Dell PowerEdge R-Series vs Lenovo Flex System comparison

Dell Technologies and Lenovo are both solutions in the Blade Servers category. Dell Technologies is ranked #4 with an average rating of 9.0, while Lenovo is ranked #9 with an average rating of 8.7. Dell Technologies holds a 3.6% mindshare in Blade Servers, compared to Lenovo’s 4.4% mindshare. Additionally, 98% of Dell Technologies users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Lenovo users who would recommend it.

Dell PowerEdge R-Series

Read 268 Dell PowerEdge R-Series reviews

13,148 Views
263 Comparison Views

98% willing to recommend

Lenovo Flex System

Read 10 Lenovo Flex System reviews

549 Views
549 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Dell PowerEdge R-Series

Lenovo Flex System

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 30, 2025

Dell PowerEdge R-Series and Lenovo Flex System compete in the enterprise server market. Dell PowerEdge R-Series seems to have the upper hand due to its robust management features and advanced integration capabilities.

Features: Dell PowerEdge R-Series is lauded for its robust management features, remote server management via iDRAC, enhanced scalability, and integration capabilities suitable for high-performance workloads. Lenovo Flex System is praised for its user-friendliness and stability, offering good resource allocation for enterprise-level applications, but lacks some of Dell's advanced integration features.

Room for Improvement: Dell PowerEdge R-Series could improve its centralized management interfaces, offer more competitive pricing models, and enhance support response times. Lenovo Flex System needs to improve integration capabilities, develop a more comprehensive management system, and offer better pricing flexibility to support newer cloud-based applications.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Both Dell PowerEdge R-Series and Lenovo Flex System are deployed on-premises. Dell supports hybrid and private cloud deployments, offering more deployment options. Dell's customer service is generally satisfactory, but some users note complexity. Lenovo’s customer service is reliable and helpful.

Pricing and ROI: Dell PowerEdge R-Series is more expensive but justified by support and features, offering competitive pricing particularly with configurations and pay-per-use models. Lenovo Flex System offers competitive pricing and value, with good handling of high-resource applications. Dell's ROI is evident in operational stability and support, while Lenovo offers a less expensive upfront cost but faces challenges in flexibility and advanced features.

To learn more, read our detailed Dell PowerEdge R-Series vs. Lenovo Flex System Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Dell PowerEdge R-Series vs. Lenovo Flex System

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

Dell PowerEdge R-Series

Ranking in Blade Servers

4th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

268

Ranking in other categories

Converged Infrastructure (2nd), Data Center Networking (4th), Rack Servers (1st)

Lenovo Flex System

Ranking in Blade Servers

9th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Blade Servers category, the mindshare of Dell PowerEdge R-Series is 3.6%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Lenovo Flex System is 4.4%, up from 3.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Blade Servers Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Dell PowerEdge R-Series	3.6%
Lenovo Flex System	4.4%
Other	92.0%

Blade Servers

Featured Reviews

Tom van Mil

Systems Administrator at Lico Innovations B.v.

Supports flexible hosting needs through seamless upgradability and strong monitoring capabilities

The most valuable features of Dell PowerEdge R-Series for me are the feature richness and the upgradability. I really love the way that it is so dynamically applicable for every situation, and they manage to have an all-in-one solution for every single situation. Dell PowerEdge has supported the growth and operational success of my company through its great compute power and price-to-performance ratio. Every time Dell is at the top of its game for us, and there is just no other brand for us that is able to reach that kind of price-to-performance ratio. Dell PowerEdge R-Series has features that specifically cater to the needs of my small company, such as iDRAC. The iDRAC system is a complete feature set for managing servers and hardware technically and monitoring-wise. It really fits in our system and our ecosystem, and monitoring-wise, it is excellent. They have all these sensors available via different protocols and end points, which I love, and the ability to manage and control everything via the iDRAC interface is just a welcome bonus. In our use case, Dell PowerEdge R-Series is very flexible. It is another computer which helps a lot because of the durability over time. They keep running, making scalability for getting more of those resources in our environment so easy.

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Farhan-Ahmad

Senior System Administrator at Khushhali Microfinance Bank

Used to run the compute load on servers, but firmware and driver upgrades are a bit difficult

We use the solution for multiple purposes, such as in the virtualization cluster and the standalone applications We use the solution as a compute model to run the compute load on servers. The solution's firmware and driver upgrades are a bit difficult. I have been using Lenovo Flex System for…

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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

"This server was priced more cheaply than other options such as IBM and HP, making it quite cost-effective."

"The solution is easy to use and very stable, and we are happy with it."

"We are able to do remote monitoring and installation of hardware and software, and that tends to be very popular with customers."

"The DRA cards for server management is the most valuable feature. They provide a clear overview of server settings and issues. We also like that the notifications are well-organized."

"It is very easy and seamless to use the OpenManage console for lifecycle management or PowerEdge Rack Servers. It is one of the best solutions in the market today to manage the lifecycle of services."

"iDRAC is the most valuable feature because of the ease of use and management and everything that it provides is super useful. The security features that PowerEdge provides, including firmware threat detection is good."

"The most valuable feature is standardization because we have a small group of IT resources that need to do the operational tasks."

"This solution keeps us up and running and reduces downtime. PowerEdge helped us to reduce data processing time. The PowerEdge systems management frameworks enabled us to progress towards full automation."

More Dell PowerEdge R-Series pros

"The Lenovo Flex System is very stable."

"Flex System's best features are its performance and stability."

"The stability and speed are always good. The processor is good and it's still working with our loads."

"The product is very user-friendly and has many resources at the enterprise level."

"One of the most valuable features of this solution is its ease of use."

"We use the solution as a compute model to run the compute load on servers."

"It comes at a good price. We didn't face any problems with this product."

"The initial setup is straightforward."

More Lenovo Flex System pros

Cons

"After the expiration of support, it is sometimes challenging to find parts like hard drives, especially for obsolete models."

"Being in Belgium, which is a small country, we might be considered too small for Dell since we only have 40 Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers. This sometimes affects our ability to receive deployment support."

"I chose a rating of nine instead of ten because there is always room for improvements in technology."

"They can consider making them smaller in physical size but retain the same quality and the same security."

"When trying to piece out a server for our builds, there are so many different SKUs—probably 30 to 40 SKUs—that it can be difficult to read. If that could be condensed a little bit, that would help."

"In older models, for instance, Melanox adapters remain a necessity, and they have sporadically caused complications."

"More integration to third-party services would be a great upgrade."

"Perhaps they could make it more power efficient. They're pretty good, but there's always room for improvement. Also, they could try to reduce heat generation."

More Dell PowerEdge R-Series cons

"I had some difficulties with the initial setup."

"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 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."

"The product could improve its integration capabilities."

"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."

"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."

"Flex System's integration with the XClarity Management System could be improved."

More Lenovo Flex System cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I have no issues with the pricing and licensing costs. They are fine."

"The pricing is very competitive."

"Pricing appears to be comparatively favorable, particularly within the project's scope."

"The main reason I choose Dell there is cost. Dell is cheaper than HPE. Why would I want to pay a premium for an HPE product when I'm getting the same amount of support, the same amount of data protection, and the same amount of performance from Dell?"

"It's not a very expensive solution."

"You can't have computed performance without using more power. That said, when I consider the power consumption and performance of the MX740c, depending on how much memory you install on each blade, you get the best bang for your buck."

"Dell's solution was cheaper than HP's solution."

"PowerEdge pricing is equivalent to that of all the others in the market."

More Dell PowerEdge R-Series pricing and cost advice

"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 are just paying the operational cost, which is not much."

"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."

"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."

"The price is interesting. I am able to quote a client based on their needs and offer them either Lenovo or Dell."

"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

13%

Manufacturing Company

12%

University

Financial Services Firm

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	95
Midsize Enterprise	59
Large Enterprise	112

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	3
Large Enterprise	7

Questions from the Community

When shopping for a rack server, would you go with Dell EMC Poweredge or Lenovo Thinksystem?

Our organization ran comparison tests to determine whether the Dell EMC Poweredge or Lenovo Thinksystem rack servers were the better fit for us. We ultimately decided to go with Dell EMC Poweredge....

See all answers

What do you like most about Dell EMC PowerEdge Rack Servers?

It has helped us reduce unplanned downtime by 20% to 30%.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Dell EMC PowerEdge Rack Servers?

I do not have anything that I believe could be improved about Dell servers. However, I would like to see a range for AI that is more accessible for companies that do not have significant budgets. T...

See all answers

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.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

Comparisons

HPE ProLiant DL Servers vs Dell PowerEdge R-Series

Compared 40% of the time

Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers vs Dell PowerEdge R-Series

Compared 23% of the time

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

Compared 9% of the time

IBM Power Systems vs Dell PowerEdge R-Series

Compared 6% of the time

Huawei FusionServer RH Series Rack Servers vs Dell PowerEdge R-Series

Compared 5% of the time

More Dell PowerEdge R-Series Competitors

HPE Superdome X vs Lenovo Flex System

Compared 23% of the time

HPE Synergy vs Lenovo Flex System

Compared 19% of the time

Dell PowerEdge MX- Series vs Lenovo Flex System

Compared 15% of the time

Supermicro SuperBlade vs Lenovo Flex System

Compared 11% of the time

HPE NonStop vs Lenovo Flex System

Compared 10% of the time

More Lenovo Flex System Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Dell PowerEdge R-Series

January 2026

Download Dell PowerEdge R-Series product report

Buyer's Guide

Blade Servers

January 2026

Download Lenovo Flex System product report

Also Known As

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers

Flex System Blade Servers, Flex System SN Series

Overview

PowerEdge R-Series delivers high performance, flexibility, and scalability for data centers. It supports demanding tasks with robust management tools and advanced cooling, providing reliability and efficiency across various workloads.

Engineered for large deployments, PowerEdge R-Series supports extensive configurations optimizing performance in data centers. With features like advanced cooling and energy-efficient architecture, it empowers organizations to manage heavy workloads while facilitating seamless scalability. It offers remote management, robust security, and integration with VMware ensuring operational excellence and high availability for business-critical applications.

What are the key features of Dell PowerEdge R-Series?

Scalability: Supports flexible configurations for diverse workloads.
Remote Management: iDRAC and OpenManage facilitate easy oversight.
Energy Efficiency: Architecture helps reduce energy consumption.
Security: Robust features ensure protected performance.
VMware Integration: Enhances manageability and productivity.

What benefits and ROI should you look for?

Performance: Handles high-performance and demanding tasks.
Flexibility: Offers easily upgradable configurations.
Reliability: Provides consistent performance with long-term support.
Efficiency: Reduces energy use and operational costs.
Ease of Use: Simplifies management and maintenance.

PowerEdge R-Series is deployed across industries for virtualization, database hosting, and application servers. It supports environments like VMware and Hyper-V for AI, cloud infrastructure, and computing tasks. Widely used by finance, healthcare, and academia, it enhances reliability and efficiency of IT infrastructure.

Dell Technologies

Flex System is Lenovo’s proven, 2nd generation blade, that efficiently runs your infrastructure applications with up to 80% better density than standard rack server deployments.

Lenovo

Sample Customers

NxtGen Datacenter, Medien-Service Untermain (MSU), Exasol, IndigoVision, Dayco

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Dell PowerEdge R-Series vs. Lenovo Flex System

December 2025

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