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Dell PowerEdge M vs Lenovo Flex System comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 3, 2025

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

Dell PowerEdge M
Ranking in Blade Servers
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
26
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Lenovo Flex System
Ranking in Blade Servers
10th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Blade Servers category, the mindshare of Dell PowerEdge M is 17.7%, down from 18.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Lenovo Flex System is 3.2%, up from 2.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
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Featured Reviews

Brian Ricci - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers a good interface and return on investment to users
My impression of the scalability of the product is good. You can put a lot of memory in the tool now, and you have a good choice in processors, so you can go wherever you want or do whatever you want with your money. Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.
Syed  Ibrahim - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides a high initial ceiling before upscaling is required, user-friendly and rich in resources, but has occasional stability issues
The solution should come with cloud native applications to prepare for cloud based solutions. Forced restarts due to free upgrades is an issue that needs to be resolved. We can manage this as we have high availability and redundancy, but without that it could be a real problem. The level of customer support needs to be improved. There is currently an issue with Lenovo switching out SAN switches from the chassis, which will cause problems for people who already have a set up with the SAN switch connected to the central storage. This could require an entirely different network, adding an additional cost for the user.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution is made with high-quality hardware."
"The solution integrated well."
"PowerEdge has high functionality, especially for automation on the firmware, which allows us to receive alerts for issues."
"The solution's most valuable features are centralized monitoring and management and the ease of upgrading firmware."
"It is easy to manage by an administrator and we can spend valuable time on other IT issues."
"The Integrated Lights-Out (iLO) support is notably better than that of other servers."
"It's great for managing overall infrastructure."
"The installation is easy."
"The initial setup is straightforward."
"We use the solution as a compute model to run the compute load on servers."
"Flex System's best features are its performance and stability."
"The Lenovo Flex System is very stable."
"The functionality is reliable and requires minimal support."
"The most valuable feature of the Lenovo Flex System is the storage system."
"One of the most valuable features of this solution is its ease of use."
"The product is very user-friendly and has many resources at the enterprise level."
 

Cons

"One area for improvement is the connectivity, specifically the backplate and switch connections."
"The last year, we experienced problems with support, as Dell decreased staff in Latin America, impacting support quality."
"Can be improved by being proactive in making changes that could improve the solution."
"The firmware updates for the product need improvement."
"There is no specific feedback on improvements directly from our usage."
"The costing could be improved as it is somewhat expensive."
"I believe that the tool’s support team is an area with certain concerns where improvements can be made."
"The caching is a bit weak, making the hardware non-responsive, especially on hypervisor layers like ESXi or Hyper-V."
"Continuing the production of this product is necessary. It is currently out of support, and we are seeking support from other sources besides Lenovo."
"The user-interface needs improvement, because they have an application from which we have to manage the whole system and all the infrastructure. This application is not working at our premises, because of some problem with the hardware itself. So although we brought it with our systems, and we used it to manage all the systems: the storage, the switches, and everything, nevertheless we have to support every part alone and enter the interface in one-by-one."
"Flex System's integration with the XClarity Management System could be improved."
"It does not have the same module flexibility that was present in IBM Blade. On the Blade System, I was able to choose between the Cisco module, or BMC module. Since the switch to Lenovo, I have not had the same choice of modules, only the BMC modules."
"The solution could improve by providing more integration with other platforms."
"I had some difficulties with the initial setup."
"The solution's firmware and driver upgrades are a bit difficult."
"Forced restarts due to free upgrades is an issue that needs to be resolved. We can manage this as we have high availability and redundancy, but without that it could be a real problem."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing of PowerEdge Next is higher than it was before."
"If we would not have gone with the vendor we might have been charged unnecessarily for packages we did not need."
"Dell PowerEdge M price is comparable to other solutions but cheaper than IBM. However, the IBM solution is a higher grade solution whereas Dell PowerEdge M is a medium-level solution."
"The product is neither expensive nor cheap. It is manageable for medium enterprises as well."
"The cost varies significantly depending on the server's configuration and can range from $10,000 to $60,000 for the same server line family."
"It was budget friendly."
"I know we get three years basic, and the on-site licensing model for business seems fine. I wouldn't pay for a support plus or anything."
"The solution's pricing is slightly higher."
"The is an annual license cost to use the Lenovo Flex System. If the price was less expensive and flexible overall and for additional features, our customers would be happier."
"We are just paying the operational cost, which is not much."
"The price is interesting. I am able to quote a client based on their needs and offer them either Lenovo or Dell."
"The 14 blade server allows significant room for upscaling before having to invest in another chassis. You would have to purchase another chassis much sooner in the case of an eight or nine blade server."
"We have the whole maintenance for the 3 years, starting the deployment. We also have the VMware license for 3 years and I think we have another license to buy. There are no additional costs besides licensing."
"There is a one-off payment to buy the equipment and the support is purchased annually."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
18%
Computer Software Company
16%
Government
16%
Real Estate/Law Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Dell PowerEdge M?
The solution's most valuable features are centralized monitoring and management and the ease of upgrading firmware.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell PowerEdge M?
When rating Dell's pricing model, it varies case by case and configuration by configuration. Sometimes Dell may be a little costlier, but that is considering the services and solutions we are provi...
What needs improvement with Dell PowerEdge M?
In terms of potential room for improvement regarding Dell PowerEdge M, I would want to see something such as dense nodes and additional storage, as well as multiple network connectivity on the blad...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Lenovo Flex System?
Compared to its quality, the pricing is very reasonable and represents good value.
What needs improvement with Lenovo Flex System?
Continuing the production of this product is necessary. It is currently out of support, and we are seeking support from other sources besides Lenovo.
What is your primary use case for Lenovo Flex System?
We are using Lenovo Flex System on the server for our VMware environment, which includes our VMs and all our servers, Linux and Windows. It manages the daily operation efficiently.
 

Also Known As

No data available
Flex System Blade Servers, Flex System SN Series
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Newport City Homes, Neuroblastoma and Medulloblastoma Translational Research Consortium (NMTRC), Georgian College, AgreeYa Solutions, IIHT Cloud Solutions, Arizona State University, AudienceScience, University of the Incarnate Word (UIW), The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), Holy Cross School
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell PowerEdge M vs. Lenovo Flex System and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.