IBM Power Systems vs Oracle SPARC Servers comparison

IBM and Oracle are both solutions in the Rack Servers category. IBM is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.6, while Oracle is ranked #10. IBM holds a 8.0% mindshare in Rack Servers, compared to Oracle’s 3.8% mindshare. Additionally, 97% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 83% of Oracle users who would recommend it.

IBM Power Systems

Read 72 IBM Power Systems reviews

3,589 Views
3,589 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

Oracle SPARC Servers

Read 7 Oracle SPARC Servers reviews

1,479 Views
1,479 Comparison Views

83% willing to recommend

IBM Power Systems

Oracle SPARC Servers

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 5, 2025

Oracle SPARC Servers and IBM Power Systems are competing products in the high-performance computing market. Based on the data, IBM Power Systems lead due to their feature set, while Oracle SPARC Servers are appreciated for their pricing and enhanced customer support, making them a compelling choice for cost-conscious buyers.

Features: Oracle SPARC Servers provide robust security, high workload efficiency, and automatic ASR feature. IBM Power Systems offer superior flexibility, scalability, and advanced virtualization capabilities, accommodating diverse workloads with features like Live Partition Mobility.

Room for Improvement: Oracle SPARC Servers could improve in flexibility, scalability, and virtualization capabilities. IBM Power Systems might consider streamlining deployment, simplifying resources, and reducing initial costs to enhance accessibility for new users.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Oracle SPARC Servers provide a straightforward deployment model with strong customer support, ensuring a smooth implementation process. IBM Power Systems may require a more complex deployment but offer extensive documentation and resources, which can be beneficial for experienced users.

Pricing and ROI: Oracle SPARC Servers generally have lower setup costs, appealing to businesses prioritizing initial investment savings. IBM Power Systems, positioned at a higher price point, often deliver a greater long-term return due to their enhanced performance and capacity, making the investment justified for feature-focused enterprises.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Power Systems vs. Oracle SPARC Servers Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Power Systems vs. Oracle SPARC Servers

December 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

IBM Power Systems

Ranking in Rack Servers

4th

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

4.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Oracle SPARC Servers

Ranking in Rack Servers

10th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

8.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2025, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of IBM Power Systems is 8.0%, down from 9.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle SPARC Servers is 3.8%, down from 3.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Rack Servers Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
IBM Power Systems	8.0%
Oracle SPARC Servers	3.8%
Other	88.2%

Rack Servers

Featured Reviews

Foluso Jibowo

Product Manager at Hiperdist Ltd

Has empowered enterprises with secure and cost-effective solutions

When discussing disadvantages, I do not see many areas for improvement because we have received good testimonies from every client. IBM gives customers peace of mind. One challenge, which I would not really call a challenge, is that initially people have the notion that IBM Power Systems is quite expensive. However, IBM does not lose deals based on price. This is a message we need to keep communicating to people who feel that IBM is on the high side in terms of cost. We encourage them to have a discussion with us about their total cost of ownership over three or five years. There is a notion in the market that IBM is expensive, which is false. However, once we engage and show them their return on investments and their total cost of ownership savings, they tend to embrace IBM.

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Abdul-Salam

Sr. Manager - System Analyst (Datacenter Infrastructure) at Sohar International

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.

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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

"I use the hypervisor of IBM Power Systems a lot."

"We found working with IBM Power Systems that LPM is the most valuable feature."

"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."

"We have had a good experience with the technical support team at IBM."

"Power Systems' best features are that it's reliable, stable, and easily available. It's also really scalable and can be virtualized without third-party software support."

"Power Systems is like a dream solution for every IT person because it has redundancy, and it doesn't stop. It doesn't get affected easily. I don't see any weaknesses in this solution. At the moment, we have Power8. It is stable and runs smoothly. We have a big load, and it is working very well. It can be customized based on our needs. Flash copy is helping us amazingly. We have virtualization for vDisks, which is again very helpful. We are working on this virtualization technology, and we have a team that is working on redundancy and architecture."

"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 technical support that clients get from IBM is excellent."

More IBM Power Systems pros

"The most valuable features of the solution stem from the fact that Oracle Database functions very well with Oracle SPARC Servers."

"The operating system is rock solid and the best I have ever used."

"The processor is very helpful and the licensing is very flexible."

"Our customers are happy with many features in Oracle SPARC Servers, like the automatic ASR feature."

"The performance is the best feature."

"The Oracle server is very powerful. They are more powerful and durable compared to Intel hardware. Which has been a benefit to our organization."

"I have found the LDAP facilities most valuable. In addition, I like the CPU."

Cons

"IBM Power Systems could improve by having a cloud feature."

"I think the cost should be cheaper."

"Sometimes, the availability of additional services can be a challenge. Certain IBM software takes time to deliver to the client. It can be slow."

"No available price list is on the web. Due to this, the customer cannot compare pricing."

"I think IBM needs a little more work on managing the overall environment with eliminating Systems Director."

"The solution is quite expensive."

"There is a notion in the market that IBM is expensive, which is false."

"Its price can be improved. It is too high."

More IBM Power Systems cons

"I would like to see a reduced price point."

"They have declared the end of life of the hardware."

"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."

"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."

"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."

"Like IBM, Oracle SPARC Servers should be able to run other open operating systems like Linux."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of the solution depends upon the configuration part of it. Based on what configuration you want to go for it, there is a range like IBM Power Systems POWER9 and IBM Power Systems Power10."

"I give the cost a one out of ten."

"IBM Power Systems is very expensive."

"Its price is too high."

"The machine is good and has a comparatively good price."

"IBM Power Systems is a really expensive product."

"When there is an error in the SAS drive of 10,000 RPM, my company buys support for 1,500 USD."

"IBM Power is more expensive than other rack-mount servers, and you have to have a license for everything, including cores and memory."

More IBM Power Systems pricing and cost advice

"The hardware is expensive but it has very rich virtualization features that make it economical."

"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."

"The application running on it is very important to us and this makes the price worth it."

"My company makes yearly payments toward the licensing costs attached to the solution."

"The licensing is flexible."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

12%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

University

Financial Services Firm

18%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Energy/Utilities Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	17
Midsize Enterprise	18
Large Enterprise	42

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	1

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.

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What needs improvement with IBM Power Systems?

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What is your primary use case for IBM Power Systems?

IBM Power Systems are used mainly in large organizations, generally in the financial industry, government, telecommunications, oil and gas sectors for their high availability environment. These sys...

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Comparisons

Intel Server System vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 25% of the time

Dell PowerEdge R-Series vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 24% of the time

HPE ProLiant DL Servers vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 17% of the time

Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 7% of the time

HPE Apollo Systems vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 3% of the time

More IBM Power Systems Competitors

Intel Server System vs Oracle SPARC Servers

Compared 24% of the time

HPE ProLiant DL Servers vs Oracle SPARC Servers

Compared 9% of the time

Dell PowerEdge R-Series vs Oracle SPARC Servers

Compared 9% of the time

Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers vs Oracle SPARC Servers

Compared 7% of the time

Dell PowerEdge XE-Series vs Oracle SPARC Servers

Compared 7% of the time

More Oracle SPARC Servers Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Power Systems

December 2025

Download IBM Power Systems product report

Buyer's Guide

Rack Servers

December 2025

Download Oracle SPARC Servers product report

Also Known As

IBM OpenPOWER LC

No data available

Overview

IBM Power Systems are built to crush the most advanced data applications - from the mission-critical workloads you run today to the next generation of AI.

IBM

Oracle's SPARC S7, T7, and M7 Servers with always-on memory intrusion protection and comprehensive data encryption secure data with no performance penalty. Security in silicon features and Oracle Solaris protect data in memory from unauthorized access and stop malware before it gets in.

Oracle

Sample Customers

Cipher

University Hospitals Leuven, B&H Photo, Tuscon Electric Power, IS Nordic, Siemens

Buyer's Guide

IBM Power Systems vs. Oracle SPARC Servers

December 2025

Free Report: IBM Power Systems vs. Oracle SPARC Servers

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