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IBM PowerVM vs VMware Workstation comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
37
Ranking in other categories
Server Virtualization Software (10th)
VMware Workstation
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Virtualization solutions, they serve different purposes. IBM PowerVM is designed for Server Virtualization Software and holds a mindshare of 1.3%, up 1.2% compared to last year.
VMware Workstation, on the other hand, focuses on Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), holds 17.2% mindshare, up 14.8% since last year.
Server Virtualization Software
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
 

Featured Reviews

Desianto Abdillah - PeerSpot reviewer
A practical virtualization environment with a Live Partition Mobility feature that help us handle virtual adapters effectively
The practicality of IBM PowerVM is a crucial feature, especially with the help of HMC (Hardware Management Console). The Live Partition Mobility help us handle virtual adapters effectively when we need to upgrade firmware or the system, and LPM helps us transfer workloads with minimal downtime. This feature ensures that our systems remain online even during maintenance, significantly minimizing any potential disruptions.
Shambhu Narayan  Singh - PeerSpot reviewer
An easy-to-manage solution that has really good customer support compared to other market players
VMware Workstation makes it easy to manage all the resources that we are handling. VMware Workstation has reduced our infrastructure cost. If someone wants machines, I can create them easily using the solution. VMware Workstation is easier to manage than other workstations like Oracle Workstation. VMware Workstation is an easy-to-manage solution, and its support is really good compared to other market players. Overall, I rate VMware Workstation an eight out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It offers stability, resilience, and reliability. They handle the workloads very easily."
"The feature that I like most is the versatility."
"IBM PowerVM's most valuable feature is stability."
"It is a stable solution with reliable performance."
"It's scalable. Whenever we buy another product other than hardware, it's easily integrated into the virtualization software that we download."
"IBM PowerVM provides robust virtualization capabilities, integrated within the machine itself."
"The stability is the most valuable aspect of this solution. IBM is the most powerful and stable platform."
"PowerVM's most valuable features include swift optimisation and real-time migration."
"VMware Workstation is easy to manage and understand."
"The product is stable, very easy to deploy, easy to use, easy to configure, and easy to set up."
"It's really easy to build testing environments with VMware Player."
"The solution's customer service is good."
"Instead of relying on dual-boot operating systems, I can utilize open-source tools within my infrastructure. This approach allows me to create an in-house cloud platform suitable for testing. VMware Workstation enables me to perform tasks across various operating systems using a single device. It has helped me save time."
"It's stable."
"I would rate the stability a ten out of ten."
"We initially intended to work with Hyper-V because we are selling a virtual appliance and thought our customers would want to run that on Hyper-V."
 

Cons

"I would like for IBM to be more focuses on the cloud."
"Automatic LPM is an area that is currently not available in IBM PowerVM, and it is a feature I want to see in the product's future releases."
"PowerVM should integrate some capabilities of VMware vCenter to improve its management features."
"Any improvements that can be made in the interface will go a long way to helping us work better."
"Stability could always be better."
"The solution's interface needs to be integrated with messaging analysis."
"The interface is not user-friendly in places, so it could use some improvement."
"The pricing of the solution is on the higher side."
"It would be helpful if VMware Workstation included an in-built monitoring tool for monitoring things."
"The GUI interface could be improved."
"The interface is a little wonky and needs to be improved."
"For some virtual machine configurations, you have to go to the text editor and make the configuration changes, which could be improved."
"I need to buy a newer version of the tool to support Windows Server."
"The solution can be expensive."
"The solution should provide a guide on its installation."
"The network configuration was not as easy as it could be and could take less time."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price varies from case to case and you have to negotiate it for every project."
"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 license cost is bundled with IBM Power Systems as it is limited to RISC-based IBM systems only."
"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."
"The tool is competitively priced, especially right now."
"The price of the solution could improve, it is expensive."
"IBM PowerVM's pricing is cheap."
"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."
"I would rate the pricing an eight out of ten, with ten being expensive."
"VMware Workstation is an expensive solution in Asian countries."
"The solution is moderately priced. I rate the pricing a six out of ten."
"It has the best licensing modules."
"I use the free version of VMware Workstation."
"VMware Workstation has a high price than competitors in the market."
"You need to pay for a license, but I don't think it costs that much. I think it's a one-time payment."
"Licensing costs are paid on a yearly basis."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
20%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM PowerVM?
Managing other operating systems is also straightforward with IBM PowerVM.
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...
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 ...
Which VMware solution would you go with - Workstation or vSphere?
VM Workstation’s setup is so easy, you can use it almost instantly, it works well with Windows and Linux. We like VM Workstation primarily to test environments to determine how well a solution will...
What do you like most about VMware Workstation?
The product is stable, very easy to deploy, easy to use, easy to configure, and easy to set up.
What needs improvement with VMware Workstation?
The product's integration capabilities are an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required.
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

PowerVM
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

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