IBM Power Virtual Server vs. WP Engine

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
IBM Power Virtual Server
Score 9.3 out of 10
N/A
IBM presents their Power Systems Virtual Server as a scalable, cost-effective way to run IBM AIX, IBM i and Linux workloads​.N/A
WP Engine
Score 7.2 out of 10
N/A
WP Engine is a website hosting service built to host WordPress for companies of any size, with features such as daily backups, firewall,SSL, and proprietary caching technology.
$35
per month
Pricing
IBM Power Virtual ServerWP Engine
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Startup
$35
per month
Core
$400
per month (annual contract)
Enterprise
Custom
*Per Month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
IBM Power Virtual ServerWP Engine
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
Additional DetailsDiscount available for annual billing on the Startup plan.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
IBM Power Virtual ServerWP Engine
Features
IBM Power Virtual ServerWP Engine
Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS)
Comparison of Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) features of Product A and Product B
IBM Power Virtual Server
8.7
197 Ratings
6% above category average
WP Engine
-
Ratings
Service-level Agreement (SLA) uptime8.9195 Ratings00 Ratings
Dynamic scaling8.8195 Ratings00 Ratings
Elastic load balancing9.8189 Ratings00 Ratings
Pre-configured templates9.7190 Ratings00 Ratings
Monitoring tools7.1194 Ratings00 Ratings
Pre-defined machine images9.7191 Ratings00 Ratings
Operating system support8.9193 Ratings00 Ratings
Security controls8.1192 Ratings00 Ratings
Automation7.1168 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
IBM Power Virtual ServerWP Engine
Small Businesses
DigitalOcean Droplets
DigitalOcean Droplets
Score 9.4 out of 10
Flywheel
Flywheel
Score 10.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
SAP on IBM Cloud
SAP on IBM Cloud
Score 9.0 out of 10
Pantheon
Pantheon
Score 8.6 out of 10
Enterprises
SAP on IBM Cloud
SAP on IBM Cloud
Score 9.0 out of 10
Pantheon
Pantheon
Score 8.6 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
IBM Power Virtual ServerWP Engine
Likelihood to Recommend
9.8
(195 ratings)
8.5
(31 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.9
(4 ratings)
3.0
(1 ratings)
Usability
8.5
(4 ratings)
9.0
(3 ratings)
Availability
9.1
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
8.2
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.1
(3 ratings)
7.7
(6 ratings)
Implementation Rating
7.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
7.5
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
9.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
IBM Power Virtual ServerWP Engine
Likelihood to Recommend
IBM
It is really impactful in terms of scenarios like ERP systems and Data Analytics where heavy data needs to be analysed in terms of volume and their needs to be high scalability offering so in that scenario it is a great asset and features like distribution of workload using AI capabilities by leveraging modern IBM offerings like Watson is really helpful the area in which it could improve is native development of application in terms of adoption of New cloud Technologies
Read full review
WP Engine
I am an enterprise user of WordPress and host over 7000 sites with WPEngine. Areas that I think they are well suited for include customers that need enterprise-level support and uptime and have more complex needs than a simple blog. They also manage scale well with a variety of isolated install options that you can scale up or down depending on your contract needs. They also provide premier support for enterprises and have highly knowledgable Technical Account Managers that provide a significant value add. If I were to look at where it isn't as appropriate for usage I would focus on the low-end needs and say while they do support small sites, there are options out there for cheaper hosting that lack the support a WPEngine gives you.
Read full review
Pros
IBM
  • It is good in managing our documents in a precise manner.
  • It is a comprehensive tool and supports other languages like JAVA and Python and it is useful for us.
  • It is quite a valuable tool available at a reasonable price in the market and it is a scalable tool.
Read full review
WP Engine
  • I love the database backups and how quickly & easy it is to restore from an old backup point. This gives me & my clients confidence that any change can be rolled back.
  • The built in caching & CDN mean that I have to spend less time worrying about the speed of the server & site. The caching has some side-effects that take getting used to (on-page dynamic PHP code sometimes needs to be moved to API endpoints), but this is true for most caching systems.
  • They have really good support for multiple environments. It's very easy to have separate production & staging environments. It's also very simple to deploy from staging to production, making product launches and large scale website copy changes much easier to coordinate.
Read full review
Cons
IBM
  • The software appears to be geared for a no-programming approach, which implies that making changes is more difficult.
  • The user base is small making it monotonous and difficult to come up with new methods.
  • The number of rankings is not as large as competitors.
  • The admin end is poorly designed, as they are unable to receive and respond to client feedback.
Read full review
WP Engine
  • I'd like to see WP Engine offer their own monitoring solution. When I say monitoring, I mean specific use cases that may end up being something you could script. This would keep customers from having to pay for additional services like Pingdom, New Relic, etc.
  • I would like to see some proactive analysis done by WP Engine on their customer sites - at least on their home pages, and offer up suggestions. This kind of goes along with the other example.
  • Finally, it would be nice to see a "lighter" offering, perhaps a plan that costs $49 for those who want to host only a few sites, or even 1 site.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
IBM
At the moment we are 100% satisfied with the performance and our support team is well used to the process involved. So unless we have some major issues in adopting, we are sure to be with IBM itself.
Read full review
WP Engine
I was in a situation where I had to bolt Wordpress on to an existing infrastructure that could not support it. If I ever end up in that situation again, please kill me. Other than that reasonably common use case, I don't think it offers a lot of value over robust shared hosting, virtual private server (VPS) or dedicated servers.
Read full review
Usability
IBM
I would rate IBM Power Virtual Server’s overall usability as an 8 out of 10. The platform offers a solid interface and intuitive dashboard, making it relatively easy for users with cloud experience to navigate. Its scalability and flexibility are strong points. However, the learning curve for new users can be steep, especially when dealing with complex integrations or configurations. While documentation and support are extensive, some users may find the setup process challenging. Overall, it’s highly functional but could be streamlined further for beginners.
Read full review
WP Engine
From the onboarding and in the days afterward, it was very easy to get into the platform and begin creating important websites and configuring user options. The interface is easy to navigate, and the platform pages load quickly. Since the platform is built for Word plus press, it has features including backup, staging, maintenance mode, and direct WP-Admin login to make configuration and site management faster. We have never had any issues on the billing side of the account.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
IBM
Very easy to use.
Read full review
WP Engine
No answers on this topic
Performance
IBM
While there’s room for improvement, it generally works very well.
Read full review
WP Engine
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
IBM
As with most IBM products the ongoing support for IBM Power Virtual Server is solid and consistent. IBM provides a clear roadmap for receiving support of their products. Both voice and online response is offered. It is obvious that IBM has the internal systems and culture to maintain support functions. This starts from the initial support call to the problem analysis and continues through the problem resolution. Documentation and communication are consistent within this process.
Read full review
WP Engine
Support is generally great. Enterprise support is fantastic, with little to no wait times. I find that chat support can almost always take care of the problem without escalating to a ticket for a higher level of troubleshooting. The chat support for many other hosting providers can only handle basic issues. This is a big bonus for us to get quick and helpful answers.
Read full review
Implementation Rating
IBM
It is economic.
Read full review
WP Engine
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
IBM
They both have their own ups and downs and it totally depends on the team which suits them best. IBM Power Virtual Server has Performance, Scalability, Reliability and Availability, Compatibility, and Good Vendor Support. The specific use case and workload requirements played a significant role. Some workloads may benefit from IBM Power Systems' architecture, while others may perform equally well on alternative platforms.
Read full review
WP Engine
While we still use GoDaddy for some services, WP Engine definitely has been a major upgrade for our WordPress hosting. In addition to faster load speeds, WP Engine has been more adept at allowing us to manage a high number of websites without straining the system. We have never used Network Solutions for our own hosting needs, but when we do interact with them on behalf of our clients, their systems always seem to be clunky and hard to use, and they often overcharge customers by selling them products they do not need.
Read full review
Scalability
IBM
I would rate IBM Cognos Analytics’ scalability as a 9 out of 10. The platform is highly capable of handling large volumes of data and supporting thousands of users with ease. Its architecture is designed for high performance, though it may require fine-tuning for extremely complex data environments to maintain optimal performance.
Read full review
WP Engine
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
IBM
  • We have had a return on investment of 30%.
  • There have also been 80% fewer application crashes due to a lack of resources that previously ran on the X86 platform.
  • Administration management has been simplified and staff can dedicate themselves to the development of applications, instead of providing support to users when the applications do not respond efficiently, this made staff 45% more productive.
Read full review
WP Engine
  • WP Engine reduces our time investment and upkeep costs which increases our margins.
  • WP Engine simplifies site management with a built-in development server, which saves us headaches.
  • WP Engine itself is positioned as a premium service, which allows us to use their branding as a tool to close sales.
Read full review
ScreenShots