IBM PowerVM vs Spot comparison

IBM and Spot are both solutions in the Server Virtualization Software category. IBM is ranked #9 with an average rating of 8.5, while Spot is ranked #15 with an average rating of 7.0. IBM holds a 1.3% mindshare in SVS, compared to Spot’s 0.0% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Spot users who would recommend it.

IBM PowerVM

Read 37 IBM PowerVM reviews

1,651 Views
1,568 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Spot

Read 2 Spot reviews

1,121 Views
34 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

IBM PowerVM

Spot

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 13, 2025

IBM PowerVM and Spot are competing in virtualization and cloud management. Spot holds an advantage in cloud resource management due to its emphasis on cost optimization.

Features: IBM PowerVM includes robust virtualization capabilities with live partition mobility, advanced resource management, and strong hardware control. Spot focuses on cloud resource optimization with features like dynamic rescaling, efficient workload placement, and cost management.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM PowerVM needs a detailed setup with integration into existing infrastructure, offering comprehensive support and documentation. Spot provides a streamlined deployment process with quick cloud integration and automated support suited for rapid cloud environments.

Pricing and ROI: IBM PowerVM has higher setup costs due to infrastructure investments, but it delivers significant ROI with enhanced system performance. Spot offers competitive pricing, immediately reducing cloud costs and delivering ROI through effective resource management.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM PowerVM vs. Spot Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM PowerVM vs. Spot

July 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 PowerVM

Ranking in Server Virtualization Software

9th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Spot

Ranking in Server Virtualization Software

15th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Cloud Management (32nd), Cloud Operations Analytics (1st), Cloud Analytics (5th), Compute Service (11th), Containers as a Service (CaaS) (6th), Cloud Cost Management (8th)

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Server Virtualization Software category, the mindshare of IBM PowerVM is 1.3%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Spot is 0.0%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Server Virtualization Software

Featured Reviews

Atif Najam

Chief Information Officer and Program Lead at Gatron Industries Ltd

Offers mobility and you can seamlessly move a VM between different PowerVM instances

PowerVM is likely one of the most stable hypervisors available, albeit highly specialized. However, it is solely command-line based. When someone manages virtualization as a whole, they typically expect a graphical user interface (GUI) for configurations. This is the case for Hyper-V, XenServer, and VMware. But with PowerVM, you need to understand and memorize commands to operate the hypervisor. I believe PowerVM should have a GUI; that would be a significant improvement.

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Manpreet_Singh

Senior Principal Infrastructure Engineer at Mphasis

Used to manage Kubernetes infrastructure, but it doesn't have support from OCI

Spot Ocean is deployed on the cloud in our organization. I would recommend the solution to other users. You need to have an experience with Kubernetes, or else this product is of no use. It is not difficult to learn to use Spot Ocean. Overall, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.

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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

"The feature that I like most is the versatility."

"It is a complete solution."

"What I like about this solution, is that it is easy to configure."

"The most valuable feature is the flexibility in terms of managing the hardware resources such as RAM, CPU, and the network."

"It's in English, so its exceptional qualities make the control environment more flexible, easier, more stable, and easy to recover after issues."

"It's scalable. Whenever we buy another product other than hardware, it's easily integrated into the virtualization software that we download."

"The most valuable feature of PowerVM is the dynamic allocation of resources."

"The tool's most valuable feature is administration."

More IBM PowerVM pros

"The solution offers both block access and file access, making it a nice solution for customers."

"The solution helps us to manage and scale automatically whenever there is a limit to the increase in the application workflow."

Cons

"I don't know whether this has been trialed already, but IBM should give us an alert when we reach seven or eight failovers so that we can automatically switch it to manual mode. That would be great because if we cross the 10-day licensing limit, we have to pay a hefty license cost to Oracle. If IBM could view that feature, it would be helpful in license compliance."

"As understand it, IBM sells all its hardware to Lenovo, and only PCs servers are managed by IBM. It's uncertain how much longer IBM will continue in this way, especially with the current trend of transitioning from on-premises to cloud and hybrid models. The market is evolving. Given this market shift, it's essential to identify areas for improvement. IBM has introduced the PowerVM Series, including Linux, which is a positive step. However, customers are already moving towards x86 servers due to cost considerations. The cost of PowerVM compared to x86 servers appears to be a significant factor."

"The solution's interface needs to be integrated with messaging analysis."

"IBM should review the price of this solution in my opinion; it is too high."

"SRM for site recovery is a feature that should be included."

"It is solely command-line based."

"The solution is quite pricey."

"In terms of the technology used in the product, I feel that there are some areas where improvements are required. The tool should offer better clustering options."

More IBM PowerVM cons

"There are no particular areas for improvement I can identify."

"The solution doesn't have support from OCI, and it should start working to onboard OCI."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We have to purchase the product's licenses."

"The tool is competitively priced, especially right now."

"The license cost is bundled with IBM Power Systems as it is limited to RISC-based IBM systems only."

"The cost is on the higher side. Typically, we invest in the machine and support for two, three, or five years."

"The pricing for PowerVM is on the higher. Regarding the license, it can be on a monthly or annual basis, depending on the deal. Customers may choose to pay annually, one-time, or monthly based on their agreement with the sales team. As for additional costs, customers need to pay for support if they opt for it. If not, they only pay for the hardware cost as per the agreement."

"IBM PowerVM costs more than other products but the customer does not need to pay additional money for the licenses. In VMware, you need to license everything. With IBM PowerVM it is unlimited and all-inclusive in the price you pay."

"The solution is expensive."

"Even if the product is expensive, it works well in the long term. The tool is more or less expensive, and I would presently describe it as an optimally priced product."

More IBM PowerVM pricing and cost advice

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

17%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Manufacturing Company

20%

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

Healthcare Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM PowerVM?

Managing other operating systems is also straightforward with IBM PowerVM.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM PowerVM?

IBM’s licensing model offers flexibility in subscription terms, now allowing one- to five-year options. They have introduced a subscription-based model for some systems, creating a more cost-effect...

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM PowerVM?

From a product perspective, I would like to see faster certification of open-source products on IBM Power Systems ( /products/ibm-power-systems-reviews ). While the product has robust features and ...

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What do you like most about Spot Ocean?

The solution helps us to manage and scale automatically whenever there is a limit to the increase in the application workflow.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Spot Ocean?

There are no particular areas for improvement I can identify.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Spot Ocean?

Spot by NetApp is primarily used for backup and also for Fiservware.

See all answers

Comparisons

VMware vSphere vs IBM PowerVM

Compared 57% of the time

KVM vs IBM PowerVM

Compared 11% of the time

Hyper-V vs IBM PowerVM

Compared 9% of the time

Proxmox VE vs IBM PowerVM

Compared 8% of the time

Nutanix AHV Virtualization vs IBM PowerVM

Compared 4% of the time

More IBM PowerVM Competitors

ProsperOps vs Spot

Compared 18% of the time

IBM Turbonomic vs Spot

Compared 16% of the time

Flexera Cloud Cost Management vs Spot

Compared 14% of the time

Flexera Cloud Management Platform (CMP) vs Spot

Compared 11% of the time

Cloudability vs Spot

Compared 11% of the time

More Spot Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM PowerVM

August 2025

Download IBM PowerVM product report

Buyer's Guide

Cloud Analytics

August 2025

Download Spot product report

Also Known As

PowerVM

Spot Ocean, Spot Elastigroup, Spot Eco

Overview

Power is server virtualization without limits. Businesses are turning to PowerVM server virtualization to consolidate multiple workloads onto fewer systems, increasing server utilization and reducing cost. PowerVM provides a secure and scalable server virtualization environment for AIX, IBM i and Linux applications built upon the advanced RAS features and leading performance of the Power Systems platform.

IBM

Spot provides dynamic workload management for cloud environments, offering cost optimization and enhanced performance. It stands out with its unique approach to managing resources efficiently.

Spot is designed to enhance cloud resource utilization and cost-effectiveness through intelligent workload management. With real-time analysis, Spot determines and deploys the most efficient resources, ensuring optimal performance for applications. Businesses benefit from reduced cloud expenses and increased operational efficiency, making it an essential tool for managing cloud infrastructure effectively.

What are the key features of Spot?

Automated Scaling: Automatically adjusts cloud resources based on demand and usage patterns.
Real-Time Monitoring: Provides continuous oversight to ensure optimal performance and operational efficiency.
Cost Optimization: Reduces expenses by utilizing spot instances and leveraging cost-effective cloud resources.
Seamless Integration: Easily integrates with existing cloud services and infrastructures.

What benefits should users look for in Spot?

Cost Reduction: Users can expect to see a significant decrease in cloud expenses.
Improved Efficiency: Enhancements in operational processes and workload management.
Resource Optimization: Better allocation and usage of cloud resources.
Scalability: Capability to handle increasing amounts of work effectively.

In finance, Spot ensures cost-effective cloud computing for trading platforms, while in e-commerce, it dynamically manages back-end processes. In the entertainment industry, Spot optimizes media streaming by deploying resources when user demand spikes. Each industry leverages Spot to maximize performance and minimize operational costs, demonstrating its versatility and reliability across sectors.

Spot

Sample Customers

Sto, Soitec, SNO, Bundesrechenzentrum GmbH, Al Mansour Holding, Baptist Health of Northeast Florida, Huhtamaki, ELK Group, IT-Informatik, Arkansas Tech University, Pneuhage

Freshworks, Zalando, Red Spark, News, Trax, ETAS, Demandbase, BeesWa, Duolingo, intel, IBM, N26, Wix, EyeEm, moovit, SAMSUNG, News UK, ticketmaster

Buyer's Guide

IBM PowerVM vs. Spot

July 2025

Free Report: IBM PowerVM vs. Spot

Find out what your peers are saying about IBM PowerVM vs. Spot and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.

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