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Dell PowerEdge M vs Lenovo Flex System comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.9
Number of Reviews
24
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Lenovo Flex System
Ranking in Blade Servers
10th
Average Rating
8.4
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Blade Servers category, the mindshare of Dell PowerEdge M is 19.3%, up from 17.2% 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.
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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

"It allows us to consolidate our infrastructure very efficiently, enabling us to deploy eight servers in a seven-unit density."
"The initial setup is easy."
"The networking features for administration and working with the server are valuable."
"The solution integrated well."
"It is easy to manage by an administrator and we can spend valuable time on other IT issues."
"It's great for managing overall infrastructure."
"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."
"The server is more common for the mass market and although it is nothing special, what stands out is the good after-sales service provided."
"We use the solution as a compute model to run the compute load on servers."
"The initial setup is straightforward."
"One of the most valuable features of this solution is its ease of use."
"The most valuable feature of the Lenovo Flex System is the storage system."
"The functionality is reliable and requires minimal support."
"The Lenovo Flex System is very stable."
"The product is very user-friendly and has many resources at the enterprise level."
"It comes at a good price. We didn't face any problems with this product."
 

Cons

"The caching is a bit weak, making the hardware non-responsive, especially on hypervisor layers like ESXi or Hyper-V."
"I have not noticed any specific improvements needed as most updates are done by the OEM over time."
"The firmware updates for the product need improvement."
"I believe that the tool’s support team is an area with certain concerns where improvements can be made."
"Can be improved by being proactive in making changes that could improve the solution."
"I would like to have additional HPC and AI capabilities on general Dell PowerEdge servers."
"The last year, we experienced problems with support, as Dell decreased staff in Latin America, impacting support quality."
"Dell PowerEdge M needs to run AMD CPUs on it."
"I had some difficulties with the initial setup."
"The solution could improve by providing more integration with other platforms."
"The solution's firmware and driver upgrades are a bit difficult."
"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 product could improve its integration capabilities."
"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."
"The most valuable feature of the Lenovo Flex System is the storage system."
"It does not have the same module flexibility that was present in IBM Blade. On the Blade System, I was able to choose between the Cisco module, or BMC module. Since the switch to Lenovo, I have not had the same choice of modules, only the BMC modules."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It was budget friendly."
"If we would not have gone with the vendor we might have been charged unnecessarily for packages we did not need."
"The pricing of PowerEdge Next is higher than it was before."
"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."
"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 solution's pricing is slightly higher."
"The product is neither expensive nor cheap. It is manageable for medium enterprises as well."
"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 price is interesting. I am able to quote a client based on their needs and offer them either Lenovo or Dell."
"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 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."
"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."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Government
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
25%
Computer Software Company
17%
Government
12%
Real Estate/Law Firm
5%
 

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 varies significantly depending on the server's configuration and can range from $10,000 to $60,000 for the same server line family.
What needs improvement with Dell PowerEdge M?
The last year, we experienced problems with support, as Dell decreased staff in Latin America, impacting support quality. Additionally, Dell's prices have increased more than competitors.
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: December 2024.
830,526 professionals have used our research since 2012.