Cisco UCS B-Series vs PowerEdge C comparison

Cisco and Dell Technologies are both solutions in the Blade Servers category. Cisco is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.3, while Dell Technologies is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.8. Cisco holds a 8.3% mindshare in Blade Servers, compared to Dell Technologies’s 1.0% mindshare. Additionally, 98% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Dell Technologies users who would recommend it.

Cisco UCS B-Series

Read 74 Cisco UCS B-Series reviews

1,158 Views
1,135 Comparison Views

98% willing to recommend

PowerEdge C

Read 28 PowerEdge C reviews

419 Views
138 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Cisco UCS B-Series

PowerEdge C

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 3, 2025

PowerEdge C and Cisco UCS B-Series compete in the server management and virtualization market. PowerEdge C seems to have the upper hand due to its affordability, ease of use, and competitive features for hybrid environments, while Cisco UCS B-Series offers significant scalability and integration benefits but is more complex and costly.

Features: PowerEdge C offers strong virtualization capabilities with advanced reliability due to Intel's RAS feature and hot-swappable nodes, making it highly efficient and user-friendly. Cisco UCS B-Series excels in scalability and integration with storage systems, offering centralized management through UCS Manager and robust remote management capabilities.

Room for Improvement: PowerEdge C needs improved pricing, more intuitive integration with AI tools for monitoring, and enhanced iDRAC application features. Cisco UCS B-Series could benefit from simpler management interfaces, improved integration tools, and reduced complexity and costs.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: PowerEdge C is favored for diverse deployment options and good technical services, though offshored support may slow response times. Cisco UCS B-Series provides solid deployment experiences but faces challenges due to its technical intricacies, requiring improvements in support speed and regional specialization.

Pricing and ROI: PowerEdge C is competitively priced with flexible licensing, offering strong ROI. Users appreciate its affordability with bundled offerings. Cisco UCS B-Series, although more expensive with high licensing costs, provides substantial ROI for enterprise features but requires more competitive pricing for mid-market competition.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco UCS B-Series vs. PowerEdge C Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco UCS B-Series vs. PowerEdge C

July 2025

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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

Cisco UCS B-Series

Ranking in Blade Servers

4th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

PowerEdge C

Ranking in Blade Servers

7th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Density Optimized Servers (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Blade Servers category, the mindshare of Cisco UCS B-Series is 8.3%, down from 10.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of PowerEdge C is 1.0%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Blade Servers

Featured Reviews

DavidMbugua

Group General Manager-ICT at SkyLink

Reliable product with efficient automation capabilities

Cisco UCS B-Series manages various processes, including handling payments for over 650,000 growers, running group financials, managing human resources, and operating our main ERP system, SAP. The servers' resilience was particularly impactful. Even during power outages, the servers resumed operations from the last saved point without human intervention. The enhanced processing speed also allowed us to complete tasks that took two days in just one hour. The automation capabilities enhanced efficiency and facilitated integration with our networking components, particularly since we also used Cisco switches. The servers' security was reliable, and formal training on Cisco products made management easier. I rate the product an eight.

Read full review

Al Vasek

Executive Business Development Manager, Cloud and Managed Services at Presidio Networked Solutions

Supports business apps and VDI with reliable compute

The solution is all about compute. The solutions are easy to handle, priced correctly, reliable, and dependable. Cisco is similar but more complex to configure and usually more expensive. My team supports a lot of Dell, focusing on hybrid environments like Azure Stack, splitting workloads between high compute needs in databases, which are expensive in the cloud, and other workloads in the cloud.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is a very robust and reliable solution."

"The architecture of this solution is very valuable; it has five traffic interconnects, and uses a network highway so bandwidth is never an issue."

"The most valuable feature is the ability to replace a server with another one, simply by applying the profile"

"The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that it is easily scalable."

"The initial setup is pretty simple and straightforward."

"From a return on investment perspective, Cisco UCS B-Series is worth the money."

"The Dashboard is quite impressive and is, so far, the best based on my experience."

"They've been responsive and helpful whenever we've needed assistance."

More Cisco UCS B-Series pros

"The initial setup is not complex. It's a user-friendly tool."

"It is a scalable solution."

"The management platform is great."

"The product has high performance and no downtime."

"The solutions are easy to handle, priced correctly, reliable, and dependable."

"With the tool, we can easily upgrade and ensure compatibility between operating systems, hardwares and drivers. Among other features, the hardware also stands out because it is certified and aligns with the processor manufacturers like Intel. This enables them to offer the latest options which are not available with other suppliers."

"It was not complex to deploy."

"It provides the necessary infrastructure for our operations."

More PowerEdge C pros

Cons

"The license is expensive. Cisco should decrease the delay in the delivery of their products."

"It needs a better UI. Cisco makes a great product, but doesn't know how to make a UI."

"Cisco UCS B-Series competitors have similar features as they do, Cisco needs to make some changes to make their offering better."

"The main issue with this solution is that it is quite vendor-restricted, meaning that when we use third party software, we cannot use all of the available configuration tools or pre-validated design features."

"The upgrades could be improved."

"The cost is expensive and has room for improvement."

"There is a delay in the product's reporting and the rebooting system compared to servers from other vendors."

"The integration is an area where Cisco UCS B-Series needs to provide users with more details."

More Cisco UCS B-Series cons

"It would be easier if data center management and disaster recovery were combined."

"The current memory could be improved."

"The VxRail should be opened to allow other virtualization platforms to be used."

"There has been an increase in quality issues."

"A feature that needs to be added is the ability for full container storage."

"We had a few minor issues with compatibility on the latest version during the installation process."

"It would be better if the solution provided simplified storage and hardware with an integrated one-tier architecture."

"It should be improved in terms of future expansion. We should be able to have additional free slots for future extensions in terms of memory."

More PowerEdge C cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It makes much more sense for individual licenses for distributed environments"

"This is a premium device and our clients are not as concerned about the reasonableness of the price compared to satisfaction with their productivity."

"Considering our market, I rate the pricing of Cisco UCS B-Series as a six."

"From a business point of view, the price is on the higher end."

"Pricing will be based on your requirements so it is important to plan, engage, and negotiate directly with the Cisco Account Manager."

"The price of this solution is a little bit higher, but given that this system is Cisco, it feels more secure and dependable."

"Make sure you work with a vendor partner than can get you a substantial discount off of list pricing."

"We have to pay a monthly licensing fee for the solution."

More Cisco UCS B-Series pricing and cost advice

"The cost depends on the configuration."

"There is a need to pay towards the annual subscription-based licensing model offered by the solution. The product is moderately priced. Price is a critical issue, and it is always good to have moderately priced solutions."

"The product costs can be high, especially for disks and other components."

"The licensing cost of PowerEdge C is very high."

"PowerEdge C is very expensive, but personally, I think it's worth the price."

"Despite the slightly higher price, we prefer Dell due to the high quality of their products."

"PowerEdge C is a product that is priced at a medium range, so it is not too expensive."

"PowerEdge C is a reasonably priced product, and the pricing depends on how many years you need the product. The cost also includes the support."

More PowerEdge C pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

17%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

Healthcare Company

Financial Services Firm

16%

Computer Software Company

11%

Venture Capital & Private Equity Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco UCS B-Series?

The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that it is easily scalable.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco UCS B-Series?

The licensing cost for three years, followed by an AMC for two years, is reasonable. However, the management software, Cisco One, is priced a bit high but still considered reasonable. No additional...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Cisco UCS B-Series?

Last year, we faced challenges with firmware upgrades, but they were quickly resolved with assistance from Cisco TAC.

See all answers

What do you like most about PowerEdge C?

The solution provides good support and service.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for PowerEdge C?

PowerEdge is quite a costly solution, and I would rate the pricing around seven or eight on a scale from one to ten with ten being the most expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with PowerEdge C?

With reference architectures like VX rack, the update process is quite painful. They could automate or simplify it more. There are prerequisites to go through, and that's usually the only time-cons...

See all answers

Comparisons

HPE Synergy vs Cisco UCS B-Series

Compared 35% of the time

Dell PowerEdge M vs Cisco UCS B-Series

Compared 17% of the time

Supermicro SuperBlade vs Cisco UCS B-Series

Compared 17% of the time

Cisco UCS E-Series Servers vs Cisco UCS B-Series

Compared 16% of the time

HPE BladeSystem vs Cisco UCS B-Series

Compared 15% of the time

More Cisco UCS B-Series Competitors

Huawei FusionServer X Series vs PowerEdge C

Compared 54% of the time

Cray CS-Storm vs PowerEdge C

Compared 33% of the time

HPE Apollo Systems vs PowerEdge C

Compared 13% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco UCS B-Series

July 2025

Download Cisco UCS B-Series product report

Buyer's Guide

Blade Servers

July 2025

Download PowerEdge C product report

Also Known As

UCS B-Series, Unified Computing System B-Series

No data available

Overview

Based on Intel Xeon processor E7 and E5 product families, Cisco UCS B-Series Blade Servers work with virtualized and non-virtualized applications to increase: Performance, Energy efficiency, Flexibility and Administrator productivity.

Cisco

PowerEdge C help you to maximize hyperscale performance with up to 4 independent server nodes, flexible storage and shared infrastructure in a compact 2U chassis.

Dell Technologies

Sample Customers

Aegean Motorway, Anilana Hotels and Resorts, Anonymous Banking Group, Artoni Transporti, Bellevue, BH Telecom, Bowling Green State University, Children's Hospital Colorado, City of Biel, Dimension Data, Dualtec Cloud Builders, Hertz, Houston Methodist, Kuwait Petroleum Italia, Lufthansa Systems GmbH & Co.KG, Outscale, Sony Corporation, Talbots

NxtGen Datacenter, Medien-Service Untermain (MSU), Exasol, IndigoVision, Dayco

Buyer's Guide

Cisco UCS B-Series vs. PowerEdge C

July 2025

Free Report: Cisco UCS B-Series vs. PowerEdge C

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco UCS B-Series vs. PowerEdge C and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.

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