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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
4.8
Number of Reviews
72
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 October 2025, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of IBM Power Systems is 8.7%, down from 8.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers is 15.2%, down from 17.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Rack Servers Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers15.2%
IBM Power Systems8.7%
Other76.1%
Rack Servers
 

Featured Reviews

Foluso  Jibowo - PeerSpot reviewer
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
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

"With IBM Power11, downtime is virtually eliminated because the system has been fully optimized."
"The main feature that I have found most valuable is PowerVM - its virtualization feature which is the most powerful."
"The technical support that clients get from IBM is excellent."
"Power Systems' best features include its user-friendliness and self-checking/self-healing abilities."
"The performance and stability are great."
"Active Memory Expansion allows you to compress your memory on the run time to allow you to have less physical memory available, but provision more memory to your partitions, as everything will be compressed on the fly."
"Some of the most valuable features are the processing power, stability, and security."
"We found working with IBM Power Systems that LPM is the most valuable feature."
"Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers are scalable."
"The solution is very simple to install."
"It's very power-efficient and allows you to access the rack server directly without accessing the operating system on that server."
"The hardware performance is very valuable."
"I would say the stability of the system itself would be the biggest advantage."
"The IMM tool is great because we can upgrade different views and device versions very quickly. We can upgrade everything from a single point through a single dashboard, which is great for us because we also have Lenovo storage. Lenovo ThinkSystem also has Xclarity built into the system."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is the easiest product to set up and maintain."
"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."
 

Cons

"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."
"The number of times IBM refreshes its operating system appears to be very slow."
"I would like to see the scaling model improved so it's not just either tiny or huge."
"The solution is quite expensive."
"Power Systems' price could always be lower."
"The lack of software vendors moving onto the platform, as opposed to fleeing the platform, is an issue."
"The price has room for improvement."
"The solution is quite expensive."
"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."
"The power consumption needs to be optimized in Lenovo."
"Improvements could be made in the network cards, particularly by offering options for higher-speed cards beyond the current 10 GB."
"It is quite an expensive product. Its price can be improved."
"For the price my company pays for Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers, we can have more from other vendors offering the same functionalities that are present in Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers at a lower price."
"Upgrading firmware is easier in Dell than in Lenovo."
"There are other solutions that are less expensive."
"Throughout the use of the product, special needs will arise which may require a global need."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is a yearly licensing cost, and it's an expensive solution."
"The price of IBM Power Systems is expensive and could improve."
"Why should I be charged for that use rather than a single CPU, a single socket?"
"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."
"I give the cost a one out of ten."
"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."
"It's more about the value you get for the price. Considering its stability and performance, the pricing is good."
"The cost of the solution depends entirely on the client. There are not any additional costs other than the standard licensing fee."
"The price of Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers is competitive."
"Other than the standard licensing fees there are no other additional costs. The price of Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers could be better, and the availability of the solution could improve. We have been waiting two months for one server."
"I don't know the exact amount of money, but when I compared it to Dell or HPE, Lenovo was the best when it comes to price and equipment."
"It is the cheapest solution we have seen on the market."
"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."
"The price of the solution is very expensive when compared to other solution like HP or Dell."
"The price of Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers is highly competitive. Many customers prefer this solution because of the price. However, the price could be reduced."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
12%
University
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Educational Organization
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business17
Midsize Enterprise18
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: September 2025.
868,787 professionals have used our research since 2012.