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IBM Power Systems vs Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 8, 2024

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

IBM Power Systems
Ranking in Rack Servers
4th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
5.8
Number of Reviews
73
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Ser...
Ranking in Rack Servers
3rd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
27
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of IBM Power Systems is 7.5%, down from 9.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers is 13.8%, down from 16.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Rack Servers Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers13.8%
IBM Power Systems7.5%
Other78.7%
Rack Servers
 

Featured Reviews

Foluso  Jibowo - PeerSpot reviewer
Product Manager at Hiperdist Ltd
Has empowered enterprises with secure and cost-effective solutions
When discussing disadvantages, I do not see many areas for improvement because we have received good testimonies from every client. IBM gives customers peace of mind. One challenge, which I would not really call a challenge, is that initially people have the notion that IBM Power Systems is quite expensive. However, IBM does not lose deals based on price. This is a message we need to keep communicating to people who feel that IBM is on the high side in terms of cost. We encourage them to have a discussion with us about their total cost of ownership over three or five years. There is a notion in the market that IBM is expensive, which is false. However, once we engage and show them their return on investments and their total cost of ownership savings, they tend to embrace IBM.
Adalberto Giaretta - PeerSpot reviewer
Technology director at Infodive Representações e Serviços ltda
Reliable with an easy setup and good support
These are rack servers. We use them for applications. It stores everything including VM servers, application servers, Windows, et cetera The reliability is great. The solution is like any other commodity like Dell or HPE. These are all very similar.  Setting up the solution is easy. It is stable.…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"BM Power Systems get updated every two years and are scalable and stable."
"The initial setup is simple and straightforward."
"The solution does not require any maintenance."
"Power VM gives us the flexibility to increase or decrease machine resources when required."
"It is a very scalable solution."
"Power Systems' best features include its user-friendliness and self-checking/self-healing abilities."
"IBM Power Systems are more capable because they have their own file system, CPUs, and accelerators, making them more capable than the other OEMs."
"The best features of the solution are its robustness and service level."
"It is a scalable product."
"Its performance and the local support of Lenovo in my city are the most valuable features. Its performance is the best, and its user interface is also very easy."
"The product is designed to make adding RAM and disk space easier for users."
"It's very power-efficient and allows you to access the rack server directly without accessing the operating system on that server."
"The product is very user-friendly."
"It is a stable solution."
"The most valuable aspect of Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers is the brand name and the service relationship we have with Lenovo."
"It has good integration. You have VMware for connecting many machines, and you can support microservices. You can also easily connect the networks. It is also very easy to use and implement, and it comes with good support."
 

Cons

"The pricing is high."
"In my country, there are power supply interruptions. IBM could find ways to make the product stable through these interruptions."
"I think the cost should be cheaper."
"IBM should provide a platform where users can learn about the storage and security of IBM Power Systems."
"It does not offer the ability to run any X86 or X64 Intel architecture-based application on Power Systems. There are a lot of applications, lots of business use cases that do not support this architecture as of now. If somehow application tasks can be ported on to IBM Power Systems, that would be a big improvement."
"Power Systems' price could always be lower."
"The solution could improve the memory database for better integration with SAP HANA."
"If you take advantage of some of these real advanced features, for oversubscribing as an example, it's not supported on Linux on Power. So that stops us, in particular, from going that way."
"Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers does a very good job. However, what could be improved can be their Configurator because it's very bulky and it sometimes gives logical errors."
"I have a few notification alerts about PCI cards but it's rare."
"Its price could be better. Its price is sometimes an issue for our clients. XClarity Controller is a very good feature, and Lenovo should include the XClarity Controller license without any additional cost. It should be integrated within the product."
"Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers availability could improve. We have been waiting two months for one server."
"Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers could improve the availability of their solution. The supply chain is severely broken, we've had to wait many months for component parts to a system time after time. The availability of discs and raid controllers has been difficult lately."
"HP has a riser inside, but Lenovo does not have a riser. It would be good to have a riser with Lenovo. The GUI of the system is really bad. HP has a very good UI for smart memories and everything inside, but in Lenovo, we have a black-and-white UI. HP right now manufactures a server with scalable SP1 and SP2 on a single machine, which is not the case with Lenovo. They are changing the machine. For SP 1, there is one server, and for SP2, there is another server, which is really bad. In HP, we can use two models of processors in a single case. Lenovo should also be improved to have SP1 and SP2 scalable processors simultaneously on a single machine. They should not release another machine. This issue is also there in H3650 severs. They are all inside, but only V3 CPU or only v4 CPU can work, whereas, in HBG9, we can deploy V3 and V4 simultaneously. Lenovo also needs to advertise more because I can't see advertisements anywhere."
"It was complex to get this started because the Lenovo and VMware are not very compatible. We had to get some updates in order for it to be implemented."
"I do not have any notes for improvements."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of IBM Power Systems is expensive and could improve."
"I give the cost a one out of ten."
"The cost model is great. There is so much built in to the technology, that if you know how to use it you can save yourself a lot of money."
"IBM Power Systems is very expensive."
"It's more about the value you get for the price. Considering its stability and performance, the pricing is good."
"Why should I be charged for that use rather than a single CPU, a single socket?"
"IBM Power Systems is a really expensive product."
"Power Systems is very cheap and provides good value for money."
"Your budget determines the scalability."
"As the costs got high, we had to use the virtualization feature to consolidate the server farm.​"
"In India, the solution is cheap compared to its competitors."
"It is the cheapest solution we have seen on the market."
"The price of the solution is very expensive when compared to other solution like HP or Dell."
"It is expensive compared to other vendors."
"It is too expensive. Because we are a university and we have to look for our money, many times we buy some refurbished machines or equipment at reasonable prices from IBM or Lenovo. We are a little bit limited in terms of money, and we buy as much as we can. If they were cheaper, we would buy more."
"Its pricing is very competitive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
9%
University
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
9%
University
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business17
Midsize Enterprise19
Large Enterprise42
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business18
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise9
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Power Systems?
IBM Power Systems provides very good performance and stability compared to other brands or processors.
What needs improvement with IBM Power Systems?
When discussing disadvantages, I do not see many areas for improvement because we have received good testimonies from every client. IBM gives customers peace of mind. One challenge, which I would n...
What is your primary use case for IBM Power Systems?
IBM Power Systems are used mainly in large organizations, generally in the financial industry, government, telecommunications, oil and gas sectors for their high availability environment. These sys...
How do Lenovo ThinkSystem rack servers compare with HPE ProLiant DL servers?
Lenovo ThinkSystem rack servers offer flexibility and efficiency in order to meet mission-critical demands. I like that Lenovo blends outstanding performance, reliability, and manageability. The bi...
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 do you like most about Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers?
The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is the easiest product to set up and maintain.
 

Also Known As

IBM OpenPOWER LC
SR Series, Lenovo SR Series, ThinkSystem Rack Servers, IBM Rack Servers, ThinkSystem SR Series, Lenovo Rack Servers,
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Cipher
immixGroup, Komsomolskaya Pravda, SRG Global, Seekr, Infiniti Red Bull Racing, jKool, Tennis Australia, VEKA, Netpoints, Gamma Powersports
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Power Systems vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.