I primarily use PowerVM for Oracle databases and the Oracle WebLogic server.
Senior Database Administrator at a government with 11-50 employees
The best option for managing direct licensing
Pros and Cons
- "PowerVM's most valuable features include swift optimisation and real-time migration."
- "PowerVM's platform build and performance could be improved."
What is our primary use case?
How has it helped my organization?
PowerVM allows us to pay for a license only for the allocated scope, unlike IBM PowerVM, for which we have to license the whole hardware.
What is most valuable?
PowerVM's most valuable features include swift optimisation and real-time migration.
What needs improvement?
PowerVM's platform build and performance could be improved.
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IBM PowerVM
August 2025

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For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using PowerVM for five to six years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
PowerVM is stable, especially when compared to other hyper-convergence like Nutanix and VMWare.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
PowerVM's instrument servers have level hardware that's really scalable.
How are customer service and support?
PowerVM's technical support is much better and more responsive than Oracle's.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I previously used VMWare, Oracle VM, Nutanix, and the HP server. However, PowerVM had better support and higher availability.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was comparatively easy, and the full installation took around three weeks.
What about the implementation team?
We had help from IBM engineers.
What other advice do I have?
PowerVM is the best option for managing direct licensing, and I would rate it seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

Database Administrator at a computer software company with 201-500 employees
Reliable performance and stability
Pros and Cons
- "It is a stable solution with reliable performance."
- "The cost of this solution is high."
What is most valuable?
Overall, I like IBM's performance and stability.
What needs improvement?
Compared to VMWare, the price could be lower.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using it for five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable solution.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support is fine.
How was the initial setup?
It took about one day to setup. We can't compare with VMWare because VMWare can be setup in one click.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
IBM PowerVm has a high cost.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Buyer's Guide
IBM PowerVM
August 2025

Learn what your peers think about IBM PowerVM. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: August 2025.
865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Enables us to migrate servers from a standalone server to a VM server
Pros and Cons
- "The case fileserver on the web server is the most valuable feature."
- "The performance should be improved."
What is our primary use case?
Our primary use case is to migrate the server from a standalone server to a VM server.
What is most valuable?
The case fileserver on the webserver is the most valuable feature.
What needs improvement?
The performance should be improved.
They should reduce the cost to purchase the hardware of the physical server.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It's easy to scale.
How are customer service and technical support?
I have never contacted customer support. We have a service provider that we contact to help with the implementation and support.
How was the initial setup?
I didn't have any issues with the deployment.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
My colleagues are the ones who deal with pricing.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate it an eight out of ten. I would recommend IBM PowerVM to someone considering it.
I wouldn't rate it a ten because it has things it can improve on.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
System Engineer at Unistar
A stable solution that offers good control over hardware resources
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature is the flexibility in terms of managing the hardware resources such as RAM, CPU, and the network."
- "The interface is not user-friendly in places, so it could use some improvement."
What is our primary use case?
We are a system integrator and IBM PowerVM is one of the solutions that we implement for our clients. I am not a solution architect, but I provide assistance with PowerVM.
It is primarily used for business-critical operations like SAP or Oracle databases.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is the flexibility in terms of managing the hardware resources such as RAM, CPU, and the network.
What needs improvement?
The interface is not user-friendly in places, so it could use some improvement.
If PowerVM were cheaper then it would better compete with VMware vCenter.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for five or six years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We have not seen any issues and I think that stability-wise, this is quite a good solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution architect in our team has not complained about the scalability.
How are customer service and technical support?
We have involved technical support in the past when we have had issues and I think that they are good.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We are also supporting VMware vSphere and Microsoft Hyper-V.
Customers generally choose IBM PowerVM when they have a great demand for stability. However, they sometimes choose VMware because it is cheaper.
How was the initial setup?
With respect to the initial setup, if you know the terminology then it isn't too complex. It should nonetheless be done by somebody with a technical background.
The deployment takes approximately 14 days.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price varies from case to case and you have to negotiate it for every project. Pricing and licensing policies are not completely transparent.
What other advice do I have?
My advice to anybody who is researching this type of solution is to choose PowerVM if they want something that is really stable. I think that it is the only answer because the other solutions have perhaps evolved too quickly. We have seen issues with VMware and especially with Hyper-V. Hyper-V is not a mature platform.
I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
Unix Team Lead at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Makes the control environment more flexible, easier, more stable, and easy to recover after issues
Pros and Cons
- "It's in English, so its exceptional qualities make the control environment more flexible, easier, more stable, and easy to recover after issues."
- "I would like for IBM to be more focuses on the cloud."
What is our primary use case?
Our primary use case of PowerVM is for our core banking system. We split our servers into multiple partitions, each one has a specific task for the project.
How has it helped my organization?
It's in English, so its exceptional qualities make the control environment more flexible, easier, more stable, and easy to recover after issues. Overall, it has many advantages over using different servers.
What needs improvement?
IBM now makes provides us with quality GUI tools to make the experience easier and successful.
I don't have an issue with the current configuration or with the GUI. I worked on both with the team.
I would like for IBM to be more focused on the cloud.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using PowerVM for the last six years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is very stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability is very good.
How was the initial setup?
It's easy to set up. It has easy protocols to setup. To some extent, it can be difficult. If you follow the guide provided by IBM I think it would be easy to undermine the environment.
You have to implement it in two phases. You have to implement partitions which carry our loads of our function of our environment. Implementation of this is easy. To adjust administration, according to the requirements of publication of the organization, you have to consider some steps for it to work as storage. If you have the steps you should follow, it will be easy.
It took one week to fully deploy.
It took two people to deploy the solution.
What other advice do I have?
I think everybody is going to be migrating to cloud and I think that IBM can make things easier if they also did this.
I would rate IBM PowerVM nine out of ten.
In the next release, I hope to see an extension of both the end part with the GUI.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
System Engineer at Arab Bank
Powerful and stable platform with good scalability
Pros and Cons
- "The stability is the most valuable aspect of this solution. IBM is the most powerful and stable platform."
- "To make it a ten, I would like for them to add automation and configuration tools in order to help use the manager."
What is our primary use case?
PowerVM is used to virtualize IBM Power Servers. It is for IBM Power Servers. It needs specific experience and needs to be professionally managed. Our customers needed proficiency and practical experience with it and it's not easy to find experienced engineers for it.
What is most valuable?
The stability is the most valuable aspect of this solution. IBM is the most powerful and stable platform.
What needs improvement?
The price is high.
I would like for them to add more automation features.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability is good.
How are customer service and technical support?
We use IBM technical support mainly for critical cases. Their response is very good from their side.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate it an eight out of ten.
To make it a ten, I would like for them to add automation and configuration tools in order to help use the manager.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Head of IT at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees
A versatile, secure, and flexible solution for our virtualization
Pros and Cons
- "The feature that I like most is the versatility."
- "Any improvements that can be made in the interface will go a long way to helping us work better."
What is our primary use case?
We use this solution for virtualization in an on-premises deployment.
What is most valuable?
The feature that I like most is the versatility.
This solution is very secure when compared to others.
This is a very flexible solution.
This is a portable solution that you can locate wherever you want.
What needs improvement?
Any improvements that can be made in the interface will go a long way to helping us work better.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for fourteen years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This solution is very stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We are very happy with the scalability of this solution.
We have this solution deployed countrywide, so we have a lot of people using it at one time.
In terms of administration, there are only a few of us.
How are customer service and technical support?
I have been in touch with the technical support for this solution, and support from IBM is always the best. Once you log a service request, they get back to you as quickly as possible. We get the results we want, mostly.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of this solution is straightforward whether you do it from the interface, or instead type in commands.
What about the implementation team?
We began with this solution by ourselves, but we have enlisted the assistance of a partner who does all of the updates.
What other advice do I have?
This solution is by IBM and they are a vendor who does what they say they're going to do.
I recommend IBM and this solution any day. Without hesitation, I would suggest to anybody that they try it.
Overall, I am happy with this solution, although more research and any new additions are always welcome.
I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner.
ICT Business Solution Architect at Cloud Technology
Stability of this solution is very high and you don't have to be afraid that you may lose data
Pros and Cons
- "What I like about this solution, is that it is easy to configure."
- "The program has very limited solutions for the virtualization of containers"
What is most valuable?
What I like about this solution is that it is easy to configure.
What needs improvement?
I would like to see an improvement in the management of the program.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using IBM PowerVM for seven years now.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability of this solution is very high and you don't have to be afraid that you may lose data.
How are customer service and technical support?
I would say the technical support is average - it isn't bad, but it isn't good either. I am used to technical support in Europe and America, where it is very good.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was quite complex, because I use the solution for visualization.
What other advice do I have?
The program has very limited solutions for the virtualization of containers, so I the next version I would like to see that improved. I will still, however, give a nine out of ten rating.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner.

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