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IBM Power Systems vs Oracle SPARC Servers comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 29, 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

IBM Power Systems
Ranking in Rack Servers
4th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
3.9
Number of Reviews
71
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Oracle SPARC Servers
Ranking in Rack Servers
8th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
8.0
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of IBM Power Systems is 9.1%, up from 8.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle SPARC Servers is 3.7%, down from 3.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Rack Servers
 

Featured Reviews

Rohintan-Karanjia - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers security features, including HIPs, Postgres, intrusion prevention systems, and AI for specific tasks
We've found that sometimes, certain setups require better servers. Ideally, the next level of model that IBM offers would be perfect for those situations. Sometimes, the availability of additional services can be a challenge for some software. Certain IBM software takes time to deliver to the client. It can be slow. So deployment is an area for improvement.
Abdul-Salam - PeerSpot reviewer
A rock-solid OS and rich virtualization features for hosting many VMs on one box
Oracle doesn't have a good roadmap for the solution because they are moving to the x86 platform. Oracle is focusing on the cloud platform with a PCA and standard x86 architecture. Linux is their other OS and is mostly in the cloud. We don't see much development happening on Solaris even though it came as an acquisition from Sun Microsystems. Eventually, the solution and its platform will die because there has been no new development on the Solaris end and we haven't seen new servers in the last five years. At this point, we are pretty sure there is no real roadmap or future for the solution. There is a shortage of expert engineers because Oracle is not pushing the technology. It is hard for us to find engineers because the number of people supporting us has considerably reduced.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"When it comes to reliability, availability and profitability, nothing can beat IBM Power Systems."
"The availability of a solution depends on the requirement of the customer. The most valuable feature is the virtualization. You can have this one system or you can use it for many. They were using almost 120 servers within that specific service."
"The solution does not require any maintenance."
"We found working with IBM Power Systems that LPM is the most valuable feature."
"IBM Power Systems' best features are its reliability, resilience, and performance per rack unit."
"The SMT that they've improved has really helped open up boundaries for other applications that can use it."
"The uptime feature is great."
"What we like the most is the ability to upgrade the scaling of the system itself. Whenever we need extra storage, we can do that. Whenever we need extra memory, we can do that as well. It's fast and it's available."
"The processor is very helpful and the licensing is very flexible."
"The Oracle server is very powerful. They are more powerful and durable compared to Intel hardware. Which has been a benefit to our organization."
"Our customers are happy with many features in Oracle SPARC Servers, like the automatic ASR feature."
"The operating system is rock solid and the best I have ever used."
"The most valuable features of the solution stem from the fact that Oracle Database functions very well with Oracle SPARC Servers."
"I have found the LDAP facilities most valuable. In addition, I like the CPU."
"The performance is the best feature."
 

Cons

"The pricing is high."
"Its price can be improved. It is too high."
"One of the main challenges with IBM Power Systems is the functionality of live partnership mobility."
"There are improvements that can be made on the technical side."
"In the next release, I would like to see additional graphical dashboards to help the administrators access information more easily."
"I would like to see IBM Power Systems integrate with all cloud types."
"It would be ideal if the solution was more simple to work with."
"I think IBM needs a little more work on managing the overall environment with eliminating Systems Director."
"The solution could improve by giving a clear roadmap about the future. I'm not seeing a lot of improvements on the OS side of the software. They need to work more on the operating system."
"Like IBM, Oracle SPARC Servers should be able to run other open operating systems like Linux."
"I would like to see a reduced price point."
"They need some sort of modeling because IBM has different types of models."
"Oracle doesn't have a good roadmap for the solution because they are moving to the x86 platform."
"They have declared the end of life of the hardware."
"Oracle SPARC Servers should be fine-tuned well enough to work with the other servers and software products in the market, as it is an area where Oracle SPARC Servers lack."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Price-wise, I rate the solution a five out of ten."
"It is designed for a large workload, as opposed to a small workload. For our circumstances, and even as an independent, I can't buy a Power system to experiment on. It can't happen. You cannot buy them."
"The machine is good and has a comparatively good price."
"When there is an error in the SAS drive of 10,000 RPM, my company buys support for 1,500 USD."
"There is a yearly licensing cost, and it's an expensive solution."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"IBM Power Systems is a really expensive product."
"The solution's pricing is very, very high compared to other platforms."
"The licensing is flexible."
"Oracle SPARC Servers are expensive to manage, this is because after five years Oracle will increase the support charges for the hardware. The licensing policy for Oracle is different for Intel and Sparc. It will cost you less if you use your Oracle hardware with Oracle SPARC Servers."
"My company makes yearly payments toward the licensing costs attached to the solution."
"The hardware is expensive but it has very rich virtualization features that make it economical."
"The application running on it is very important to us and this makes the price worth it."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
22%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Power Systems?
IBM Power Systems provides very good performance and stability compared to other brands or processors.
What needs improvement with IBM Power Systems?
What I see is that with HP or Dell systems, there may be power failures in India, twice in a year. We have faced such situations where abrupt shutdowns occur due to cooling or power, and when the s...
What is your primary use case for IBM Power Systems?
We have been providing IBM Power Systems. We do government bidding also, in which certain cases have specific requirements that are catered by IBM Power Systems.
What do you like most about Oracle SPARC Servers?
The most valuable features of the solution stem from the fact that Oracle Database functions very well with Oracle SPARC Servers.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Oracle SPARC Servers?
My company makes yearly payments toward the licensing costs attached to the solution. My company's clients, who have paid for the licensing costs attached to the solution, have also engaged with so...
What needs improvement with Oracle SPARC Servers?
Oracle products are usually fine-tuned with the software of other Oracle products, like Oracle WebLogic Server Services, Oracle Database, and Oracle Core Banking Software and Solutions, as all the ...
 

Also Known As

IBM OpenPOWER LC
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Cipher
University Hospitals Leuven, B&H Photo, Tuscon Electric Power, IS Nordic, Siemens
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Power Systems vs. Oracle SPARC Servers and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
863,901 professionals have used our research since 2012.