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

Dell PowerEdge M vs Lenovo Flex System comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 3, 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

Dell PowerEdge M
Ranking in Blade Servers
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
24
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Lenovo Flex System
Ranking in Blade Servers
11th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Blade Servers category, the mindshare of Dell PowerEdge M is 19.0%, up from 17.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Lenovo Flex System is 3.0%, down from 3.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Blade Servers
 

Featured Reviews

JohnDeavers - PeerSpot reviewer
Average pricing and good feature sets but is complex to set up
We use the solution for hyper-converged infrastructures with VMware and physical/virtual SQL solutions.  Both Dell and Cisco would be data center modernization. We're modernizing from a three-tier to a single infrastructure.  The enterprise manager feature sets are great. It's great for managing…
Syed  Ibrahim - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides a high initial ceiling before upscaling is required, user-friendly and rich in resources, but has occasional stability issues
The solution should come with cloud native applications to prepare for cloud based solutions. Forced restarts due to free upgrades is an issue that needs to be resolved. We can manage this as we have high availability and redundancy, but without that it could be a real problem. The level of customer support needs to be improved. There is currently an issue with Lenovo switching out SAN switches from the chassis, which will cause problems for people who already have a set up with the SAN switch connected to the central storage. This could require an entirely different network, adding an additional cost for the user.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of Dell PowerEdge M is iDRAC."
"The solution's most valuable feature is its interface."
"The Integrated Lights-Out (iLO) support is notably better than that of other servers."
"The biggest advantage of PowerEdge is that it is cost-effective, and its performance and infrastructure are much better than other competitors like Lenovo and HP."
"It's great for managing overall infrastructure."
"The initial setup is easy."
"One of the best aspects of PowerEdge is that it provides a consolidated hardware infrastructure, allowing multiple servers in a simple ten-rack unit."
"I have compared Dell EMC to other solutions and have found it to be good. The SAN and LAN traffic, manageability, and upgradability are all good."
"One of the most valuable features of this solution is its ease of use."
"The stability and speed are always good. The processor is good and it's still working with our loads."
"The product is very user-friendly and has many resources at the enterprise level."
"Flex System's best features are its performance and stability."
"The Lenovo Flex System is very stable."
"The functionality is reliable and requires minimal support."
"It comes at a good price. We didn't face any problems with this product."
"The most valuable feature of the Lenovo Flex System is the storage system."
 

Cons

"There is room for improvement in scalability."
"We have had some issues with the vendor's support that we have received. When you open up a support case with Dell they send a partner to assist you and in our experience, they are lacking knowledge about the solution. There are times when you need professional support from the vendor that knows the solution well."
"I believe that the tool’s support team is an area with certain concerns where improvements can be made."
"The caching is a bit weak, making the hardware non-responsive, especially on hypervisor layers like ESXi or Hyper-V."
"The last year, we experienced problems with support, as Dell decreased staff in Latin America, impacting support quality."
"The costing could be improved as it is somewhat expensive."
"Dell PowerEdge M lacks GPU nodes and doesn't have a direct solution for GPUs."
"Can be improved by being proactive in making changes that could improve the solution."
"The product could improve its integration capabilities."
"Flex System's integration with the XClarity Management System could be improved."
"The solution could improve by providing more integration with other platforms."
"Continuing the production of this product is necessary. It is currently out of support, and we are seeking support from other sources besides Lenovo."
"The solution's firmware and driver upgrades are a bit difficult."
"The most valuable feature of the Lenovo Flex System is the storage system."
"Forced restarts due to free upgrades is an issue that needs to be resolved. We can manage this as we have high availability and redundancy, but without that it could be a real problem."
"The user-interface needs improvement, because they have an application from which we have to manage the whole system and all the infrastructure. This application is not working at our premises, because of some problem with the hardware itself. So although we brought it with our systems, and we used it to manage all the systems: the storage, the switches, and everything, nevertheless we have to support every part alone and enter the interface in one-by-one."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is budget-friendly. The initial cost for each server was around 10,000 euros. It's a standard price, not too high or too low."
"The cost varies significantly depending on the server's configuration and can range from $10,000 to $60,000 for the same server line family."
"I know we get three years basic, and the on-site licensing model for business seems fine. I wouldn't pay for a support plus or anything."
"The solution's pricing is slightly higher."
"If we would not have gone with the vendor we might have been charged unnecessarily for packages we did not need."
"It was budget friendly."
"The product is neither expensive nor cheap. It is manageable for medium enterprises as well."
"Dell PowerEdge M price is comparable to other solutions but cheaper than IBM. However, the IBM solution is a higher grade solution whereas Dell PowerEdge M is a medium-level solution."
"The 14 blade server allows significant room for upscaling before having to invest in another chassis. You would have to purchase another chassis much sooner in the case of an eight or nine blade server."
"There is a one-off payment to buy the equipment and the support is purchased annually."
"We are just paying the operational cost, which is not much."
"We have the whole maintenance for the 3 years, starting the deployment. We also have the VMware license for 3 years and I think we have another license to buy. There are no additional costs besides licensing."
"The price is interesting. I am able to quote a client based on their needs and offer them either Lenovo or Dell."
"The is an annual license cost to use the Lenovo Flex System. If the price was less expensive and flexible overall and for additional features, our customers would be happier."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Blade Servers solutions are best for your needs.
838,713 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Government
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
20%
Financial Services Firm
20%
Government
12%
Real Estate/Law Firm
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Dell PowerEdge M?
The solution's most valuable features are centralized monitoring and management and the ease of upgrading firmware.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell PowerEdge M?
The cost of Dell is reasonable. Dell is not expensive compared to HP. It is a little cheaper, but customers still prefer HP.
What needs improvement with Dell PowerEdge M?
I do not know if I can comment about the tool itself since I do not have much experience with Dell. I work mostly with HP and only sometimes with Dell. I cannot say where improvement is needed. Del...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Lenovo Flex System?
Compared to its quality, the pricing is very reasonable and represents good value.
What needs improvement with Lenovo Flex System?
Continuing the production of this product is necessary. It is currently out of support, and we are seeking support from other sources besides Lenovo.
What is your primary use case for Lenovo Flex System?
We are using Lenovo Flex System on the server for our VMware environment, which includes our VMs and all our servers, Linux and Windows. It manages the daily operation efficiently.
 

Also Known As

No data available
Flex System Blade Servers, Flex System SN Series
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Newport City Homes, Neuroblastoma and Medulloblastoma Translational Research Consortium (NMTRC), Georgian College, AgreeYa Solutions, IIHT Cloud Solutions, Arizona State University, AudienceScience, University of the Incarnate Word (UIW), The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), Holy Cross School
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell PowerEdge M vs. Lenovo Flex System and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
838,713 professionals have used our research since 2012.