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 8.9, while Oracle is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.0. IBM holds a 8.7% mindshare in Rack Servers, compared to Oracle’s 3.6% 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

3,714 Views
3,714 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

Oracle SPARC Servers

Read 7 Oracle SPARC Servers reviews

1,560 Views
1,560 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: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Power Systems vs. Oracle SPARC Servers

September 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

6th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

8.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of IBM Power Systems is 8.7%, down from 8.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle SPARC Servers is 3.6%, 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	8.7%
Oracle SPARC Servers	3.6%
Other	87.7%

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."

"IBM Power Systems are secure and have fast processing."

"The uptime feature is great."

"The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that the hardware is really good and reliable."

"Active Memory Expansion allows you to compress your memory on the run time to allow you to have less physical memory available, but provision more memory to your partitions, as everything will be compressed on the fly."

"We value the stability and technology capability of this solution the most. It is very stable, and the processor technology of IBM is very good. When you have a CIO and you are dealing with C-level every day, you can, without any doubt, support the core banking or critical applications with this solution."

"On the security side, we get regular security patch updates and system hardening. There are free tools available to harden the system."

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

More IBM Power Systems pros

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

"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 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."

Cons

"The solution is quite expensive."

"The lack of software vendors moving onto the platform, as opposed to fleeing the platform, is an issue."

"Everyone likes speed. Not that speed has been an issue up until now but you can never be too fast."

"If you asked me what I'd like added, I'd say that it'd be nice if they ran GPUs, however, I know that's not the direction they're going. That said, I would appreciate it if they offered GPU support."

"The scalability process should be simplified."

"I would like to see the scaling model improved so it's not just either tiny or huge."

"One of the features that we would like, and I think they are also adapting to the latest trends in the market, is to make it more open, more flexible... With VMware, anybody can create a virtual machine without any knowledge of the server side. But with AIX it's a bit difficult."

"IBM should provide a platform where users can learn about the storage and security of IBM Power Systems."

More IBM Power Systems cons

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

"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."

"They need some sort of modeling because IBM has different types of models."

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

"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."

"Oracle doesn't have a good roadmap for the solution because they are moving to the x86 platform."

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

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

"The licensing costs are okay. With IBM Power Systems, it's inclusive, so you can differentiate the price of the hardware from the software itself."

"The price of the solution could be somewhat better and this is what lowers my rating of it to a seven or eight out of ten."

"Power Systems is a bit more costly than other products in the market, but in terms of ROI and the longevity, performance, and reliability that Power Systems provides, it's worth it in the long run."

"The cost model is great. There is so much built in to the technology, that if you know how to use it you can save yourself a lot of money."

"IBM Power Systems is a really expensive product."

"Its price is too high."

More IBM Power Systems pricing and cost advice

"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."

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

"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

13%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Financial Services Firm

20%

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.

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM Power Systems?

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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.

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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 ...

See all answers

Comparisons

Intel Server System vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 29% of the time

Dell PowerEdge R-Series vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 22% 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 6% 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 10% 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 5% of the time

More Oracle SPARC Servers Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Power Systems

October 2025

Download IBM Power Systems product report

Buyer's Guide

Rack Servers

October 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

September 2025

Free Report: IBM Power Systems vs. Oracle SPARC Servers

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