down the right path."
"What I find most valuable about this product are the number of interface combinations made possible with a single computer node."
"Synergy is a flexible product, so it helps us to manage our IT landscape in a more simplified, structured way."
"The Synergy environment provides us with one view. We're able to manage the entire stack, top to bottom, from that single view."
"The composability is great."
"In terms of our cost of operations, given the reduction of our deployment times, down to 20 percent of the time it used to take, we are definitely saving time, and that is time our engineers can spend doing other things, working on other projects and priorities."
"One of the most valuable features of this solution is its ease of use."
"The product is very user-friendly and has many resources at the enterprise level."
"The functionality is reliable and requires minimal support."
"The product is very user-friendly and has many resources at the enterprise level."
"The most valuable feature of the Lenovo Flex System is the storage system."
"The Lenovo Flex System is very stable."
"It's stable, it works well, and we have had no problem with it for a long time."
"I have found the solution to be quite stable."
 

Cons

"I would like to see a better UI for configuring the VDX switches."
"If we could get the cost down that would be good."
"I rate the stability of HPE BladeSystem a nine out of ten."
"Really look at it closely, but really look at the Synergy product as well. That seems to me like that's the next evolution of the BladeSystem."
"Technical support is also great for troubleshooting post-sales, but only if you speak with a high-level tech support professional. Their first-level tech support professionals are not great."
"There is always room for improvement everywhere with the HPE BladeSystem."
"The only issue I’ve encountered has been with pre-sales support (i.e. getting accurate quotes to purchase systems)."
"Some bugs, which were solved by a firmware update."
"I think that they can improve the update because the update is problematic now. When you want to update the firmware, or when you want to update software on Composer, it takes a lot of time."
"Its management needs some work. It is not the best in terms of management."
"The solution should support Cisco or other vendor interconnect models."
"I'd like to see the firmware updates, as well as the built-in OneView and imager in Composer, become a little more powerful and faster."
"I would like to see more nodes in a single chassis so we wouldn't have to purchase additional chassis."
"The possibility of using storage directly in the frame in order to have bigger storage directly there, and not having an attached storage like SAN or NAS. That would be helpful."
"The only issue that we had was our rack was too small. The product is heavy, so it took a lot to get it in there."
"There is certainly a feature or two missing."
"Flex System's integration with the XClarity Management System could be improved."
"The price of the Lenovo Flex System could improve."
"Flex System's integration with the XClarity Management System could be improved."
"The user interface needs improvement because they have an application from which we have to manage the whole system and all of the infrastructure."
"The installation was not easy."
"It does not have the same module flexibility that was present in IBM Blade. On the Blade System, I was able to choose between the Cisco module, or BMC module; since the switch to Lenovo, I have not had the same choice of modules, only the BMC modules."
"It does not have the same module flexibility that was present in IBM Blade. On the Blade System, I was able to choose between the Cisco module, or BMC module. Since the switch to Lenovo, I have not had the same choice of modules, only the BMC modules."
"I had some difficulties with the initial setup."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Add OneView and ILO advanced to the base product. Don’t adjust the price, but just include them."
"The licensing is on an annual basis."
"BladeSystem is a little bit cheaper."
"The HPE BladeSystem is an expensive solution."
"I need to pay for the license, and it is expensive. We make yearly payments."
"With regards to the prices, they need to adapt to the current needs of the country."
"The price of HPE BladeSystem is less expensive than some other solutions, such as Dell. The cost of replacement equipment is expensive."
"Its pricing was good. We selected this solution because it was within our budget. We paid just once when we bought it. We never bought any license."
"We pay about £500 for the solution."
"We have already paid once. It is just the price for the permit and its use. It seems you don't have to keep paying for it, but I am not sure."
"The solution can be expensive because it requires both hardware and software purchases."
"Synergy has lowered our total cost of ownership significantly. I would say ballpark around 25 percent, maybe more."
"We are satisfied with its price."
"In our whole environment, the cost is in the millions. On this particular chassis, the annual cost is 12 blades times approximately $40,000."
"The solution has reduced our IT infrastructure costs by 50 percent."
"For me, the scalability is how much money that I need to spend on switches for how many frames, which ultimately means servers. To get the best bandwidth before the most recent product announcement, I have buy new switches every three frames. The competition is shipping a product right now where I only need switches every ten frames."
"The is an annual license cost to use the Lenovo Flex System. If the price was less expensive and flexible overall and for additional features, our customers would be happier."
"We are just paying the operational cost, which is not much."
"We have the whole maintenance for the 3 years, starting the deployment. We also have the VMware license for 3 years and I think we have another license to buy. There are no additional costs besides licensing."
"There is a one-off payment to buy the equipment and the support is purchased annually."
"The 14 blade server allows significant room for upscaling before having to invest in another chassis. You would have to purchase another chassis much sooner in the case of an eight or nine blade server."
"The price is interesting. I am able to quote a client based on their needs and offer them either Lenovo or Dell."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
18%
Construction Company
10%
Marketing Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
7%
Healthcare Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Construction Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
University
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business29
Midsize Enterprise40
Large Enterprise104
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business31
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise56
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Large Enterprise7
 

Questions from the Community

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 s...
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 identifyin...
What needs improvement with HPE BladeSystem?
The main area for improvement I see is the training process. When you use anything, how easily it is to manage is ver...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HPE Synergy?
As far as the prices are concerned, rack mount solutions are less expensive than HPE Synergy prices; however, HPE Syn...
What needs improvement with HPE Synergy?
In my opinion, for future improvements in HPE Synergy, there should be better management of power consumption complex...
What is your primary use case for HPE Synergy?
The typical use case for HPE Synergy is mainly the requirement of customers for single console management as well as ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Lenovo Flex System?
Compared to its quality, the pricing is very reasonable and represents good value.
What needs improvement with Lenovo Flex System?
Continuing the production of this product is necessary. It is currently out of support, and we are seeking support fr...
What is your primary use case for Lenovo Flex System?
We are using Lenovo Flex System on the server for our VMware environment, which includes our VMs and all our servers,...
 

Also Known As

HP ProLiant BL Series Servers, HP ProLiant BladeSystem
No data available
Flex System Blade Servers, Flex System SN Series
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

EMIS Health
HudsonAlpha, Virgin Media, EMIS, United
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell Technologies, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Cisco and others in Blade Servers. Updated: May 2026.
896,298 professionals have used our research since 2012.