Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs IBM Power Systems comparison

Cisco and IBM are both solutions in the Rack Servers category. Cisco is ranked #5 with an average rating of 9.0, while IBM is ranked #3 with an average rating of 9.3. Cisco holds a 5.4% mindshare in Rack Servers, compared to IBM’s 7.2% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 97% of IBM users who would recommend it.

Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Ser...

Read 31 Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers reviews

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2,207 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

IBM Power Systems

Read 73 IBM Power Systems reviews

3,714 Views
3,714 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Ser...

IBM Power Systems

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 8, 2024

Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers and IBM Power Systems compete in the server solutions category. Cisco UCS C-Series shows advantages in cost-effectiveness and ease of management, while IBM Power Systems have the upper hand in terms of performance and reliability.

Features: Cisco UCS C-Series offers integration capabilities, flexibility, and ease of management, enhancing operational efficiency. IBM Power Systems highlights include reliability, high processing power, and scalability, supporting demanding workloads efficiently.

Room for Improvement: Cisco UCS C-Series could enhance performance under heavy workloads, improve support for high-demand applications, and optimize hardware resources. IBM Power Systems require simpler configuration processes, streamlined management tools, and more intuitive interface options.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco UCS C-Series is straightforward in deployment with responsive customer service, facilitating adoption and integration. IBM Power Systems may have a longer deployment curve but are supported by a knowledgeable team for handling complex queries.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco UCS C-Series offers competitive pricing and favorable ROI, appealing to budget-conscious businesses. IBM Power Systems, despite a higher setup cost, deliver robust long-term ROI through superior performance and reliability.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs. IBM Power Systems Report (Updated: February 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs. IBM Power Systems

February 2026

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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

Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Ser...

Ranking in Rack Servers

5th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

4.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Density Optimized Servers (3rd)

IBM Power Systems

Ranking in Rack Servers

3rd

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

5.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is 5.4%, up from 4.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Power Systems is 7.2%, down from 9.1% 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	7.2%
Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers	5.4%
Other	87.4%

Rack Servers

Featured Reviews

reviewer1441011

Sr, Manager- Network Solution Architect at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees

Comprehensive support and integration ensure smooth cloud infrastructure operations

I may not be the right person to comment on advanced improvements because we are just using basic functionalities. We are getting all the functionalities which we used to get in other OEM rack servers. Potential areas for improvement may include a more flexible pricing model, better technical support, or tutorials from the vendor for users.

Read full review

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.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of this solution is the expansion and replacement of parts."

"The most valuable feature of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is server management."

"We have many people in my organization using Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers in the administration."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is performance."

"What I really like about the Cisco USC Server is its service profile."

"The most valuable features of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers are agileness, ease of operation, and manageability."

"The server can be configured easily."

"The product doesn't take up too much space on the rack and I like that."

More Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers pros

"The uptime feature is great."

"I assess the role of IBM Power Systems in managing my complex data analytics as excellent; it's an excellent platform, very robust and very reliable."

"The most valuable feature of our machines is their ability to replace faulty parts without causing any downtime."

"We've been using it for a long time, and it's stable."

"The virtualization and the quality you get from it is one reason we like the solution."

"The most valuable feature of IBM Power Systems is its performance."

"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."

"The backups work great, data recovery works great."

More IBM Power Systems pros

Cons

"The product's stability and delivery time could be better."

"I would like to see a little more integration with VMware."

"The pricing is too high and no discounts are available for our country."

"The solution can be improved by adjusting the cost."

"Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers can improve by providing customization features to allow us to deploy them on the cloud. For example, we need VMware to allow us to accomplish a cloud deployment."

"The scalability of the product is an area of concern where Cisco needs to focus on making some improvements."

"In the version we need to use, the manager is still reliant on a full Java install on a Windows OS. This is inconvenient and problematic if you have multiple management tools on different versions of Java or if you move to a machine without the appropriate Java environment."

"The only thing I would change is to provide more proactive support."

More Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers cons

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

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

"Technical support and documentation need to be improved."

"If you take advantage of some of these real advanced features, for oversubscribing as an example, it's not supported on Linux on Power. So that stops us, in particular, from going that way."

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

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

"It would be ideal if the solution was more simple to work with."

"Power Systems' price could always be lower."

More IBM Power Systems cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Best to buy all the blades configured for the same purposes of load balancing and failover or load shifting."

"This product is slightly more expensive when compared to others."

"The prices of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers are higher compared to the competition. When we try and sell against the competition, then it becomes quite difficult to sell"

"My company has an agreement with Cisco to get discounted rates. It is one of the reasons why we chose the product."

"The solution could be more cost-effective."

"We have to pay for the VMware and Cisco licenses."

"The price of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is approximately 20 percent more than other solutions."

"The solution is moderately priced."

More Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers pricing and cost advice

"IBM Power Systems is a really expensive product."

"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."

"The pricing is reasonable."

"IBM Power Systems is very expensive."

"Power Systems is very cheap and provides good value for money."

"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 additional software costs are high."

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

More IBM Power Systems pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

Retailer

Financial Services Firm

11%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	11
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	13

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	17
Midsize Enterprise	19
Large Enterprise	42

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers?

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers?

We are running AI on Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers, and we can do it sometimes even without any GPU.

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers?

I would strongly recommend Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers to others.

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM Power Systems?

In my opinion, the product can be improved by maintaining it and not sunsetting it; that would be my recommendation for IBM. I used to work for IBM for nineteen years, and I know, unfortunately, I ...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for IBM Power Systems?

I am an architect and system administrator, and I'm responsible for anything related to IBM Power Systems. In IBM Power Systems, I have found a lot of valuable features such as LVM, TCP, ODM, RSCT,...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering IBM Power Systems?

I would recommend IBM Power Systems to others. I have given this review a rating of ten out of ten.

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 46% of the time

HPE ProLiant DL Servers vs Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers

Compared 18% of the time

Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers vs Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers

Compared 9% of the time

Dell PowerEdge XE-Series vs Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers

Compared 5% of the time

HPE Synergy vs Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers

Compared 4% of the time

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Dell PowerEdge R-Series vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 25% of the time

Intel Server System vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 22% of the time

HPE ProLiant DL Servers vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 17% of the time

Oracle SPARC Servers vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 15% of the time

Huawei KunLun Mission Critical Server vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 3% of the time

More IBM Power Systems Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers

February 2026

Download Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers product report

Buyer's Guide

IBM Power Systems

January 2026

Download IBM Power Systems product report

Also Known As

Unified Computing System C-Series, Cisco UCS C-Series

IBM OpenPOWER LC

Overview

UCS C-Series Rack Servers deliver unified computing in an industry-standard form factor to reduce TCO and increase agility. Each server addresses varying workload challenges through a balance of processing, memory, I/O, and internal storage resources.

Cisco

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

Sample Customers

Advanced Medical Transport, Aegean Motorway, Anilana Hotels and Resorts, Artoni Transporti, BH Telecom, Bowling Green State University, City of Mississauga, Dualtec Cloud Builders, Electricity Authority of Cyprus, Grupo Industrial Saltillo (GIS), Kind en Gezin, Kuwait Petroleum Italia, Nationwide, Quest, Talbots, University of St. Gallen

Cipher

Buyer's Guide

Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs. IBM Power Systems

February 2026

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