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HPE BladeSystem vs Lenovo Flex System comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

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 BladeSystem
Ranking in Blade Servers
3rd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
140
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Lenovo Flex System
Ranking in Blade Servers
9th
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 November 2026, in the Blade Servers category, the mindshare of HPE BladeSystem is 8.2%, down from 12.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Lenovo Flex System is 4.2%, up from 3.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Blade Servers Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
HPE BladeSystem8.2%
Lenovo Flex System4.2%
Other87.6%
Blade Servers
 

Featured Reviews

TA
CTO at Miraj
Centralized modular platform has improved data center management and supports mission-critical workloads
The main area for improvement I see is the training process. When you use anything, how easily it is to manage is very important in hyper-converged solutions. If you compare it with VMware, it is very familiar. HPE Converged, however, is very large to understand for a new person. I am talking about training and management perspective, and user management. A system integrator and any system engineer who will operate and manage the system should find it easy to understand any configuration part and understanding part, which is currently a little bit tough. In Virtual Connect, we need some improvement. If we are going to move to hybrid, we need to easily move VM transactions from on-premises to cloud. We require a good, more easy process for day-to-day activities. Performance-wise, HPE BladeSystem is good regarding its ability to support mission-critical applications. However, reliability is all dependent on the core and memories, which will centrally control the entire blade and hyper-converged. We require more reliable things because if something goes down in the controller and center control, it is very tough to manage. We require a centralized image that will be replicated to any other device immediately, and all configurations and everything will come as soon as possible.
OZ
Head manager at a real estate/law firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Efficient management with minimal support needs and ongoing production
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 It saves our time because it is stable. The stability is crucial as all operational servers rely on it, making it…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It has provided us with a platform on which we have been able to create innovative solutions for our customers at very reasonable prices."
"I like the stability."
"The most valuable feature of HPE BladeSystem is its upgradability and centralized configuration."
"Coupled with HP 3PAR SAN devices and peer persistence, I managed to create a 99.99999% uptime environment."
"The most valuable feature, of course, is its size as I can build a huge compute resource on it."
"When comparing the HPE ProLiant DL Servers to the HPE BladeSystem, the HPE BladeSystems are compact and need less space for installation, can provide the same computing as the HPE ProLiant DL Servers in the same unit, and are a lot easier to manage."
"It is not expensive."
"Basically, in a cluster, it works really nicely, especially within a cluster environment. Also, it's easily configurable."
"One of the most valuable features of this solution is its ease of use."
"The product is very user-friendly and has many resources at the enterprise level."
"The initial setup is straightforward."
"I have found the solution to be quite stable."
"We are using Lenovo Flex System for our internal platform where we store our operating systems, Windows, Linux, and VMware, and then virtualize our machines."
"Flex System's best features are its performance and stability."
"It comes at a good price. We didn't face any problems with this product."
"I'd recommend Flex System to others as it's much better than any other product we've had and advise that they use XClarity for system management."
 

Cons

"They are not selling BladeSystem anymore. The end of the sale of this platform was this year, 2020."
"A single OA replacement caused 15 servers with VPC protection to be dropped off the network when the device was failed from active to passive; completely disrupting 200+ VMs and >2000 users; all when it was assured to failover gracefully."
"The price of the solution has room for improvement."
"HPE BladeSystem that we are using is currently very old. It's not too good. We haven't renewed it. I would like the solution to have more updates."
"I haven't always been impressed with getting some guy in India. I'm sure that's the biggest complaint everybody gets."
"Stability, overall, is very good, and it’s kind of like an old jazz song -- when it’s good, it’s very good; but when it’s bad, it’s terrible."
"I would like to see improvement regarding scalability and deployment in the area of support."
"There could be some improvements that have to do with CPU architecture, but that's not really an HP part."
"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."
"The user interface needs improvement because they have an application from which we have to manage the whole system and all of the infrastructure."
"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 price of the Lenovo Flex System could improve."
"The installation was not easy."
"Flex System's integration with the XClarity Management System could be improved."
"I had some difficulties with the initial setup."
"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

"it would make everyone happy if the solution were less expensive."
"Its pricing was good. We selected this solution because it was within our budget. We paid just once when we bought it. We never bought any license."
"The chassis itself, with no blade server inside, so expensive. The C7000 model costs around $100,000."
"Regarding the cost, HPE BladeSystem is not cheap. The solution and its support are costly, and there are challenges with renewal and pricing, especially in Nigeria, due to the dollar rate and FX issues. However, it is reliable. I don't have specific figures for licensing costs, as the procurement and finance departments handle them."
"The product’s price is high compared to one of its competitors."
"The licensing is on an annual basis."
"When you purchase HPE BladeSystem you have to pay for the support service. The first three years are covered under the warranty, and for any further support, you have to pay annually. When comparing the cost of HPE BladeSystem to other vendors, the fees are less expensive."
"It is not expensive, really, in this class of server products."
"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 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."
"The price is interesting. I am able to quote a client based on their needs and offer them either Lenovo or Dell."
"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."
"We are just paying the operational cost, which is not much."
"There is a one-off payment to buy the equipment and the support is purchased annually."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Outsourcing Company
14%
Construction Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Construction Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business29
Midsize Enterprise40
Large Enterprise104
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Large Enterprise7
 

Questions from the Community

How would you choose between HPE's Bladesystem and Synergy?
For me, choosing between HPE’s Bladesystem and Synergy came down to which solution was more powerful, reliable, and stable. It turns out Bladesystem was the winner. Bladesystem is excellent because...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HPE BladeSystem?
With around 19 years of exposure in working with various servers, including HPE, I encounter challenges in identifying reasonable prices during the setup cost and licensing process, especially for ...
What needs improvement with HPE BladeSystem?
The main area for improvement I see is the training process. When you use anything, how easily it is to manage is very important in hyper-converged solutions. If you compare it with VMware, it is v...
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

HP ProLiant BL Series Servers, HP ProLiant BladeSystem
Flex System Blade Servers, Flex System SN Series
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

EMIS Health
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about HPE BladeSystem vs. Lenovo Flex System and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
919,919 professionals have used our research since 2012.