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 #1 with an average rating of 8.8, while Lenovo is ranked #10 with an average rating of 8.7. Hewlett Packard Enterprise holds a 21.9% mindshare in Blade Servers, compared to Lenovo’s 2.8% 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

2,996 Views
2,123 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

Lenovo Flex System

Read 10 Lenovo Flex System reviews

408 Views
291 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

HPE Synergy

Lenovo Flex System

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 3, 2025

HPE Synergy and Lenovo Flex System are contenders in the enterprise IT infrastructure space. HPE Synergy, with its composable infrastructure, leads in flexibility and resource optimization, whereas Lenovo Flex System is recognized for user-friendliness and performance.

Features: HPE Synergy is noted for its composable infrastructure, enabling dynamic resource reallocation and efficient utilization. It integrates central management through HPE OneView and supports enhanced deployment with Image Streamer. Lenovo Flex System prioritizes user-friendliness and performance, offering high server density and scalable network and storage capabilities.

Room for Improvement: HPE Synergy needs better integration with third-party hardware and improved compatibility with non-HPE platforms. Users call for streamlined management and faster firmware updates. Enhancements in network speed and storage sharing could enhance its competitiveness. Lenovo Flex System could improve by increasing module flexibility and cloud-native app compatibility while refining firmware and driver update processes and support for future technologies.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: HPE Synergy supports flexible deployment options across on-premises and hybrid clouds and is backed by HPE's extensive support network, though experiences vary with issue complexity. Lenovo Flex System focuses on straightforward deployment in on-premises and private cloud environments, lacking the comprehensive hybrid support of HPE but still providing reliable technical assistance.

Pricing and ROI: HPE Synergy often involves higher initial costs but offers long-term savings via operational efficiency and reduced hardware needs, yielding a substantial ROI in complex deployments. Lenovo Flex System presents competitive pricing, appealing for budget-conscious clients needing scalable solutions, though Synergy's broader platform may promise greater savings and ROI over time.

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

Buyer's Guide

HPE Synergy vs. Lenovo Flex System

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 Synergy

Ranking in Blade Servers

1st

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Composable Infrastructure (1st)

Lenovo Flex System

Ranking in Blade Servers

10th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Blade Servers category, the mindshare of HPE Synergy is 21.9%, up from 21.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Lenovo Flex System is 2.8%, 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.

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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.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The stability is very good. We haven't had any outages."

"The manageability is its most valuable feature. It is a fully managed platform, which is very simple to manage."

"The product enables the centralization of all administrative tasks."

"Being able to connect my 3PAR arrays to the Synergy platform is the most valuable aspect to me."

"The solution has decreased our deployment time by 10 to 20 percent."

"Technical support is excellent. They are very helpful."

"It allows for easy management."

"Improved storage, scalability, and ease-of-use."

More HPE Synergy pros

"The stability and speed are always good. The processor is good and it's still working with our loads."

"The Lenovo Flex System is very stable."

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

"It comes at a good price. We didn't face any problems with this product."

"The functionality is reliable and requires minimal support."

"The product is very user-friendly and has many resources at the enterprise level."

"One of the most valuable features of this solution is its ease of use."

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

More Lenovo Flex System pros

Cons

"Changes to the solution are quite complex."

"The deployment time of a system through OneView is pretty slow, but apparently that's being addressed in an upcoming update."

"I would like more storage with this solution, because we still need 3PAR or other storage outside the box for the amount of data that we have."

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

"It would be nice if the updates were not accompanied by downtime."

"One of the issues that we that we have been having is with the firmware baselining. So, we need to just making sure that we get that working. However, we are in the early stages. It may well be that we just tweak a few things."

"I would like to see more nodes in a single chassis so we wouldn't have to purchase additional chassis."

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

More HPE Synergy cons

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

"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."

"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."

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

"Flex System's integration with the XClarity Management System could be improved."

"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."

More Lenovo Flex System cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It costs us around $60,000 a year."

"For me, the scalability is how much money that I need to spend on switches for how many frames, which ultimately means servers. To get the best bandwidth before the most recent product announcement, I have buy new switches every three frames. The competition is shipping a product right now where I only need switches every ten frames."

"Our IT infrastructure costs have gone up each year by 20 percent."

"We outright purchased Synergy."

"Nutanix was really hard to implement, and it was very pricey compared to what we get from Synergy."

"VMware is part of the cost. We bought the chassis, we bought the solution. The blades are roughly running us $60,000 a pop right now."

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

"The hardware licensing cost is reasonable."

More HPE Synergy pricing and cost advice

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

"The price is interesting. I am able to quote a client based on their needs and offer them either Lenovo or Dell."

"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."

"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 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."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

13%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Government

Financial Services Firm

19%

Computer Software Company

16%

Government

14%

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...

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What do you like most about HPE Synergy?

It is a good product for hypervisors.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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Compared 23% of the time

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Compared 20% of the time

Cisco UCS B-Series vs HPE Synergy

Compared 9% of the time

Supermicro SuperBlade vs HPE Synergy

Compared 2% of the time

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HPE Superdome X vs Lenovo Flex System

Compared 51% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

HPE Synergy

March 2025

Download HPE Synergy product report

Buyer's Guide

Blade Servers

March 2025

Download Lenovo Flex System product report

Also Known As

No data available

Flex System Blade Servers, Flex System SN Series

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.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

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.

Lenovo

Sample Customers

HudsonAlpha, Virgin Media, EMIS, United

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

HPE Synergy vs. Lenovo Flex System

March 2025

Free Report: HPE Synergy vs. Lenovo Flex System

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