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 8.7, while Lenovo is ranked #11 with an average rating of 8.7. Hewlett Packard Enterprise holds a 22.5% mindshare in Blade Servers, compared to Lenovo’s 2.8% mindshare. Additionally, 91% of Hewlett Packard Enterprise users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Lenovo users who would recommend it.

HPE Synergy

Read 90 HPE Synergy reviews

2,798 Views
1,995 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

Lenovo Flex System

Read 10 Lenovo Flex System reviews

394 Views
264 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

HPE Synergy

Lenovo Flex System

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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: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

HPE Synergy vs. Lenovo Flex System

April 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

11th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Blade Servers category, the mindshare of HPE Synergy is 22.5%, up from 22.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Lenovo Flex System is 2.8%, down from 3.1% 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

"Ability to easily re-utilize parts of the hardware for different purposes."

"OneView, as a single point, a single management tool, it makes me delirious. It's really nice."

"It's very scalable. We like the idea that we can put four chassis in one of our racks, and we can connect up to 25 chassis, so the scalability to us, and being able to sync all those into one management portal, is unheard of. You can't really sync that many blades and chassis together in any other platform."

"Great flexibility including configuring the interconnects on the use of the chassis."

"The wireless mounting system is excellent. We can use the monitor over the Internet and perform troubleshooting remotely with the connection to SQL. It includes a comprehensive monitoring tool. It offers many features, allowing us to update, manage, maintain, and troubleshoot the system efficiently."

"Everybody noticed very large improvement in data processing. A lot of activity which took hours now takes, let's say, tens of minutes."

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

"We have been able to give the deployment team what they request more quickly. We are able to quickly deploy what is being asked of us. If the development team needs a platform of 20 servers to run a particular platform, we can give that to them within a day or two."

More HPE Synergy pros

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

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

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

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

"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."

"The Lenovo Flex System is very stable."

More Lenovo Flex System pros

Cons

"I would like it to connect to the HPE Cloud Connect compute platform for simplicity of our infrastructure."

"I would like the ability to take the storage tray that is in a chassis and share it out to multiple chassis, not just the servers within the same chassis. This would be more efficient with resources."

"I would like the ability to have my storage components accessed from any other frame across the backplane. If we have a storage module and we run out of space in that frame, it'd be nice to be able to share it across the frames. You can do it with hyperconverged. Why can't you do it with Synergy?"

"One of the things that I would like to see, and could be in their road map, is getting virtual connect to 100 Gig throughput."

"When templates are created, there are some steps where you need to reboot the machines. Being in production, this is not a good idea. For example, if you reconfigure the network, you should not have to reboot the machine. You should just apply the new template and that's it."

"They have not improved their product since it was purchased."

"The setup was a bit complex."

"One of the features I want to see, which I will see with OneView 5.0, is to have all the OneView consoles in a single pane of glass. That will make it easy to see everything in one place and not have to log in to multiple consoles."

More HPE Synergy cons

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

"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 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."

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

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

"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."

"I had some difficulties with the initial setup."

More Lenovo Flex System cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution can be expensive because it requires both hardware and software purchases."

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

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

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

"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."

"We outright purchased Synergy."

"The licensing is more around the software for RGS, because we are deploying bare metal installs. It is mainly the operating system and any lights-out management. So, licensing is minimum. We are licensing it annually."

More HPE Synergy pricing and cost advice

"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 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."

"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 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."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

13%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Financial Services Firm

17%

Computer Software Company

14%

Government

14%

Educational Organization

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?

Pricing in the blade server market is very competitive, with HPE offering a competitive price. Competitor products include Dell's MX series and Cisco's UCS X series.

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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.

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 31% of the time

HPE BladeSystem vs HPE Synergy

Compared 22% of the time

Dell PowerEdge M vs HPE Synergy

Compared 19% 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 56% of the time

More Lenovo Flex System Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

HPE Synergy

April 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

April 2025

Free Report: HPE Synergy vs. Lenovo Flex System

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