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HPE Integrated Lights Out (iLO) vs VMware vCenter comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 29, 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

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
3rd
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 June 2026, in the Server Monitoring category, the mindshare of HPE Integrated Lights Out (iLO) is 2.0%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware vCenter is 2.0%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Server Monitoring Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
VMware vCenter2.0%
HPE Integrated Lights Out (iLO)2.0%
Other96.0%
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) 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."
"HPE Integrated Lights Out (iLO) is user-friendly, offering easy navigation and a nice GUI."
"I can say that the product is stable because we have been using the tool for the last fifteen years in our company, and there has been no issue."
"We must create a VIN on each node. You want to make the VIN ten times if you have a thin host. We mostly create VMs, and the vCenter publishes the template on all hosts."
"The product has improved our system's proactive support for in-built AI tools."
"The most valuable features are DRS, cluster management, vCenter management, and logs management."
"It's a very good tool for centralized management."
"The product is scalable."
"The most valuable feature of VMware vCenter is the centralized management that allows us to see resources from different data centers and VMware clusters in a single dashboard."
"The product's emphasis on high availability and DRS aligns with our priorities, making vCenter an integral component in our virtualized environment."
 

Cons

"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."
"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."
"The process of creating VLANs or any similar tasks requires following a specific procedure, which must be executed accurately to ensure successful deployment. That's the main concern."
"The license cost has increased significantly, which is the primary negative aspect of VMware vCenter."
"VMware vCenter is an expensive product. Its price needs improvement."
"We face some upgrade patch management issues."
"We have to buy more VMware products to leverage the centralized management."
"The licensing model of VMware vCenter can be improved"
"Areas for improvement with vCenter include changes in licensing models."
"The protocol interface or web page is not easy to use, and the personal portal is difficult to navigate."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The pricing is significantly high."
"For the healthcare industry, the price is considerably higher than the education industry."
"The platform is expensive."
"The tool used to be worth the money, but after Broadcom acquired it and changed the pricing structure to subscription-only, it became too expensive for us to continue using. Unfortunately, we haven't found any alternative solutions that meet our needs, so this is a significant drawback for us as we explore other options."
"VMware vCenter is not expensive."
"The product's three-year license package is inexpensive."
"The licensing model was a bit complex, but thanks to the vCenter product usage program, which VMware introduced, it's kind of easy for us to use a pay-as-you-go model."
"The product is expensive."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Server Monitoring solutions are best for your needs.
900,747 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Insurance Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
15%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Outsourcing Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Construction Company
10%
Marketing Services Firm
9%
 

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 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...
What is your primary use case for VMware vCenter?
My main use case for VMware vCenter is mainly for virtualization and what we call DCDR replication. I can say we are not using all the features. Our main aim is only that we are using it for virtua...
 

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: June 2026.
900,747 professionals have used our research since 2012.