Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

IBM Power Systems vs Oracle SPARC Servers comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 29, 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

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
Oracle SPARC Servers
Ranking in Rack Servers
6th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
8.0
Number of Reviews
7
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 Oracle SPARC Servers is 3.6%, down from 3.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Rack Servers Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
IBM Power Systems8.7%
Oracle SPARC Servers3.6%
Other87.7%
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.
Abdul-Salam - PeerSpot reviewer
A rock-solid OS and rich virtualization features for hosting many VMs on one box
Oracle doesn't have a good roadmap for the solution because they are moving to the x86 platform. Oracle is focusing on the cloud platform with a PCA and standard x86 architecture. Linux is their other OS and is mostly in the cloud. We don't see much development happening on Solaris even though it came as an acquisition from Sun Microsystems. Eventually, the solution and its platform will die because there has been no new development on the Solaris end and we haven't seen new servers in the last five years. At this point, we are pretty sure there is no real roadmap or future for the solution. There is a shortage of expert engineers because Oracle is not pushing the technology. It is hard for us to find engineers because the number of people supporting us has considerably reduced.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The SMT that they've improved has really helped open up boundaries for other applications that can use it."
"The best features of the solution are its robustness and service level."
"The most valuable features of the solution are disaster recovery, replication, and the ability to migrate to another location."
"PowerVM."
"The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that the hardware is really good and reliable."
"Power Systems' best features are that it's reliable, stable, and easily available. It's also really scalable and can be virtualized without third-party software support."
"IBM Power Systems' best features are its reliability, resilience, and performance per rack unit."
"The installation is easy."
"The Oracle server is very powerful. They are more powerful and durable compared to Intel hardware. Which has been a benefit to our organization."
"Our customers are happy with many features in Oracle SPARC Servers, like the automatic ASR feature."
"The operating system is rock solid and the best I have ever used."
"The most valuable features of the solution stem from the fact that Oracle Database functions very well with Oracle SPARC Servers."
"I have found the LDAP facilities most valuable. In addition, I like the CPU."
"The performance is the best feature."
"The processor is very helpful and the licensing is very flexible."
 

Cons

"The pricing is high."
"The price has room for improvement."
"There are improvements that can be made on the technical side."
"It would be ideal if the solution was more simple to work with."
"Technical support and documentation need to be improved."
"We have a problem with the storage software. The media to restore data is also not found."
"The solution is highly-priced."
"IBM systems are old technologies. I couldn't renew and get to use IBM Power Systems, and it offers users very expensive support."
"Oracle doesn't have a good roadmap for the solution because they are moving to the x86 platform."
"I would like to see a reduced price point."
"Like IBM, Oracle SPARC Servers should be able to run other open operating systems like Linux."
"Oracle SPARC Servers should be fine-tuned well enough to work with the other servers and software products in the market, as it is an area where Oracle SPARC Servers lack."
"They need some sort of modeling because IBM has different types of models."
"The solution could improve by giving a clear roadmap about the future. I'm not seeing a lot of improvements on the OS side of the software. They need to work more on the operating system."
"They have declared the end of life of the hardware."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution's pricing is very, very high compared to other platforms."
"Why should I be charged for that use rather than a single CPU, a single socket?"
"I give the cost a one out of ten."
"Price-wise, I rate the solution a five out of ten."
"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."
"The pricing of the solution is very good because we can beat any other competitor with the pricing. Lately, they have offered good pricing for their customer."
"When there is an error in the SAS drive of 10,000 RPM, my company buys support for 1,500 USD."
"The machine is good and has a comparatively good price."
"The hardware is expensive but it has very rich virtualization features that make it economical."
"The application running on it is very important to us and this makes the price worth it."
"My company makes yearly payments toward the licensing costs attached to the solution."
"Oracle SPARC Servers are expensive to manage, this is because after five years Oracle will increase the support charges for the hardware. The licensing policy for Oracle is different for Intel and Sparc. It will cost you less if you use your Oracle hardware with Oracle SPARC Servers."
"The licensing is flexible."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Rack Servers solutions are best for your needs.
868,787 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
6%
Financial Services Firm
21%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
5%
 

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 Business4
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise1
 

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...
What do you like most about Oracle SPARC Servers?
The most valuable features of the solution stem from the fact that Oracle Database functions very well with Oracle SPARC Servers.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Oracle SPARC Servers?
My company makes yearly payments toward the licensing costs attached to the solution. My company's clients, who have paid for the licensing costs attached to the solution, have also engaged with so...
What needs improvement with Oracle SPARC Servers?
Oracle products are usually fine-tuned with the software of other Oracle products, like Oracle WebLogic Server Services, Oracle Database, and Oracle Core Banking Software and Solutions, as all the ...
 

Also Known As

IBM OpenPOWER LC
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Cipher
University Hospitals Leuven, B&H Photo, Tuscon Electric Power, IS Nordic, Siemens
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Power Systems vs. Oracle SPARC Servers and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
868,787 professionals have used our research since 2012.