HPE Synergy vs Lenovo Flex System comparison

Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Lenovo are both solutions in the Blade Servers category. Hewlett Packard Enterprise is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.7, while Lenovo is ranked #10 with an average rating of 8.7. Hewlett Packard Enterprise holds a 22.0% mindshare in Blade Servers, compared to Lenovo’s 3.0% mindshare. Additionally, 90% of Hewlett Packard Enterprise users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Lenovo users who would recommend it.

HPE Synergy

Read 89 HPE Synergy reviews

3,223 Views
2,345 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

Lenovo Flex System

Read 10 Lenovo Flex System reviews

427 Views
332 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

HPE Synergy

Lenovo Flex System

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between HPE Synergy and Lenovo Flex System based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Blade Servers solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed HPE Synergy vs. Lenovo Flex System Report (Updated: January 2025).

Buyer's Guide

HPE Synergy vs. Lenovo Flex System

January 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 831,265 peers since 2012

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 Synergy

Ranking in Blade Servers

2nd

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Composable Infrastructure (1st)

Lenovo Flex System

Ranking in Blade Servers

10th

Average Rating

8.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Blade Servers category, the mindshare of HPE Synergy is 22.0%, up from 22.1% 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

CarlosArdila

Project Manager, Information Technology at Telelago

Helps grow horizontally or vertically within one box or chassis

The initial setup is very easy. We deployed this in two days, including installation, system setup, firmware upgrades, configuration, and network connection. By the next day, we were already deploying virtual machines. We initially began with the Blade system. As the migration to SAP HANA approached, it seemed prudent to upgrade our hardware. Consequently, we facilitated their transition from the Blade system to Synergy. Subsequently, we collaborated closely with the SAP consultancy company to oversee the migration process, ensuring seamless integration of all workloads and sub-environments. We have four people working on the deployment, including a project manager, two specialists, and one tech support.

Read full review

Syed Ibrahim

Assistant Manager Systems - IT Infrastructure at a transportation company with 10,001+ employees

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.

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

"Cable management is a big feature, in addition to time to deployment. We can buy a new server and have it up and running very quickly."

"We're able to provision different applications, different demonstrations, add cloud-like speeds on-prem, which is unheard of in the industry."

"The most valuable features of HPE Synergy are the two composers."

"It's a bit easier to manage than the C7000s."

"Everything is in one place. We have one place to with OneView. It provides one console with one place to get to everything. The one interface makes it easier. We have one guy who does almost everything in it."

"We build out a whole stack at one time, so we don't have to worry about it until that stack is full, then that gives us time to get the next one ready."

"OneView is head and shoulders above the competition in this space."

"The single pane of glass management is huge, because in all our previous systems, depending on what we were managing, we would go to a different management point. Being able to go to one spot to get everything is helpful. I find that server profile creation is a lot easier in OneView than it was previously. We are able to stay compliant with firmware and updates, because we are assigning server profiles and reapplying them when there are changes. This makes everything a lot simpler."

More HPE Synergy pros

"We use the solution as a compute model to run the compute load on servers."

"The functionality is reliable and requires minimal support."

"The Lenovo Flex System is very stable."

"Flex System's best features are its performance and stability."

"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."

"The initial setup is straightforward."

"The most valuable feature of the Lenovo Flex System is the storage system."

More Lenovo Flex System pros

Cons

"The installation and initial setup process is complex and needs to be improved."

"The possibility of using storage directly in the frame in order to have bigger storage directly there, and not having an attached storage like SAN or NAS. That would be helpful."

"After delivering the contract, they became a little less active. So, it needs some pushing from my side sometimes."

"Instead of having Synergy vertical, make it horizontal. It is easier to stick in when it is vertical."

"The solution must concentrate on improving the product quality."

"We have flaky things, like a lot of bad fans."

"Technical support was time consuming and unsatisfactory. The initial product setup was complex, lasing around three weeks to a month."

"Changes to the solution are quite complex."

More HPE Synergy cons

"The solution's firmware and driver upgrades are a bit difficult."

"The product could improve its integration capabilities."

"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."

"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 could improve by providing more integration with other platforms."

"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."

More Lenovo Flex System cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We bought everything outright to start with. We don't do much consumption-based stuff."

"The solution has reduced our IT infrastructure costs by 50 percent."

"When we made the purchase of the hardware, we added Professional Services to it."

"We do CAPEX."

"We have already paid once. It is just the price for the permit and its use. It seems you don't have to keep paying for it, but I am not sure."

"There is a perpetual license given when you purchase HPE Synergy."

"The biggest cost is the VMware licensing."

"The cost is high and that is a drawback for some customers."

More HPE Synergy pricing and cost advice

"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."

"There is a one-off payment to buy the equipment and the support is purchased annually."

"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."

"We are just paying the operational cost, which is not much."

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Blade Servers solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

831,265 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

13%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Financial Services Firm

25%

Computer Software Company

17%

Government

12%

Real Estate/Law Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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...

See all answers

What do you like most about HPE Synergy?

It is a good product for hypervisors.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HPE Synergy?

The pricing is relatively high compared to Cisco servers. However, due to the volume of my purchases, I get good discounts.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

Comparisons

HPE ProLiant DL Servers vs HPE Synergy

Compared 26% of the time

HPE BladeSystem vs HPE Synergy

Compared 24% of the time

Dell PowerEdge M vs HPE Synergy

Compared 21% of the time

Cisco UCS B-Series vs HPE Synergy

Compared 8% of the time

Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs HPE Synergy

Compared 2% of the time

More HPE Synergy Competitors

HPE Superdome X vs Lenovo Flex System

Compared 55% of the time

More Lenovo Flex System Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

HPE Synergy

January 2025

Download HPE Synergy product report

Buyer's Guide

Blade Servers

January 2025

Download Lenovo Flex System product report

Also Known As

No data available

Flex System Blade Servers, Flex System SN Series

Learn More

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Lenovo

Overview

HPE Synergy, the first platform built from the ground up for Composable Infrastructure, offers an experience that empowers IT to create and deliver new value instantly and continuously. It is a single infrastructure that reduces operational complexity for traditional workloads and increases operational velocity for the new breed of applications and services. Through a single interface, HPE Synergy composes physical and virtual compute, storage, and fabric pools into any configuration for any application. As an extensible platform, it easily enables a broad range of applications and operational models such as virtualization, hybrid cloud, and DevOps. With HPE Synergy, IT can become not just the internal service provider but the business partner to rapidly launch new applications that become the business.

Flex System is Lenovo’s proven, 2nd generation blade, that efficiently runs your infrastructure applications with up to 80% better density than standard rack server deployments.

Sample Customers

HudsonAlpha, Virgin Media, EMIS, United

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

HPE Synergy vs. Lenovo Flex System

January 2025

Free Report: HPE Synergy vs. Lenovo Flex System

Find out what your peers are saying about HPE Synergy vs. Lenovo Flex System and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.

DOWNLOAD NOW

831,265 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our HPE Synergy vs. Lenovo Flex System report.

See our list of best Blade Servers vendors.

We monitor all Blade Servers reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.