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HPE Synergy vs Lenovo Flex System comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 3, 2025

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 Synergy
Ranking in Blade Servers
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
91
Ranking in other categories
Composable Infrastructure (1st)
Lenovo Flex System
Ranking in Blade Servers
9th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Blade Servers category, the mindshare of HPE Synergy is 14.6%, down from 21.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Lenovo Flex System is 4.4%, up from 3.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Blade Servers Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
HPE Synergy14.6%
Lenovo Flex System4.4%
Other81.0%
Blade Servers
 

Featured Reviews

MS
Works at Saudi Telecom Company
Manage servers efficiently with an integrated view while reducing downtime
My use case is to serve the complete IT environment of the telecom, including all cloud applications. I use HPE Synergy servers for my private cloud and for network management systems. 70% of my workload is running on HPE servers The integrated view, such as managing complete servers and…
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

"It's a bit easier to manage than the C7000s."
"We build out a whole stack at one time, so we don't have to worry about it until that stack is full, then that gives us time to get the next one ready."
"It makes it simpler for me to manage my environment. It is one pane of glass, compared to multiple."
"Being able to connect my 3PAR arrays to the Synergy platform is the most valuable aspect to me."
"In the data center, you see customers with a lot of blade enclosures and a lot of servers, and this solution works fine."
"In terms of managing our IT landscape, it helps by reducing complexity... We've taken one of our virtualization guys and turned him into a Synergy guy, and he's been able to understand the networking, he's been able to understand the OneView, he's been able to understand the Synergy. He manages all of those rather than our having to have multiple teams associated with it."
"The solution has decreased the deployment time for a new blade, saving us three hours."
"We're able to provision different applications, different demonstrations, add cloud-like speeds on-prem, which is unheard of in the industry."
"Flex System's best features are its performance and stability."
"The stability and speed are always good. The processor is good and it's still working with our loads."
"It comes at a good price. We didn't face any problems with this product."
"One of the most valuable features of this solution is its ease of use."
"The initial setup is straightforward."
"The functionality is reliable and requires minimal support."
"We use the solution as a compute model to run the compute load on servers."
"The most valuable feature of the Lenovo Flex System is the storage system."
 

Cons

"This solution could be improved by increasing the speed on the conversion adapters. It should be 100 gigs."
"There is certainly a feature or two missing."
"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."
"They were not so deep into integration with VMware."
"We'd like to see faster networking in the back-end."
"The only good thing is that they have some powerful machines that you can use, such as the latest generations of HPE Compute that you can use."
"The solution should support Cisco or other vendor interconnect models."
"ICMs could be better in this model. When you look at its competitors, the most critical point is the throughput. HPE is the best with the ICM module, which is an interconnect module that connects the servers of the frames to the LAN and SAN. HPE Synergy should also support the latest processors provided by Intel."
"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."
"The most valuable feature of the Lenovo Flex System is the storage system."
"The solution could improve by providing more integration with other platforms."
"I had some difficulties with the initial setup."
"The solution's firmware and driver upgrades are a bit difficult."
"Continuing the production of this product is necessary. It is currently out of support, and we are seeking support from other sources besides Lenovo."
"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 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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is a perpetual license given when you purchase HPE Synergy."
"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 price point is a little high. We were able to get a good deal on a promotion, to go with it. It would be nice to see the prices come down a little bit."
"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 licensing is more around the software for RGS, because we are deploying bare metal installs. It is mainly the operating system and any lights-out management. So, licensing is minimum. We are licensing it annually."
"The Nutanix platform came in a little more expensive than the Synergy."
"The solution can be expensive because it requires both hardware and software purchases."
"The cost is high and that is a drawback for some customers."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"We are just paying the operational cost, which is not much."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
Government
14%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
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 stable. It turns out Bladesystem was the winner. Bladesystem is excellent because...
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 Synergy prices are higher but justify themselves as the solution accommodates all t...
What needs improvement with HPE Synergy?
In my opinion, for future improvements in HPE Synergy, there should be better management of power consumption complexity as well as an increase in the number of servers that can fit in a single Syn...
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 from other sources besides Lenovo.
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.
 

Also Known As

No data available
Flex System Blade Servers, Flex System SN Series
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

HudsonAlpha, Virgin Media, EMIS, United
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about HPE Synergy vs. Lenovo Flex System and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
880,490 professionals have used our research since 2012.