HPE Apollo Systems vs IBM Power Systems comparison

Hewlett Packard Enterprise and IBM are both solutions in the Rack Servers category. Hewlett Packard Enterprise is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.5, while IBM is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.6. Hewlett Packard Enterprise holds a 3.9% mindshare in Rack Servers, compared to IBM’s 9.1% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of Hewlett Packard Enterprise users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 97% of IBM users who would recommend it.

HPE Apollo Systems

Read 23 HPE Apollo Systems reviews

2,251 Views
1,981 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

IBM Power Systems

Read 70 IBM Power Systems reviews

4,225 Views
4,225 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

HPE Apollo Systems

IBM Power Systems

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 8, 2024

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HPE Apollo Systems and IBM Power Systems compete in the high-performance computing market. IBM Power Systems appear to have the upper hand due to their advanced features that users feel justify the investment.

Features: HPE Apollo Systems are known for scalability, energy efficiency, and flexibility. IBM Power Systems are recognized for high processing power, reliability, and robust security features.

Room for Improvement: HPE Apollo Systems users suggest improvements in integration, software tools, and compatibility with existing systems. IBM Power Systems users desire lower costs, more accessible maintenance procedures, and improved affordability without losing performance.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: HPE Apollo Systems are straightforward to deploy with comprehensive support. IBM Power Systems, despite more complex deployment, offer responsive technical support. HPE excels in faster initial deployment, while IBM provides detailed guidance for complex setups.

Pricing and ROI: HPE Apollo Systems have competitive setup costs and flexible pricing, offering favorable ROI aligned with budget-conscious decisions. IBM Power Systems, with higher upfront costs, promise long-term value and substantial returns, appealing to those prioritizing lasting investment.

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To learn more, read our detailed HPE Apollo Systems vs. IBM Power Systems Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

HPE Apollo Systems vs. IBM Power Systems

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

HPE Apollo Systems

Ranking in Rack Servers

6th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

4.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Density Optimized Servers (2nd)

IBM Power Systems

Ranking in Rack Servers

4th

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

2.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of HPE Apollo Systems is 3.9%, down from 4.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Power Systems is 9.1%, up from 8.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Rack Servers

Featured Reviews

Gayan Senadheera

Director at Tyax Pvt Ltd

Offers higher capacities compared to other solutions, making it suitable for handling large storage needs

In terms of improvement, we could benefit from some training. If there could be some training for our team, we would be better equipped to promote and support HPE Apollo. Currently, we haven't received any specific training related to HPE Apollo throughout my career. If HPE Apollo provides training, we can share the knowledge with our partners, which could lead to more opportunities for HPE Apollo in the market. Deal protection and other support measures would also be beneficial, as they could help us achieve better results in this market.

Read full review

Rohintan-Karanjia

Advisory Services at Nangia Andersen LLP

Offers security features, including HIPs, Postgres, intrusion prevention systems, and AI for specific tasks

We've found that sometimes, certain setups require better servers. Ideally, the next level of model that IBM offers would be perfect for those situations. Sometimes, the availability of additional services can be a challenge for some software. Certain IBM software takes time to deliver to the client. It can be slow. So deployment is an area for improvement.

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

"The cost benefit of this solution is most valuable. It is quite effective for the work for which we are using it. We are mainly running video servers on these, and we are quite happy with the resilience, density storage, and streaming capacity of the system."

"The solution is well documented in a data sheet."

"The technical support from HPE has always been good in my experience."

"We're going to buy another Apollo 6500. We may configure it with half the number of GPUs because that may be all we need. In a sense, we can see the Apollo 6500 being so powerful that we only need half the GPU capability that we have now."

"It's very reliable. I haven't had a single failure at all in the year and a half; not the slightest problem with it."

"Apollo Systems provide stuff that standard services do not. More HTDs, more compute power, at very reasonable pricing."

"we can use the same platform for several use cases: Hadoop, Ceph, and we are considering the server for another use case right now. It's a single solution, we only have to integrate it once and we can use it for several technologies."

"It enables us to implement software defined solutions very easily, because Apollo servers are certified for use with Linux systems"

More HPE Apollo Systems pros

"I use the hypervisor of IBM Power Systems a lot."

"The performance and stability are great."

"It is a very scalable solution."

"The solution does not require any maintenance."

"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten...Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten."

"The technical support that clients get from IBM is excellent."

"The backups work great, data recovery works great."

"IBM Power Systems' best features are its reliability, resilience, and performance per rack unit."

More IBM Power Systems pros

Cons

"The predictive analysis feature could be improved."

"There is a shared battery for all cache controllers in the node. When you have to replace that element, you have to take down all three nodes and not just one."

"We would like to see improved cooling because that is quite an issue. If you put that much compute power into a single rack, cooling really becomes an issue. And there is room for improvement there."

"HPE Apollo's after-sales support and technical support should be improved."

"Lustre seems to be just a little bit unstable overall."

"If there could be some training for our team, we would be better equipped to promote and support HPE Apollo."

"The technical support for HPE Apollo Systems could be improved."

"One drawback which I had: When I needed to expand storage on the Apollo, I had significant problems getting disks for it. It was a very long wait-time. So, if I were to give any advice in regards to improving this product, I would say make more of the 8TB disks available quicker."

More HPE Apollo Systems cons

"I think the cost should be cheaper."

"IBM should be more flexible with marketing or offer marketing events themselves and invite the partners to attend. That might be far more productive."

"In Power6, latency was an issue, but nowadays, we are on Power8, which doesn't have any such problems. Sometimes, we have issues when we are moving to a new version, which is the case with almost every company. Some new issues or problems show up suddenly, and you do not have the time to research and find the solution. That's when we contact IBM technical support."

"Its price can be improved. It is too high."

"The solution is quite expensive."

"The lack of software vendors moving onto the platform, as opposed to fleeing the platform, is an issue."

"It would be ideal if the solution was more simple to work with."

"The solution could improve the memory database for better integration with SAP HANA."

More IBM Power Systems cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Obviously I would like to see the cost go down. That speaks for itself."

"The price of the solution is more expensive than Dell which is their main competitor. However, there are times we have managed to receive a comparable price."

"It is an expensive solution but it is worth the money. The standard licensing cost is for the GPU and the features that someone is using. There are additional charges but they depend on the solution."

"There is an annual license required to use HPE Apollo."

"Compared to other products, HPE Apollo is not an expensive solution."

"Its price is too high."

"It's more about the value you get for the price. Considering its stability and performance, the pricing is good."

"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."

"IBM Power Systems is a really expensive product."

"Price-wise, I rate the solution a five out of ten."

"The price of IBM Power Systems is expensive and could improve."

"The additional software costs are high."

"The pricing is reasonable."

More IBM Power Systems pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Computer Software Company

12%

Government

Financial Services Firm

17%

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about HPE Apollo?

HPE Apollo's pricing is low, and implementation is very easy compared to other products.

See all answers

What needs improvement with HPE Apollo?

HPE Apollo's after-sales support and technical support should be improved. The solution should provide fast delivery when it comes to replacing a particular product that is under warranty.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for HPE Apollo?

We use HPE Apollo for specific requirements of Linux servers.

See all answers

What do you like most about IBM Power Systems?

IBM Power Systems provides very good performance and stability compared to other brands or processors.

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM Power Systems?

IBM should provide a platform where users can learn about the storage and security of IBM Power Systems.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for IBM Power Systems?

In my company, we use the system for the data center and our IBM Cloud Pak System.

See all answers

Comparisons

HPE ProLiant DL Servers vs HPE Apollo Systems

Compared 35% of the time

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers vs HPE Apollo Systems

Compared 21% of the time

Dell PowerEdge FX vs HPE Apollo Systems

Compared 8% of the time

Dell PowerEdge XE Servers vs HPE Apollo Systems

Compared 7% of the time

HPE Moonshot vs HPE Apollo Systems

Compared 4% of the time

More HPE Apollo Systems Competitors

Intel Server System vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 39% of the time

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 18% of the time

HPE ProLiant DL Servers vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 16% of the time

Oracle SPARC Servers vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 16% of the time

Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 1% of the time

More IBM Power Systems Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

HPE Apollo Systems

July 2025

Download HPE Apollo Systems product report

Buyer's Guide

IBM Power Systems

July 2025

Download IBM Power Systems product report

Also Known As

HP Apollo Systems, HP ProLiant SL, HP Apollo

IBM OpenPOWER LC

Overview

The HPE Apollo high-density server family is built for the highest levels of performance and efficiency. They are rack-scale compute, storage, networking, power and cooling – massively scale-up and scale-out – solutions for your big data analytics, object storage and high-performance computing (HPC) workloads. From water-cooling that’s 1,000X more efficient than air, to “right-sized scaling” with 2X the compute density for workgroup and private cloud workloads, the HPE Apollo line is a dense, high-performance, tiered approach for organisations of all sizes.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

IBM Power Systems are built to crush the most advanced data applications - from the mission-critical workloads you run today to the next generation of AI.

IBM

Sample Customers

Weta Digital

Cipher

Buyer's Guide

HPE Apollo Systems vs. IBM Power Systems

July 2025

Free Report: HPE Apollo Systems vs. IBM Power Systems

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