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HPE Integrated Lights Out (iLO) vs VMware vCenter comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 28, 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

HPE Integrated Lights Out (...
Ranking in Server Monitoring
13th
Average Rating
9.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
VMware vCenter
Ranking in Server Monitoring
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
38
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Server Monitoring category, the mindshare of HPE Integrated Lights Out (iLO) is 2.3%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware vCenter is 1.9%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Server Monitoring Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
VMware vCenter1.9%
HPE Integrated Lights Out (iLO)2.3%
Other95.8%
Server Monitoring
 

Featured Reviews

AM
Senior Systems Administrator at a manufacturing company with 11-50 employees
Positive access capabilities and user-friendly interface empower efficient server management while cost and licensing concerns persist
HPE Integrated Lights Out (iLO) is user-friendly, offering easy navigation and a nice GUI. It provides an alternative network connection, enabling access to servers without physical access. The software is highly valued for its ability to bring servers back up remotely, essential for minimizing downtime in critical situations. HPE iLO is a strong competitor to iDRAC. Being a second network interface physically installed on a server, iLO provides an extra IP to access the server, bypassing other layers such as ESXi or Proxmox, and enabling BIOS-level access. The remote software involved is fantastic for recovering servers quickly and efficiently when they go down, providing significant improvements to organizational operations. Whether dealing with international or local solutions, iLO can save considerable time, reducing downtime from minutes to weeks depending on location. It is particularly useful for integrating with Microsoft Active Directory, simplifying login issues, and mitigating risks of login leaks through Multi-Factor Authentication. The quick response times from HPE support, including shipping parts and sending techs promptly, add to the overall efficiency and reliability of solutions involving HPE iLO. The integration of iLO with vSphere provides a seamless user experience, making navigation feel consistent across platforms.
VinayKumar7 - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager Data Centre at a consultancy with 51-200 employees
Centralized control has improved data center virtualization and streamlined DC DR replication
The pricing of VMware vCenter is high. What was earlier, before it was acquired by Broadcom, was different. Now, Broadcom has acquired it, and the earlier arrangement was that we used to bundle the license and purchase it according to our choice. Now, they bundle it with vSAN, which many organizations may not use. Although we purchase it along with the bundled license, we pay for something which is of no use to us because we have our own storage. If they had separate pricing for each module, organizations could purchase only the modules they need, and the price would lower. For smaller organizations, this can become a huge cost issue. For larger organizations, there is no issue, but for medium-sized organizations, they have to shell out a lot.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"HPE Integrated Lights Out (iLO) is user-friendly, offering easy navigation and a nice GUI."
"HPE Integrated Lights Out (iLO) has the best features for detecting any kind of hardware failure, such as any DIMM, HDD, system board, or PSU failures, providing real-time alarms with all necessary information."
"The platform is very effective for managing virtual infrastructure. It has improved our virtual infrastructure and virtual machine deployment in several ways."
"The performance monitoring tools within vCenter help track resource usage, identify performance bottlenecks, and optimize the efficiency of virtual environments."
"The high availability feature is particularly valuable when a host goes down or experiences high usage, as it automatically migrates VMs to other hosts to balance performance."
"We typically manage VMs after the OS is installed. vCenter simplifies VM management by allowing for the configuration and operation of VMs once an OS, like Windows, is installed."
"We manage practically everything using the solution."
"The most valuable features of VMware vCenter for our organization include its centralized management capabilities and the ability to handle virtual machines across multiple ESXi hosts efficiently."
"In vCenter, I can easily manage storage and move it from one server to another, which is beneficial for the environment."
"The most valuable aspect for us is the ability to monitor all servers simultaneously and effortlessly move them between hosts."
 

Cons

"Sometimes when the system fails, iLO doesn't get the proper information from the system, so there's a need for improvement so it can provide real-time information for our engineers to give the correct solutions to customers."
"I am currently avoiding HPE in my current build because of the pricing that is almost highway robbery. Service contracts are required to receive firmware updates."
"vCentre licensing cost is on the higher side as well."
"We have to buy more VMware products to leverage the centralized management."
"The stability could be better."
"VMware vCenter is an expensive product. Its price needs improvement."
"The monitoring features are limited."
"The product should improve its storage. It's not necessarily about needing more storage but improving how it handles technology. We believe there could be more effective ways to manage it in our user environment. It should also look into network management."
"The licensing model needs improvement, especially with the transition to Broadcom."
"If VMware integrates some features of their other solution into VMware vCenter, operational managers might find it beneficial. Many organizations prefer to maintain separate solution sets based on specific needs and data requirements."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"We utilize the basic licenses of the product."
"The platform is expensive."
"The product is expensive."
"For the healthcare industry, the price is considerably higher than the education industry."
"The product is affordable for now."
"The solution is pretty expensive for small businesses because there are few lower-scale VMware vCenter solutions."
"The platform is highly-priced."
"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a seven out of ten."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Insurance Company
17%
Manufacturing Company
15%
Computer Software Company
13%
University
8%
Marketing Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business16
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise18
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HPE Integrated Lights Out (iLO)?
Regarding pricing or set-up costs and licensing, HPE's approach is quite intense compared to Dell, Cisco, Microsoft, Lenovo, etc. Avoiding HPE in the current structure due to high costs would be co...
What needs improvement with HPE Integrated Lights Out (iLO)?
As a reseller, I think HP iLO can be improved in a few ways. HP has a lot of experience with iLO, but they need to work on synchronization between iLO and the system hardware. Sometimes when the sy...
What is your primary use case for HPE Integrated Lights Out (iLO)?
HPE Integrated Lights Out (iLO) is used for monitoring the system; we have almost 115 or 116, around 150 servers, and we use this product to check the server current status with alarms and all othe...
What do you like most about VMware vCenter?
The filtering capabilities also enhance scalability by optimizing resource allocation.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware vCenter?
The initial package for VMware vCenter is not less than $10,000, which can be prohibitive for smaller organizations. The licensing model now requires purchasing 96-core solutions, even if fewer cor...
What needs improvement with VMware vCenter?
The pricing of VMware vCenter is high. What was earlier, before it was acquired by Broadcom, was different. Now, Broadcom has acquired it, and the earlier arrangement was that we used to bundle the...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
1. Amazon 2. Apple 3. ATT 4. Bank of America 5. Cisco Systems 6. CocaCola 7. Dell 8. ebay 9. Facebook 10. Google 11. HP 12. IBM 13. Intel 14. JPMorgan Chase 15. LinkedIn 16. Microsoft 17. Netflix 18. Oracle 19. PayPal 20. SAP 21. Siemens 22. Tesla 23. Toyota 24. Twitter 25. Visa 26. Walmart 27. WeWork 28. World Bank
Find out what your peers are saying about HPE Integrated Lights Out (iLO) vs. VMware vCenter and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
884,933 professionals have used our research since 2012.