HPE Apollo Systems vs IBM Power Systems comparison

Hewlett Packard Enterprise and IBM are both solutions in the Rack Servers category. Hewlett Packard Enterprise is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.5, while IBM is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.7. Hewlett Packard Enterprise holds a 4.2% mindshare in Rack Servers, compared to IBM’s 9.1% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of Hewlett Packard Enterprise users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 97% of IBM users who would recommend it.

HPE Apollo Systems

Read 22 HPE Apollo Systems reviews

2,326 Views
1,775 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

IBM Power Systems

Read 69 IBM Power Systems reviews

4,877 Views
3,452 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

HPE Apollo Systems

IBM Power Systems

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 8, 2024

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HPE Apollo Systems and IBM Power Systems compete in the high-performance computing market. IBM Power Systems appear to have the upper hand due to their advanced features that users feel justify the investment.

Features: HPE Apollo Systems are known for scalability, energy efficiency, and flexibility. IBM Power Systems are recognized for high processing power, reliability, and robust security features.

Room for Improvement: HPE Apollo Systems users suggest improvements in integration, software tools, and compatibility with existing systems. IBM Power Systems users desire lower costs, more accessible maintenance procedures, and improved affordability without losing performance.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: HPE Apollo Systems are straightforward to deploy with comprehensive support. IBM Power Systems, despite more complex deployment, offer responsive technical support. HPE excels in faster initial deployment, while IBM provides detailed guidance for complex setups.

Pricing and ROI: HPE Apollo Systems have competitive setup costs and flexible pricing, offering favorable ROI aligned with budget-conscious decisions. IBM Power Systems, with higher upfront costs, promise long-term value and substantial returns, appealing to those prioritizing lasting investment.

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To learn more, read our detailed HPE Apollo Systems vs. IBM Power Systems Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

HPE Apollo Systems vs. IBM Power Systems

March 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

HPE Apollo Systems

Ranking in Rack Servers

6th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

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

8.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of HPE Apollo Systems is 4.2%, down from 4.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Power Systems is 9.1%, up from 8.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Rack Servers

Featured Reviews

Gayan Senadheera

Director at Tyax Pvt Ltd

Offers higher capacities compared to other solutions, making it suitable for handling large storage needs

In terms of improvement, we could benefit from some training. If there could be some training for our team, we would be better equipped to promote and support HPE Apollo. Currently, we haven't received any specific training related to HPE Apollo throughout my career. If HPE Apollo provides training, we can share the knowledge with our partners, which could lead to more opportunities for HPE Apollo in the market. Deal protection and other support measures would also be beneficial, as they could help us achieve better results in this market.

Read full review

Omobolaji Olaloku

Senior Enterprise System Engineer at Zenith-bank

Extremely stable, good ROI, and scalable

The most valuable feature of our machines is their ability to replace faulty parts without causing any downtime. Our servers are equipped with advanced technology, making it possible to replace defective parts without having to bring down the servers. This is crucial, as any disruption to our services would result in inconvenience to our customers. Therefore, being able to service the machines and replace parts without causing any downtime is highly beneficial.

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 cost benefit of this solution is most valuable. It is quite effective for the work for which we are using it. We are mainly running video servers on these, and we are quite happy with the resilience, density storage, and streaming capacity of the system."

"We're going to buy another Apollo 6500. We may configure it with half the number of GPUs because that may be all we need. In a sense, we can see the Apollo 6500 being so powerful that we only need half the GPU capability that we have now."

"HPE Apollo's most valuable feature is the ability to expand our storage capacity."

"Absolutely being able to mount into Omni-Path architecture, HFIs on those nodes, because we were the very first site in the world"

"The technical support from HPE has always been good in my experience."

"When we moved to the Apollo and all flash drives, we gained a lot of performance."

"HPE Apollo's support is the most valuable feature."

"It's going to meet our needs moving forward, it is scalable."

More HPE Apollo Systems pros

"The uptime feature is great."

"I use the hypervisor of IBM Power Systems a lot."

"From a software developer standpoint, virtualization is really the key, as we can more easily spin up a new partition, virtual instance of IBM i."

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

"The main feature that I have found most valuable is PowerVM - its virtualization feature which is the most powerful."

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

"Additionally, the processing power is far superior, especially with the RSA feature for reliability, serviceability, and availability."

"The SMT that they've improved has really helped open up boundaries for other applications that can use it."

More IBM Power Systems pros

Cons

"I would want to see the flexibility of being able to run various network protocols including InfiniBand, Fibre Channel, as well as iSCSI, with iSCSI going up to 100 gigabytes per second -that would be outstanding."

"We would like to see improved cooling because that is quite an issue. If you put that much compute power into a single rack, cooling really becomes an issue. And there is room for improvement there."

"The solution's deployment, security, and scalability need improvement."

"The predictive analysis feature could be improved."

"The technical support from HPE has always been good in my experience."

"The support from HPE Apollo could be better, they are making knowledgeable."

"There is a shared battery for all cache controllers in the node. When you have to replace that element, you have to take down all three nodes and not just one."

"What's coming out in Gen 10 is very strong in terms of additional security."

More HPE Apollo Systems cons

"Its pricing could be better."

"Power Systems' price could always be lower."

"Its price can be improved. It is too high."

"One of the features that we would like, and I think they are also adapting to the latest trends in the market, is to make it more open, more flexible... With VMware, anybody can create a virtual machine without any knowledge of the server side. But with AIX it's a bit difficult."

"Its management can be made easier because it is not easy to manage. They should also find a new way for migrating from an old Power Systems to a new one. The migration process is currently very complicated. It should be made easier to scale. Currently, its scalability depends on the initial sizing, whereas in Nutanix HCI, you can add whatever you need and whenever you need it."

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

"The pricing of the product could always be lowered."

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

More IBM Power Systems cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Compared to other products, HPE Apollo is not an expensive solution."

"Obviously I would like to see the cost go down. That speaks for itself."

"It is an expensive solution but it is worth the money. The standard licensing cost is for the GPU and the features that someone is using. There are additional charges but they depend on the solution."

"The price of the solution is more expensive than Dell which is their main competitor. However, there are times we have managed to receive a comparable price."

"There is an annual license required to use HPE Apollo."

"The pricing is reasonable."

"Its price depends on the sizing."

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

"IBM Power Systems is very expensive."

"The licensing costs are okay. With IBM Power Systems, it's inclusive, so you can differentiate the price of the hardware from the software itself."

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

"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."

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

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

13%

Manufacturing Company

13%

Government

10%

Financial Services Firm

17%

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about HPE Apollo?

HPE Apollo's pricing is low, and implementation is very easy compared to other products.

See all answers

What needs improvement with HPE Apollo?

HPE Apollo's after-sales support and technical support should be improved. The solution should provide fast delivery when it comes to replacing a particular product that is under warranty.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for HPE Apollo?

We use HPE Apollo for specific requirements of Linux 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?

IBM should provide a platform where users can learn about the storage and security of IBM Power Systems.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for IBM Power Systems?

In my company, we use the system for the data center and our IBM Cloud Pak System.

See all answers

Comparisons

HPE ProLiant DL Servers vs HPE Apollo Systems

Compared 36% of the time

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers vs HPE Apollo Systems

Compared 21% of the time

Dell PowerEdge XE Servers vs HPE Apollo Systems

Compared 10% of the time

Dell PowerEdge FX vs HPE Apollo Systems

Compared 9% of the time

Oracle SPARC Servers vs HPE Apollo Systems

Compared 3% of the time

More HPE Apollo Systems Competitors

Intel Server System vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 45% of the time

Oracle SPARC Servers vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 17% of the time

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 16% of the time

HPE ProLiant DL Servers vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 14% of the time

Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 1% of the time

More IBM Power Systems Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

HPE Apollo Systems

March 2025

Download HPE Apollo Systems product report

Buyer's Guide

IBM Power Systems

March 2025

Download IBM Power Systems product report

Also Known As

HP Apollo Systems, HP ProLiant SL, HP Apollo

IBM OpenPOWER LC

Overview

The HPE Apollo high-density server family is built for the highest levels of performance and efficiency. They are rack-scale compute, storage, networking, power and cooling – massively scale-up and scale-out – solutions for your big data analytics, object storage and high-performance computing (HPC) workloads. From water-cooling that’s 1,000X more efficient than air, to “right-sized scaling” with 2X the compute density for workgroup and private cloud workloads, the HPE Apollo line is a dense, high-performance, tiered approach for organisations of all sizes.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

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

Weta Digital

Cipher

Buyer's Guide

HPE Apollo Systems vs. IBM Power Systems

March 2025

Free Report: HPE Apollo Systems vs. IBM Power Systems

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