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IBM Power Systems vs Oracle SPARC Servers comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 22, 2024

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

IBM Power Systems
Ranking in Rack Servers
4th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
8.5
Number of Reviews
69
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Oracle SPARC Servers
Ranking in Rack Servers
9th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
8.0
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of IBM Power Systems is 9.1%, up from 9.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle SPARC Servers is 3.8%, down from 4.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Rack Servers
 

Featured Reviews

Omobolaji Olaloku - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Abdul-Salam - PeerSpot reviewer
A rock-solid OS and rich virtualization features for hosting many VMs on one box
Oracle doesn't have a good roadmap for the solution because they are moving to the x86 platform. Oracle is focusing on the cloud platform with a PCA and standard x86 architecture. Linux is their other OS and is mostly in the cloud. We don't see much development happening on Solaris even though it came as an acquisition from Sun Microsystems. Eventually, the solution and its platform will die because there has been no new development on the Solaris end and we haven't seen new servers in the last five years. At this point, we are pretty sure there is no real roadmap or future for the solution. There is a shortage of expert engineers because Oracle is not pushing the technology. It is hard for us to find engineers because the number of people supporting us has considerably reduced.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The backups work great, data recovery works great."
"The most valuable feature of IBM Power Systems is its performance."
"IBM Power Systems provides very good performance and stability compared to other brands or processors."
"It scales a lot, you can just keep on adding frames, you can add on CPUs, you get capacity on demand, you can tune the machine very easily to handle different workloads."
"The most valuable feature of our machines is their ability to replace faulty parts without causing any downtime."
"The initial setup is simple and straightforward."
"BM Power Systems get updated every two years and are scalable and stable."
"From a reliability standpoint it has provided us with excellent performance."
"Our customers are happy with many features in Oracle SPARC Servers, like the automatic ASR feature."
"The Oracle server is very powerful. They are more powerful and durable compared to Intel hardware. Which has been a benefit to our organization."
"The operating system is rock solid and the best I have ever used."
"The processor is very helpful and the licensing is very flexible."
"The performance is the best feature."
"The most valuable features of the solution stem from the fact that Oracle Database functions very well with Oracle SPARC Servers."
"I have found the LDAP facilities most valuable. In addition, I like the CPU."
 

Cons

"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."
"IBM should provide a platform where users can learn about the storage and security of IBM Power Systems."
"Power Systems' price could always be lower."
"IBM Power Systems could improve by having a cloud feature."
"No available price list is on the web. Due to this, the customer cannot compare pricing."
"I would like to see the scaling model improved so it's not just either tiny or huge."
"If you take advantage of some of these real advanced features, for oversubscribing as an example, it's not supported on Linux on Power. So that stops us, in particular, from going that way."
"If you asked me what I'd like added, I'd say that it'd be nice if they ran GPUs, however, I know that's not the direction they're going. That said, I would appreciate it if they offered GPU support."
"I would like to see a reduced price point."
"Oracle SPARC Servers should be fine-tuned well enough to work with the other servers and software products in the market, as it is an area where Oracle SPARC Servers lack."
"The solution could improve by giving a clear roadmap about the future. I'm not seeing a lot of improvements on the OS side of the software. They need to work more on the operating system."
"Oracle doesn't have a good roadmap for the solution because they are moving to the x86 platform."
"They need some sort of modeling because IBM has different types of models."
"Like IBM, Oracle SPARC Servers should be able to run other open operating systems like Linux."
"They have declared the end of life of the hardware."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Power Systems is very cheap and provides good value for money."
"Its price depends on the sizing."
"IBM Power is more expensive than other rack-mount servers, and you have to have a license for everything, including cores and memory."
"There is a yearly licensing cost, and it's an expensive solution."
"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."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"Why should I be charged for that use rather than a single CPU, a single socket?"
"Price-wise, I rate the solution a five out of ten."
"The licensing is flexible."
"My company makes yearly payments toward the licensing costs attached to the solution."
"The hardware is expensive but it has very rich virtualization features that make it economical."
"The application running on it is very important to us and this makes the price worth it."
"Oracle SPARC Servers are expensive to manage, this is because after five years Oracle will increase the support charges for the hardware. The licensing policy for Oracle is different for Intel and Sparc. It will cost you less if you use your Oracle hardware with Oracle SPARC Servers."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
18%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
25%
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Power Systems?
IBM Power Systems provides very good performance and stability compared to other brands or processors.
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.
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.
What do you like most about Oracle SPARC Servers?
The most valuable features of the solution stem from the fact that Oracle Database functions very well with Oracle SPARC Servers.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Oracle SPARC Servers?
My company makes yearly payments toward the licensing costs attached to the solution. My company's clients, who have paid for the licensing costs attached to the solution, have also engaged with so...
What needs improvement with Oracle SPARC Servers?
Oracle products are usually fine-tuned with the software of other Oracle products, like Oracle WebLogic Server Services, Oracle Database, and Oracle Core Banking Software and Solutions, as all the ...
 

Also Known As

IBM OpenPOWER LC
No data available
 

Learn More

Video not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Cipher
University Hospitals Leuven, B&H Photo, Tuscon Electric Power, IS Nordic, Siemens
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Power Systems vs. Oracle SPARC Servers and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
831,265 professionals have used our research since 2012.