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Dell PowerEdge R-Series vs Lenovo Flex System comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

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
2nd
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
318
Ranking in other categories
Converged Infrastructure (1st), Data Center Networking (3rd), Rack Servers (1st)
Lenovo Flex System
Ranking in Blade Servers
9th
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 September 2026, in the Blade Servers category, the mindshare of Dell PowerEdge R-Series is 4.9%, up from 2.6% 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 Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Dell PowerEdge R-Series4.9%
Lenovo Flex System4.4%
Other90.7%
Blade Servers
 

Featured Reviews

Tom van Mil - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
OZ
Head manager at a real estate/law firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Efficient management with minimal support needs and ongoing production
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 It saves our time because it is stable. The stability is crucial as all operational servers rely on it, making it…

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 is the storage, which is offered in different varieties with many options depending on the use cases, including unstructured data."
"If you are looking for a stable system, good support, and performance, then going with Dell ensures you are safe."
"The product is reliable."
"Overall, PowerEdge is a very good system."
"Dell PowerEdge R-Series is more than capable of supporting those systems, and that has been really important."
"The best features of Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers for me include the iDRAC for remote access to turned-off servers, which is a very good feature as an admin."
"The solution deserves a rating of 10 out of 10."
"I think the pricing of Dell PowerEdge R-Series is acceptable and represents an advantage."
"It comes at a good price. We didn't face any problems with this product."
"The stability and speed are always good. The processor is good and it's still working with our loads."
"The most valuable feature of the Lenovo Flex System is the storage system."
"The initial setup is straightforward."
"The product is very user-friendly and has many resources at the enterprise level."
"The functionality is reliable and requires minimal support."
"We are using Lenovo Flex System for our internal platform where we store our operating systems, Windows, Linux, and VMware, and then virtualize our machines."
"I have found the solution to be quite stable."
 

Cons

"I would like to see a virtual view of the solution after creating and configuring it."
"PowerEdge could have more configuration options, such as the ability to combine different CPUs, memory volumes, data storage, and memory. The new Intel-based ones are a bit power-hungry."
"The T150 is a little bit bulky for what it is. I think if they created a T150 version with small form-factor drives, that would be an ideal solution. Currently, it is a tower box and it has quite a big footprint..."
"PowerEdge has a high price tag. The price is a critical factor in our company."
"The flexibility of card use could be improved."
"A feature that would enhance Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers is the ability to get multiple servers up and running quickly versus having to do one at a time."
"There might be room for improvement, especially in the software aspect, such as firmware updates."
"Another issue is memory price, which makes it quite expensive to scale."
"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 user interface needs improvement because they have an application from which we have to manage the whole system and all of the infrastructure."
"Flex System's integration with the XClarity Management System could be improved."
"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 installation was not easy."
"The product could improve its integration capabilities."
"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 price of the Lenovo Flex System could improve."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I have no issues with the pricing and licensing costs. They are fine."
"I'd like them to be cheaper, but that's not the world we live in and that's not where the pound is at."
"The pricing for this solution is competitive compared to others on the market."
"It is expensive. The price needs to be more competitive. Additional licenses are required to enable some of the features for scalability."
"The pricing could always be better."
"The pricing is great; very competitive. That's the reason we bought hundreds of them."
"If price isn't a concern, I would recommend it."
"PowerEdge pricing is equivalent to that of all the others in the market."
"We are just paying the operational cost, which is not much."
"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."
"There is a one-off payment to buy the equipment and the support is purchased annually."
"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 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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Outsourcing Company
7%
Construction Company
7%
Construction Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Outsourcing Company
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business112
Midsize Enterprise66
Large Enterprise138
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Large Enterprise7
 

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....
What needs improvement with Dell EMC PowerEdge Rack Servers?
The cost is one area Dell PowerEdge R-Series can be improved. If Dell PowerEdge R-Series could look at the price, that would be best. Whether it is good depends on if the company's budget is good.
What is your primary use case for Dell EMC PowerEdge Rack Servers?
I use Dell PowerEdge R-Series for installation, and all virtual VMware infrastructure is running on Dell PowerEdge servers. I am mostly using all infrastructure servers with Dell PowerEdge. I am ho...
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

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers
Flex System Blade Servers, Flex System SN Series
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

NxtGen Datacenter, Medien-Service Untermain (MSU), Exasol, IndigoVision, Dayco
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell PowerEdge R-Series vs. Lenovo Flex System and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
914,109 professionals have used our research since 2012.