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HPE SimpliVity vs Lenovo ThinkAgile VX Series comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 31, 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 SimpliVity
Ranking in HCI
6th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
153
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Lenovo ThinkAgile VX Series
Ranking in HCI
20th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
8.0
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the HCI category, the mindshare of HPE SimpliVity is 8.6%, down from 10.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Lenovo ThinkAgile VX Series is 1.4%, down from 1.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
HCI
 

Featured Reviews

Xavier Perez - PeerSpot reviewer
Has a deployment phase that is straightforward but needs improvement in the area of scalability
The main issue with HPE SimpliVity is that you are very attached to VMware or VMware dependencies because the tool works with VMware technology. HPE SimpliVity is an add-on from VMware. Nowadays, my company has a lot of concerns about VMware's licensing policy. Another big concern of the tool is related to security because one has to continuously update patch vulnerabilities that are appearing continuously in VMware's different versions. Actually, the foundation of all the architecture is VMware and that is one of the main issues with the tool. My company is analyzing our virtual infrastructure strategy to see if we can move to Nutanix because maybe it may work better and might have another approach. Nutanix is absolutely independent of VMware. I could add that since HPE SimpliVity is very precisely dependent on VMware, it is not open to containers unlike Nutanix, for example. The aforementioned area is a concern that needs to be resolved by HPE.
Genesis Dapoza - PeerSpot reviewer
simplifies management for clients familiar with VMware, and offers a user-friendly management and configuration experience
With the VX machines, the clients often confuse the hardware itself with the services and resources. VMs are configured according to resources - memory, hard disk capacity, and network. These resources, including memory and processor, are actually shared on the VX Series. So, if the server's processor is underpowered or unreliable for the VMs, many of the VMs will encounter issues. Ideally, the physical server configuration should align more closely with the needs of the virtual servers. The drawback is that the hardware resources (CPU, memory, storage) are shared among all the VMs running on the VX Series. If the server's processor is underpowered for the VMs, many of the VMs might have performance issues. An improvement could be to have more granular control over resource allocation to VMs.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Software upgrades and scalability can be done during normal business hours with no downtime."
"The whole backup capability, where we are able to create backups and restore backups in typically 40 to 50 seconds, has been great."
"The initial setup was straightforward."
"Improves backup time and DR solution."
"It is just a one-stop shop, a single appliance that I can control through my virtual center."
"Its performance and availability are most valuable."
"The most valuable aspect of the HPE SimpliVity is the DL380 G10. We have mostly been using VMware and Hyper-V. On one side we have Hyper-V and the other side we have the VMware."
"The solution's simplicity is its most valuable feature. The usability is also good."
"The clients like the solution’s simplicity."
"Lenovo ThinkAgile VX Series' deployment is easy. We are a tier-one platinum partner who is into multiple implementations."
"We find the setup quite straightforward and very easy."
"The VX machines are scalable."
"Installation is straightforward because it's a vSAN. It only took one or two days."
 

Cons

"While SimpliVity was a pioneer of cloud connect capability, they have simply not exploited it."
"Not being able to apply ESXi patches as needed has always been a concern, but it has not become a big issue."
"While it has been a while since HPE acquired SimpliVity, there is a lack of understanding/awareness about the product. In short, it took me time to actually make them understand they had a product named SimpliVity, which as you can imagine does not instill a great deal of confidence."
"Needs to improve the cloud integration, such as Azure and AWS."
"High availability for large production environments needs to be offered."
"I'm not a technical guy, and I am pretty much okay with the way it is, but it would help if it was closest to Nutanix in Gartner's Magic Quadrants. Nutanix very often beats us. Nutanix provides Acropolis for free. It probably would be great if we have a virtualization layer. It is something that might be lacking in our solution. We depend on VMware, and it is very expensive. It is lacking the software that allows us to install it with HPE and not depend on a third party."
"SimpliVity has very limited options for the virtualization layer."
"It would be better if it could integrate more easily with other vendors."
"With the VX machines, the clients often confuse the hardware itself with the services and resources. VMs are configured according to resources - memory, hard disk capacity, and network. These resources, including memory and processor, are actually shared on the VX Series. So, if the server's processor is underpowered or unreliable for the VMs, many of the VMs will encounter issues. Ideally, the physical server configuration should align more closely with the needs of the virtual servers."
"The user management could be a bit better. It's something they could improve upon in future releases."
"Lenovo ThinkAgile VX Series needs to improve its stability. Its resolution should be faster."
"The product must provide AI features."
"Support could be better."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"For the VMware licensing, it is approximately $10,000 a year."
"The licenses from the product are expensive compared to the other solutions in the market."
"The licensing cost could be lower."
"Its licensing is quite easy. There is a model license, but it depends on the system you buy. There are no extra costs. There is only one license."
"The only thing that I think we are paying for is the VMware licenses, but we are enterprise, so it is not horrible."
"The pricing is very high."
"It is not too expensive, but it is quite expensive for me."
"The hardware is expensive. For the same price, Cisco can provide more hardware specifications for us."
"There is room for improvement in the licensing structure, maybe. Regarding sizing the resources, sometimes it's difficult to calculate/compute them based on the client's requirements."
"The tool is expensive."
"You need to pay a license for additional features. If we need to monitor hardware for the automatic alert notification, we need to pay them."
"The tool's pricing is competitive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
60%
Computer Software Company
7%
Government
4%
Manufacturing Company
4%
Computer Software Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
8%
Educational Organization
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

How does HPE Simplivity compare with VMware vSAN?
HPE SimpliVity is a hyper-converged infrastructure solution that is primarily geared to mid-sized companies. We researched VMware vSAN but found HPE was a better option for us. HPE SimpliVity has ...
What do you like most about HPE SimpliVity?
The solution's technical support is good.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HPE SimpliVity?
The price is almost equal to VMware vSAN, making it not much cost saving. However, the time-saving during upgrades is notable.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Lenovo ThinkAgile VX Series?
The licensing model is moderately complex. The tool is expensive. It is VMware’s fault, though.
What needs improvement with Lenovo ThinkAgile VX Series?
The product must provide AI features. It depends on VMware since the core is software. The solution must provide a more detailed plan to enable simplicity of use.
 

Also Known As

SimpliVity, HPE HCI
Lenovo VX Series, ThinkAgile VX Series
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Red Bull Racing, Mandarin Oriental, Brigham Young University, UCLA, Merlin Entertainments, Sasa Cosmetics, Travelport, St. John’s Riverside Hospital, Princess House
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about HPE SimpliVity vs. Lenovo ThinkAgile VX Series and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.