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IBM PowerVM vs Oracle VM VirtualBox comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 6, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
7.7
IBM PowerVM offers higher ROI and cost savings, especially for Oracle users, with scalability, easy administration, and enhanced efficiency.
Sentiment score
4.0
Oracle VM VirtualBox boosts ROI by virtualizing servers, enhancing efficiency, and providing quick setups with significant financial returns.
The return on investment is substantial, though other platforms may offer a better ROI, primarily due to lower costs involved in setup and maintenance.
If calculated over a five-year period, IBM PowerVM is 30 to 40% more cost-effective than physical servers despite initial costs seeming high.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.5
IBM PowerVM is praised for strong support, though TSM support and hardware support subscription issues need improvement.
Sentiment score
7.7
Many users find community support and comprehensive documentation sufficient, reducing the need for Oracle VM VirtualBox's customer service.
IBM provides strong support.
IBM offers excellent customer support.
IBM has an established technical support team and partners who provide extended support to end customers.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
8.1
IBM PowerVM excels in scalability and flexibility, supporting large enterprises with superior performance and integration capabilities despite pricing concerns.
Sentiment score
7.2
Oracle VM VirtualBox offers moderate to high scalability, efficiently supporting various environments despite some hardware limitation concerns.
An IBM server can handle up to sixty-four terabytes of RAM.
I think IBM PowerVM uses a 'pay as you grow' model, allowing customers to scale their resources as needed.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.5
IBM PowerVM offers superior stability and security with excellent uptime, efficiency, and resilience, outperforming alternatives like Nutanix and VMware.
Sentiment score
7.0
Oracle VM VirtualBox is stable for most users but can have issues with Windows, snapshots, and multiple monitors.
The stability of IBM PowerVM is exceptional, as industry reports have named IBM Power and Z as the most stable platforms globally for 15 consecutive years.
Our clients in India using Power Servers have been running their servers for the last four to five years without any reboot.
The snapshot functionality in Oracle VM VirtualBox is effective for management purposes.
 

Room For Improvement

IBM PowerVM users seek better management, interface, performance, and cost-effectiveness, with enhanced automation, virtualization, and cloud integration features.
Users desire improved network options, better integration, enhanced usability, stability, compatibility, and remote management features for virtual machines.
We have a strong relationship with IBM, which aids decision-making in transitioning clients from mainframe to other platforms.
PowerVM should integrate some capabilities of VMware vCenter to improve its management features.
 

Setup Cost

IBM PowerVM offers flexible payment options, though initial high costs require negotiation but may yield long-term savings.
Oracle VM VirtualBox is cost-effective and available for free, but licensing issues require careful enterprise evaluation.
While initially costly, the ROI over five years proves IBM PowerVM is cost-effective, resulting in a 30 to 40% reduction in costs compared to a physical setup.
PowerVM itself is free with the purchase of an IBM server.
Pricing is a concern in Argentina due to the higher cost of mainframe solutions.
In the enterprise scenario, all software solutions, including Oracle VM VirtualBox, are expensive.
 

Valuable Features

IBM PowerVM provides flexible resource management, high availability, and smooth cloud transitions, supporting various operating systems and complex workloads.
Oracle VM VirtualBox is a versatile, user-friendly, open-source virtualization solution offering cross-platform support and advanced management features.
It supports specific workloads, like Oracle and SAP HANA, much better due to its shared processor pool feature which reduces licensing costs.
IBM PowerVM supports multiple operating systems such as IBM i, AIX, and Linux, allowing users to run various applications seamlessly in a cloud environment.
PowerVM excels in efficiently managing all systems and environments, including development, UI, and production.
Its snapshot functionality helps with backup management.
 

Categories and Ranking

IBM PowerVM
Ranking in Server Virtualization Software
10th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
36
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Oracle VM VirtualBox
Ranking in Server Virtualization Software
7th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
64
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Server Virtualization Software category, the mindshare of IBM PowerVM is 1.3%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle VM VirtualBox is 6.9%, down from 10.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Server Virtualization Software
 

Featured Reviews

Atif Najam - PeerSpot reviewer
A stable system for high-end data processing with a great support structure
The only problem with the IBM system is improving its hardware licensing model. For example, when you procure a server with 40 physical codes, you must also procure licenses to activate the codes. In Dell or any system, you procure the hardware and have the full right to use the hardware. For IBM, it's different because when you procure a 40-code processor and have 40 physical codes, you only have a license to use 20. As a result, the 20 alert codes will always be in activated mode. Hence, the hardware licensing model could be improved because the licensing model is a bit different from the standard hardware procured.
Kopano  Ramaphoi - PeerSpot reviewer
A flexible and easy-to-deploy product that provides a great user experience
The product should improve its scalability. It should be more flexible to be used with desktops with different capacities. We do not have much storage on our desktops, and we must allocate a certain amount of memory to install the product. When we install a virtual machine, we have a limit that we cannot exceed 80% of RAM.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
19%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM PowerVM?
Managing other operating systems is also straightforward with IBM PowerVM.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM PowerVM?
While initially costly, the ROI over five years proves IBM PowerVM is cost-effective, resulting in a 30 to 40% reduction in costs compared to a physical setup.
What needs improvement with IBM PowerVM?
I have not encountered any issues or dissatisfaction with IBM PowerVM so far. Clients using it have been satisfied, and there have been no glitches since its introduction.
How does KVM compare to Oracle VM VirtualBox?
KVM is easy to use, stable and flexible. It is mature and very fast. It is an affordable open-source solution that is easy to set up and manage. It offers very good security. It has a virtual manag...
What do you like most about Oracle VM VirtualBox?
The product’s most valuable feature is the ability to manage multiple operating systems through one application.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Oracle VM VirtualBox?
The pricing is flexible. When Oracle bought VirtualBox, they introduced some licensing issues. However, it did not affect the terms of licenses and additional costs. The price is okay. I rate the p...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

PowerVM
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Sto, Soitec, SNO, Bundesrechenzentrum GmbH, Al Mansour Holding, Baptist Health of Northeast Florida, Huhtamaki, ELK Group, IT-Informatik, Arkansas Tech University, Pneuhage
Airbus, Colorado State University, SCS Africa, Wolf Medical Systems.
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM PowerVM vs. Oracle VM VirtualBox and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
848,716 professionals have used our research since 2012.