HPE ProLiant DL Servers vs IBM Power Systems comparison

Hewlett Packard Enterprise and IBM are both solutions in the Rack Servers category. Hewlett Packard Enterprise is ranked #2 with an average rating of 9.3, while IBM is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.7. Hewlett Packard Enterprise holds a 21.5% mindshare in Rack Servers, compared to IBM’s 9.1% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of Hewlett Packard Enterprise users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 97% of IBM users who would recommend it.

HPE ProLiant DL Servers

Read 156 HPE ProLiant DL Servers reviews

10,569 Views
8,632 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

IBM Power Systems

Read 69 IBM Power Systems reviews

4,877 Views
3,452 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

HPE ProLiant DL Servers

IBM Power Systems

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 23, 2025

HPE ProLiant DL Servers and IBM Power Systems are both targeted at enterprise-level computing. HPE ProLiant DL Servers hold an advantage in cost-effectiveness and support, while IBM Power Systems lead in advanced features and reliability, often justifying their higher cost.

Features: HPE ProLiant DL Servers offer reliability, scalability, and flexibility with comprehensive management capabilities like iLO. Competitive pricing and lifecycle performance make them versatile. IBM Power Systems stand out with reliability, superior processing power, and security features, ideal for high-demand environments.

Room for Improvement: HPE ProLiant DL Servers could improve iLO features, manageability, and boot times, while addressing licensing and configuration challenges. IBM Power Systems need better pricing, simpler management tools, and more frequent update cycles, along with scalable solutions and cloud licensing improvements.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Both HPE ProLiant DL Servers and IBM Power Systems are primarily on-premises, with some hybrid deployments. HPE provides excellent support with knowledgeable engineers, though some report slow responses. IBM support is considered responsive but could improve problem resolution speed in specific regions.

Pricing and ROI: HPE ProLiant DL Servers are known for cost-efficiency and quick ROI, aligning with various budgets. They are more affordable compared to competitors. IBM Power Systems have a higher price, justified by advanced capabilities, offering long-term value but can be costly for smaller organizations despite a worthwhile return over time.

To learn more, read our detailed HPE ProLiant DL Servers vs. IBM Power Systems Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

HPE ProLiant DL Servers vs. IBM Power Systems

March 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 ProLiant DL Servers

Ranking in Rack Servers

2nd

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

156

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

IBM Power Systems

Ranking in Rack Servers

4th

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

8.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of HPE ProLiant DL Servers is 21.5%, down from 21.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Power Systems is 9.1%, up from 8.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Rack Servers

Featured Reviews

SHIVAKUMAR A P

Country Manager - Emerging Business at Orbit Techsol

With an easy setup phase in place, it is suitable for small and large-sized businesses

When you speak of any enhancements in the product, you need to shift to the tool's commercial mode. You get more features in the solution if you pour in more money. If a customer needs some features in the solution, they will have to buy it since certain features are not loaded by default in the server. With entry-level licenses, servers are shipped to customers free of cost. Customers need to pay if they want more and more features in the solution. Every OEM solution in the market, including HPE ProLiant DL, operates similarly. The overall cost of the product needs to be lower, as it is one of the areas of concern in the product.

Read full review

Omobolaji Olaloku

Senior Enterprise System Engineer at Zenith-bank

Extremely stable, good ROI, and scalable

The most valuable feature of our machines is their ability to replace faulty parts without causing any downtime. Our servers are equipped with advanced technology, making it possible to replace defective parts without having to bring down the servers. This is crucial, as any disruption to our services would result in inconvenience to our customers. Therefore, being able to service the machines and replace parts without causing any downtime is highly beneficial.

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

"Technical support are mostly helpful."

"This solution is perfect. From the time of purchase, it was state-of-the-art, and still, after five, 10 years, they still meet our demands extremely well."

"HPE service in Taiwan is quick and professional, and ProLiant is cost-effective compared to Dell. Dell is good for one or two servers, but HPE is cheaper than Dell for a large deployment. Cost is the most important thing in the market."

"The solution has always been very stable and reliable."

"The most valuable feature is stability."

"The most valuable features are the value and the scalability."

"In regards to the components that you can put into the servers, I feel that HP provides a wider variety of parts in comparison to Dell. For example, there is the ILO which is a network cable that goes into the server and reports back with an abundance of information about the server, even when it is off."

"HPE ProLiant DL Servers are a great product. We don't have many complaints."

More HPE ProLiant DL Servers pros

"The initial setup is simple and straightforward."

"Power VM gives us the flexibility to increase or decrease machine resources when required."

"Additionally, the processing power is far superior, especially with the RSA feature for reliability, serviceability, and availability."

"The performance and stability are great."

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

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

"Power Systems' best features are that it's reliable, stable, and easily available. It's also really scalable and can be virtualized without third-party software support."

"The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that the hardware is really good and reliable."

More IBM Power Systems pros

Cons

"The cost of the solution is high and has room for improvement."

"There is a challenge sometimes with having quick access to some of these components when you need them. It takes a lot of time to get spare parts from genuine sellers."

"The technical support has room for improvement."

"The most pressing issue is that downloads depend at present on the current period."

"We found that the extensions could be improved and the price could be a little lower."

"In DL 500 systems, the flow of air is not good enough, and some components get overheated. IBM systems have better airflow and scalability. We have a data center that has limited physical space. Therefore, we need to maximize the processing or compute systems that we use. In HP servers, such as DL 500, there are only four processors, whereas IBM servers, such as SR 916, have eight processors. We don't get any support from HP because of our geographical location. We solve all problems ourselves by doing research on the internet. It would be good to get HP support."

"They should improve the solution's built-in quality."

"Sometimes, there are connectivity issues and the server is not able to connect to our SAN."

More HPE ProLiant DL Servers cons

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

"It does not offer the ability to run any X86 or X64 Intel architecture-based application on Power Systems. There are a lot of applications, lots of business use cases that do not support this architecture as of now. If somehow application tasks can be ported on to IBM Power Systems, that would be a big improvement."

"Its pricing could be better."

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

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

"In the next release, I would like to see additional graphical dashboards to help the administrators access information more easily."

"One of the features that we would like, and I think they are also adapting to the latest trends in the market, is to make it more open, more flexible... With VMware, anybody can create a virtual machine without any knowledge of the server side. But with AIX it's a bit difficult."

"I think IBM needs a little more work on managing the overall environment with eliminating Systems Director."

More IBM Power Systems cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of HPE ProLiant DL Servers is reasonable, but because of covid and other factors, the price could be reduced. The license is paid annually."

"There are less expensive solutions than HPE ProLiant DL Servers. However, there is a lot of value in this solution."

"If you have to include the warranty, enhance the warranty support."

"The pricing is reasonable."

"We have purchased this solution and it is under warranty."

"The pricing of these servers is fair. It is in the mid-range."

"We have to pay for an annual license which is expensive."

"The hardware should be cheaper."

More HPE ProLiant DL Servers pricing and cost advice

"IBM Power is more expensive than other rack-mount servers, and you have to have a license for everything, including cores and memory."

"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."

"There is a yearly licensing cost, and it's an expensive solution."

"The machine is good and has a comparatively good price."

"When there is an error in the SAS drive of 10,000 RPM, my company buys support for 1,500 USD."

"Its price depends on the sizing."

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

"It is designed for a large workload, as opposed to a small workload. For our circumstances, and even as an independent, I can't buy a Power system to experiment on. It can't happen. You cannot buy them."

More IBM Power Systems pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

17%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

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

How do Lenovo ThinkSystem rack servers compare with HPE ProLiant DL servers?

Lenovo ThinkSystem rack servers offer flexibility and efficiency in order to meet mission-critical demands. I like that Lenovo blends outstanding performance, reliability, and manageability. The bi...

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What do you like most about HPE ProLiant DL Servers?

The most valuable feature of the solution is HPE Integrated Lights-Out (iLO)...Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HPE ProLiant DL Servers?

The product is expensive. I rate the product price an eight on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price and ten is high price. On the needs of the customers, the product offers a lot of suppor...

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

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers vs HPE ProLiant DL Servers

Compared 48% of the time

Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers vs HPE ProLiant DL Servers

Compared 22% of the time

HPE Synergy vs HPE ProLiant DL Servers

Compared 9% of the time

HPE Apollo Systems vs HPE ProLiant DL Servers

Compared 6% of the time

Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs HPE ProLiant DL Servers

Compared 5% of the time

More HPE ProLiant DL Servers Competitors

Intel Server System vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 45% of the time

Oracle SPARC Servers vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 17% of the time

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 16% of the time

Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 5% of the time

HPE Apollo Systems vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 2% of the time

More IBM Power Systems Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

HPE ProLiant DL Servers

March 2025

Download HPE ProLiant DL Servers product report

Buyer's Guide

IBM Power Systems

March 2025

Download IBM Power Systems product report

Also Known As

HP ProLiant DL series, HP ProLiant DL

IBM OpenPOWER LC

Overview

HPE ProLiant DL Servers are utilized by organizations for tasks like virtualization, database hosting, and application hosting, deployed both on-premises and in private clouds for diverse needs.

Organizations depend on HPE ProLiant DL Servers for stability, performance, and reliability. They are essential for running active directories, enterprise applications, and handling high-performance computing. These servers are known for their easy setup, scalability, and extensive management capabilities like iLO. Offering compatibility with many components and energy efficiency, they provide reliable hardware and good performance under demanding conditions. However, there is a need for improved price, stability, scalability, airflow, and power consumption. Enhancements in controller cache, port sizes, SAN connectivity, support availability, and management interface are also required. Faster technical support, better documentation, simplified configurations, and enhanced monitoring features and security integration would benefit users.

What are the key features?

Easy Setup: Quick and straightforward deployment.
Scalability: Adaptable to growing business needs.
Extensive Management: Features like iLO for advanced control.
Energy Efficiency: Optimized for lower power consumption.
Compatibility: Works well with various components.
Reliable Hardware: Robust and dependable technology.
Redundancy: Ensures high availability and minimal downtime.

What are the benefits and ROI?

High Performance: Excellent for demanding computing tasks.
User-Friendly: Easy to maintain and operate.
Flexibility: Versatile for different applications.
Good Technical Support: Access to professional assistance.

HPE ProLiant DL Servers are implemented across industries like finance for active directories and payment solutions, education for virtual desktops, healthcare for database synchronization, and IT firms for high-performance computing and application hosting.

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

AmeriPride Services, iSource, Bolagsverket, BlueShore Financial, British Columbia Assessment Authority, National Stock Exchange, Cardlytics

Cipher

Buyer's Guide

HPE ProLiant DL Servers vs. IBM Power Systems

March 2025

Free Report: HPE ProLiant DL Servers vs. IBM Power Systems

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