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 #4 with an average rating of 8.5. Cisco holds a 5.3% mindshare in Rack Servers, compared to IBM’s 7.5% 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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2,158 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

IBM Power Systems

Read 73 IBM Power Systems reviews

3,565 Views
3,565 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: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

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

December 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

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 (2nd)

IBM Power Systems

Ranking in Rack Servers

4th

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

5.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is 5.3%, up from 4.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Power Systems is 7.5%, 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	7.5%
Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers	5.3%
Other	87.2%

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.

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

"The most valuable feature of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack is the use of databases, such as MySQL."

"The solution is scalable."

"The solution is stable."

"It has centralized our server management and allows us to treat servers like a pool of resources instead of discrete devices."

"The technical support from Cisco is fine."

"The integration with IT infrastructure is seamless based on our experience."

"The C-series is the most valuable."

More Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers pros

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

"Power Systems is like a dream solution for every IT person because it has redundancy, and it doesn't stop. It doesn't get affected easily. I don't see any weaknesses in this solution. At the moment, we have Power8. It is stable and runs smoothly. We have a big load, and it is working very well. It can be customized based on our needs. Flash copy is helping us amazingly. We have virtualization for vDisks, which is again very helpful. We are working on this virtualization technology, and we have a team that is working on redundancy and architecture."

"IBM Power Systems provides very good performance and stability compared to other brands or processors."

"The solution does not require any maintenance."

"With IBM Power11, downtime is virtually eliminated because the system has been fully optimized."

"Power runs our resilient data systems, our high-end databases, stuff that can't go down."

"The installation is easy."

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

More IBM Power Systems pros

Cons

"The price of the solution is problematic, not the solution itself. It could be less expensive."

"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."

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

"Its accessibility and manageability can be improved. Currently, we have to visit the office to manage it. It should be manageable outside our network. I would like it to be on the cloud."

"The C-Series is not designed to be as scalable. They are designed to have enough RAM and enough CPU on their own side. If you want scalability, it's better to choose the B-Series— the Blade Servers — because those are much more scalable with Fabric Interconnect."

"On the contact center and video conferencing, I would definitely like to see more AI features. The AI features are key for us. You will find a lot of them in the cloud-based solution, but in the on-premises solution, they're hardly there. I would like to see the same AI features that are there in the cloud-based Cisco UC."

"There is very little scalability for the cluster. If you need a higher availability, there is a user limitation. So that is the low side."

"Definitely the support area needs improving. Especially the time response in case of hardware failure."

More Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers cons

"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."

"Sometimes, the availability of additional services can be a challenge. Certain IBM software takes time to deliver to the client. It can be slow."

"In my country, there are power supply interruptions. IBM could find ways to make the product stable through these interruptions."

"Power Systems' price could always be lower."

"Initially when sizing it, people perceive IBM Power Systems as quite expensive."

"The solution is quite expensive."

"Better manage heterogeneous footprints of all the different operating systems that are out there across one common interface."

"One of the main challenges with IBM Power Systems is the functionality of live partnership mobility."

More IBM Power Systems cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is moderately priced."

"The solution could be more cost-effective."

"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis, which is only $2,000 or $3,000."

"The solution is expensive and I give the price a four out of ten."

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

"The server itself isn't costly at all, but the CPU and the RAM can be pretty expensive. You can buy a UCS for $2,000, but the RAM and CPU can cost up to $80,000. The most expensive asset is the intel processor, but it depends on how many cores you want and the technology you want to use on your CPU, like Hyper-V, etc."

"The price of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is high."

"The price for Cisco is a bit higher than its competitors. We paid 40k for one server."

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

"Its price is too high."

"The additional software costs are high."

"IBM Power Systems is a really expensive product."

"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."

"Price-wise, I rate the solution a five out of ten."

"When there is an error in the SAS drive of 10,000 RPM, my company buys support for 1,500 USD."

"There is a yearly licensing cost, and it's an expensive solution."

"It's more about the value you get for the price. Considering its stability and performance, the pricing is good."

More IBM Power Systems pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Retailer

Financial Services Firm

12%

Computer Software Company

University

Manufacturing Company

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 do you like most about Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers?

The C-series is the most valuable.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers?

The solution is moderately priced.

See all answers

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

See all answers

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

Comparisons

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

Compared 48% of the time

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

Compared 19% of the time

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

Compared 10% 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

More Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers Competitors

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

Oracle SPARC Servers vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 17% of the time

HPE ProLiant DL Servers vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 17% 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

January 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

December 2025

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