IBM Z vs. Oracle SPARC Servers

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
IBM Z
Score 9.4 out of 10
N/A
IBM Z is the company's mainframe enterprise server solution product line.N/A
Oracle SPARC Servers
Score 10.0 out of 10
N/A
Oracle offers their SPARC line of rack servers designed, as described by the vendor, as optimal for scale-out and Cloud infrastructure.N/A
Pricing
IBM ZOracle SPARC Servers
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
IBM ZOracle SPARC Servers
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
IBM ZOracle SPARC Servers
Considered Both Products
IBM Z
Chose IBM Z
IBM Z is the winner when dealing with enormous transactions In terms of security as well IBM Z is a better option compared to other alternatives Excellent is dealing with large batch processing in multiple environments.
Chose IBM Z
I have been working with Z Enterprise Servers for 30 years and they have been called many different things over those years: mainframe being the name I am still most comfortable with. I choose to work with them because of their high availability, transaction processing …
Oracle SPARC Servers

No answer on this topic

Best Alternatives
IBM ZOracle SPARC Servers
Small Businesses
Dell PowerEdge
Dell PowerEdge
Score 8.2 out of 10
Dell PowerEdge
Dell PowerEdge
Score 8.2 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
HPE ProLiant DL
HPE ProLiant DL
Score 8.6 out of 10
HPE ProLiant DL
HPE ProLiant DL
Score 8.6 out of 10
Enterprises
IBM Power
IBM Power
Score 9.0 out of 10
IBM Z
IBM Z
Score 9.4 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
IBM ZOracle SPARC Servers
Likelihood to Recommend
9.6
(42 ratings)
9.0
(3 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
4.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.9
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Professional Services
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
IBM ZOracle SPARC Servers
Likelihood to Recommend
IBM
Most of the time, server utilization is reliable and stable during peak times. Truly amazing, this product offers a lot and gets it done in no time without any confusion.It is reliable, too accurate and the performance is top-notch. It seems to be competitive in all virtual energy systems and its connectivity is also good. It's available at a low cost, but it's enough to have as many low-cost, more efficient systems as possible. It's a minor thing, but very rarely, it can cause work interruptions while it can get stuck due to more frequent use such as restless work. These power servers are very efficient and really help when things go wrong. I am using this product to retrieve data much faster.
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Oracle
Excellent to consolidate workload using the LDom Virtualization (which is included free of charge). Good integration into Oracle Support with Automated Service Requests (ASR). Easy to migrate workloads from older servers to newer generations, such as SPARC S7 or T8. After migrating workloads from older SPARC T4 to S7, applications are approximately 2x faster.
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Pros
IBM
  • Virtualization for Scale-Out and Scale-Up in the same footprint
  • Security for different workloads: Large Confidential Computing and lightweight Secure Execution
  • Performance is a true game changer: extreme throughput powered by amazingly huge caches.
  • The one and only FIPS 140-2 Level 4 HSM on this planet
  • Quantum Safe Encryption NOW!
  • AI infusion to every transaction
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Oracle
  • encryption
  • masking
  • redaction
  • subsetting
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Cons
IBM
  • It would be good if IBM could demonstrate more use cases for Z to potential clients
  • A migration strategy from Open Systems to Z would be helpful
  • Any additional marketing to could explain the benefits of Z/Linux, especially now that RedHat is in the mix.
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Oracle
  • We didn't have any problems whatsoever with integration
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Likelihood to Renew
IBM
The IBM Z mainframe capabilities are unmatched for cloud readiness and optimization the learning capabilities are matched perfectly with Watson and the expandability of the cloud makes it a perfect choice.
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Oracle
No answers on this topic
Usability
IBM
Once you learn how, it easy. It's different than most other systems
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Oracle
Extreme long lifetime (10+ years). High performance. SPARC S7 CPU has 4.2GhZ and SPARC T8 has 5GhZ. Virtualization is included for free. Very easy to use because it runs Oracle Solaris. The SPARC Servers scale very well. Oracle SPARC Servers have positively impacted our organization by improving our budget, as we can use the system for many years without having to purchase new systems.
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Reliability and Availability
IBM
The Z in IBM Z is for zero down time. If you configure your system according to IBM's best practices, you can achieve zero downtime
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Oracle
No unplanned downtime over many years.
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Performance
IBM
Performance is a major part when you configure your system. IBM has many tools to study your system and suggest the appropriate configuration. With the right contract, you can add processing power dynamically and remove it when no longer needed
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Oracle
Very high CPU speed with 4-5 GhZ
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Support Rating
IBM
Support is usually superb, only occasionally dropping to very good. We participate in some of the CD (Continuous Delivery) aspects of z/OS, IMS, MQ, and DB2.
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Oracle
Support requests are opened automatically.
Component replacements are very fast.
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In-Person Training
IBM
Over my 33 years on this platform, I attended many in person courses, conferences, and other training opportunities.
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Oracle
No answers on this topic
Online Training
IBM
There are many online courses from both IBM and other vendors. Most are great. All of the documentation is available online.
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Oracle
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
IBM
I do not personally have any key insights regarding implementation of IBM Z Enterprise Servers as that is what our mainframe architects do.
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Oracle
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
IBM
IBM Z is the best storage solution as it provides the best in class data protection with the cryptographic hardware keys, no loss in data while migration, and a user-friendly interface that makes it easy for develops to understand and has less of a learning curve. This makes it well above the competition.
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Oracle
In terms of the Power ecosystem, the use cases of IBM Power System S914 is very limited. Resources required for properly working PowerVM and VIOS are very difficult. In Oracle SPARC Servers setup, it is pretty easy with very limited steps to be performed. This helped our Return of Investment become positive very quickly.
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Scalability
IBM
If you need more processing power, just add more CPU's or memory. The largest system can have close to 200 CPU's and 40 TB of memory. If that is not enough, you can add more physical computers, and connect them using a sysplex
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Oracle
The servers scale very well with lots of CPU cores.
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Return on Investment
IBM
  • With IBM Z we really feel a different positive impact on our company. A trustworthy and the most powerful place we have ever.
  • A unique computing platform that helps a lot for the progress of our company.
  • It keeps our data save, encrypted.
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Oracle
  • Does Not Support Domain Migration
  • Migration Fails When the Target Machine Has Insufficient Free LDCs
  • Limit the Maximum Number of Virtual Functions That Can Be Assigned to a Domain
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ScreenShots

IBM Z Screenshots

Screenshot of IBM z17™ single-frame 

This configuration is optimized for enhanced modularity and is available in a traditional factory-frame setup. It provides advanced capabilities and is ideal for environments requiring a robust and scalable solution within an industry-standard footprint.  

IBM z17™ single-frame 

This configuration is optimized for enhanced modularity and is available in a traditional factory-frame setup. It provides advanced capabilities and is ideal for environments requiring a robust and scalable solution within an industry-standard footprint.Screenshot of IBM z17™ multi-frame 

This configuration is designed for general-purpose use, offering a balance of performance, scalability and security suitable for a wide range of applications.Screenshot of IBM z17™ rack mount 

This rack-mounted configuration allows for installation in existing data center rack infrastructures, providing flexibility and integration with current systems. It combines IBM Z's strengths with the convenience of modern rack-mounted hardware.