HPE BladeSystem vs Lenovo Flex System comparison

Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Lenovo are both solutions in the Blade Servers category. Hewlett Packard Enterprise is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.9, while Lenovo is ranked #11 with an average rating of 8.7. Hewlett Packard Enterprise holds a 14.1% mindshare in Blade Servers, compared to Lenovo’s 3.2% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of Hewlett Packard Enterprise users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Lenovo users who would recommend it.

HPE BladeSystem

Read 139 HPE BladeSystem reviews

1,961 Views
1,287 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

Lenovo Flex System

Read 10 Lenovo Flex System reviews

400 Views
255 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

HPE BladeSystem

Lenovo Flex System

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 3, 2025

HPE BladeSystem and Lenovo Flex System are key players in the enterprise server market. Reviews suggest HPE BladeSystem has an advantage in terms of support and scalability, while Lenovo Flex System stands out with resource capacity and user-friendliness.

Features: HPE BladeSystem is known for durability and configurability, particularly for its iLO management and reliability over time. It offers comprehensive management tools and scalability. Lenovo Flex System is praised for reliability and performance, with a focus on storage capabilities and user-friendliness, providing high resource capacity before upscaling.

Room for Improvement: HPE BladeSystem faces challenges with outdated technology and limited parts availability, with concerns over scalability and licensing processes. Its management lags behind competitors, needing better support and integration. Lenovo Flex System requires improved integration with other platforms and better module flexibility, with users noting initial setup and customer support issues.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: HPE BladeSystem offers reputable customer service with proactive support but regional discrepancies in response times are noted. Lenovo Flex System shines in initial customer service but struggles with consistent issue resolution, indicating a need for more uniform support.

Pricing and ROI: HPE BladeSystem is perceived as having high initial costs but delivers excellent long-term ROI through reduced operational expenses. It's ideal for large enterprises. Lenovo Flex System offers competitive pricing and more cost-effective scalability options, delivering significant ROI with upfront savings. Both systems have tailored pricing strategies for distinct market needs.

To learn more, read our detailed HPE BladeSystem vs. Lenovo Flex System Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

HPE BladeSystem vs. Lenovo Flex System

June 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

HPE BladeSystem

Ranking in Blade Servers

3rd

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

139

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Lenovo Flex System

Ranking in Blade Servers

11th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Blade Servers category, the mindshare of HPE BladeSystem is 14.1%, down from 16.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Lenovo Flex System is 3.2%, up from 2.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Blade Servers

Featured Reviews

Fatai Akinwande

Specialist Datacenter and Server at IHS Towers

Enables you to manage all resources from a single dashboard using the OneView feature

In terms of improvements, I'd suggest enhancing the stability of the HPE BladeSystem, especially regarding network connectivity. We once had an issue where a system didn’t communicate with the network, and it took a while to diagnose the problem. Eventually, we discovered it was a motherboard issue, but we initially thought it was the network card. Improving the onboard administratordashboard to provide more granular insights, like clearly identifying faultycomponents, would make troubleshooting much more efficient. Aside from that, the system is superb and has been reliable.

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Syed Ibrahim

Assistant Manager Systems - IT Infrastructure at a transportation company with 10,001+ employees

Provides a high initial ceiling before upscaling is required, user-friendly and rich in resources, but has occasional stability issues

The solution should come with cloud native applications to prepare for cloud based solutions. Forced restarts due to free upgrades is an issue that needs to be resolved. We can manage this as we have high availability and redundancy, but without that it could be a real problem. The level of customer support needs to be improved. There is currently an issue with Lenovo switching out SAN switches from the chassis, which will cause problems for people who already have a set up with the SAN switch connected to the central storage. This could require an entirely different network, adding an additional cost for the user.

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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 density of the BladeSystem, that we can keep adding blades as we need more VMs."

"Remote management features are valuable."

"They are reliable, and it's relatively easy to manage them. They also regularly provide patching for the servers."

"Virtual Fabric and interconnects are easy to configure and maintain."

"The solution is very easy to use."

"Cabling complexity and volume have been reduced."

"The solution is issue-free and works almost flawlessly."

"It's very scalable."

More HPE BladeSystem pros

"One of the most valuable features of this solution is its ease of use."

"Flex System's best features are its performance and stability."

"The initial setup is straightforward."

"The most valuable feature of the Lenovo Flex System is the storage system."

"The Lenovo Flex System is very stable."

"We use the solution as a compute model to run the compute load on servers."

"The functionality is reliable and requires minimal support."

"The stability and speed are always good. The processor is good and it's still working with our loads."

More Lenovo Flex System pros

Cons

"If you compare it with Lenovo systems, the pricing is too high."

"I rate the stability of HPE BladeSystem a nine out of ten."

"The scalability is limited because you only have a 16-server by chassis."

"They are not selling BladeSystem anymore. The end of the sale of this platform was this year, 2020."

"The solution could improve by having more automation, such as the automatic mapping feature that is available in the Synergy Blade series."

"Currently, in the case of a disk failure there is a need to remove the whole bay and as a result, to disconnect all the other disks."

"The response time in terms of getting technical support assistance could be improved."

"We have not needed to contact support because we have not had an issue. However, the partner support we had could improve. There are some disadvantages compared to Dell. The questions that are asked from the support are too lengthy, this causes a delay in support."

More HPE BladeSystem cons

"The solution could improve by providing more integration with other platforms."

"Continuing the production of this product is necessary. It is currently out of support, and we are seeking support from other sources besides Lenovo."

"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."

"Flex System's integration with the XClarity Management System could be improved."

"The most valuable feature of the Lenovo Flex System is the storage system."

"The user-interface needs improvement, because they have an application from which we have to manage the whole system and all the infrastructure. This application is not working at our premises, because of some problem with the hardware itself. So although we brought it with our systems, and we used it to manage all the systems: the storage, the switches, and everything, nevertheless we have to support every part alone and enter the interface in one-by-one."

"The product could improve its integration capabilities."

"The solution's firmware and driver upgrades are a bit difficult."

More Lenovo Flex System cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price for HPE BladeSystem can vary between $100,000 to $1 million or above. The price can be high."

"Add OneView and ILO advanced to the base product. Don’t adjust the price, but just include them."

"We have an annual license."

"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."

"The pricing is competitive."

"The product’s price is high compared to one of its competitors."

"There is a one-time purchase for the HPE BladeSystem."

More HPE BladeSystem pricing and cost advice

"We are just paying the operational cost, which is not much."

"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."

"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."

"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."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

12%

Computer Software Company

11%

Government

10%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

18%

Computer Software Company

16%

Government

16%

Educational Organization

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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 stable. It turns out Bladesystem was the winner. Bladesystem is excellent because...

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What do you like most about HPE BladeSystem?

The solution is scalable, offering flexibility and expansion options to meet changing business needs.

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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 identifying reasonable prices during the setup cost and licensing process, especially for ...

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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.

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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 from other sources besides Lenovo.

See all answers

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, Linux and Windows. It manages the daily operation efficiently.

See all answers

Comparisons

HPE Synergy vs HPE BladeSystem

Compared 58% of the time

Dell PowerEdge M vs HPE BladeSystem

Compared 19% of the time

Cisco UCS B-Series vs HPE BladeSystem

Compared 11% of the time

HPE Superdome X vs HPE BladeSystem

Compared 7% of the time

Supermicro SuperBlade vs HPE BladeSystem

Compared 5% of the time

More HPE BladeSystem Competitors

HPE Superdome X vs Lenovo Flex System

Compared 57% of the time

HPE Synergy vs Lenovo Flex System

Compared 43% of the time

More Lenovo Flex System Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

HPE BladeSystem

June 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Blade Servers

May 2025

Download Lenovo Flex System product report

Also Known As

HP ProLiant BL Series Servers, HP ProLiant BladeSystem

Flex System Blade Servers, Flex System SN Series

Overview

HP ProLiant BladeSystem share power, cooling, network, and storage infrastructure via the blade enclosure. Since equipment is not needed for each server, you get a dramatic reduction in power distribution units, power cables, LAN and SAN switches, connectors, adapters, and cables. And you can add the newest-generation technologies by simply changing individual components.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Flex System is Lenovo’s proven, 2nd generation blade, that efficiently runs your infrastructure applications with up to 80% better density than standard rack server deployments.

Lenovo

Sample Customers

EMIS Health

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

HPE BladeSystem vs. Lenovo Flex System

June 2025

Free Report: HPE BladeSystem vs. Lenovo Flex System

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