Small and medium sized organizations have similar issues to large companies when it comes to the processing and storage of information and data, yet often have little capability to attract, retain and maintain the skills for managing their data assets compared to large organizations. Blade systems offer an effective way to address the specific challenges faced by smaller organizations in managing their IT assets, and allows then to gain greater value from them.
QUOCIRCA INSIGHT REPORT June 2008 SMB: The Ideal Environment for a Contacts: Blade Infrastructure Clive Longbottom Quocirca Ltd Small and medium sized organisations have similar issues to large companies when it comes Tel +44 118 948 3360 to the processing and storage of information and data, yet often have little capability to Clive.Longbottom@quocirca.com attract, retain and maintain the skills for managing their data assets compared to large organisations. Blade systems offer an effective way to address the specific challenges faced Simon Perry Quocirca Ltd by smaller organisations in managing their IT assets, and allows then to gain greater value Tel +1753 754 838 from them. Simon.Perry@quocirca.com SMBs are becoming increasingly sophisticated users of IT Gareth Gadd Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are responsible for a large proportion of the economic IBM activity across Europe and the US, and often are as reliant on IT as large enterprises. IT enables Tel +113 390 1564 them to compete in a global, 24x7 market where they are expected to provide the same level of Gareth_Gadd@uk.ibm.com service as larger enterprises. However, they typically lack IT expertise, and the IT resources they do have tend to be generalists, lacking in specialist knowledge. SMBs have particular challenges that differ from those faced by large enterprises Although increasingly interested in advanced technology solutions, SMBs have particular challenges. IT budgets are tight, space may be limited and only standard office power and cooling may be available, marking it impossible to provide an optimal environment for a computing infrastructure. Keeping down utility costs is also an issue. Vendors have been quick to spot the value of blade computing for this sector Blade computing combines blade servers-very compact, high-density servers each with CPUs and memory-with enclosures that house these servers and provide the power, cooling, cables, networking, storage, and consoles required. Originally designed as an efficient modular solution to save space and reduce cabling in enterprise data centres, the potential benefits for the smaller organisations have not been lost on the vendors. Ideally sized for the smaller organisation The typical SMB may only deploy a dozen or so servers. With a blade computing solution, all the REPORT NOTE: computing resources the business may require-servers, storage and networking-can be deployed This report has been in the compact form factor of a single chassis. This "server room in a box" solution suits the written independently by environments found in SMBs and branch offices, where space, power and IT expertise may all be Quocirca Ltd to address certain issues found in at a premium, and eliminates the need for SMBs to own and operate their own server room. today's organisations. The Blade solutions specifically designed to address the needs of the SMB sector report draws on These SMB offerings have a smaller chassis with fewer bays and therefore a lower capital cost. Quocirca's extensive Their office-friendly design means they can be plugged into a standard wall outlet and operate knowledge of the without the need for any special cooling. With office acoustic kits available, they run quieter than technology and business comparable rack or tower servers, have integrated storage, and are easy to deploy, configure and arenas, and provides manage. advice on the approach that organisations should The integrated and compact nature of blades offer other benefits take to create a more Blade systems can help businesses achieve significant cost savings and return on investment effective and efficient (ROI). For example, complex IT infrastructures can be configured and tested centrally by an IT environment for future expert, and then shipped by courier to a remote location where they can just be plugged in. Some growth. SMB blade systems offer a cloning capability to help replicate complex configurations through an automated process-great for a multi-branch environment. During the preparation of this report, Quocirca has Conclusions spoken to a number of suppliers and customers Widely perceived as an enterprise play, with their appeal to big companies trying to... [download for more]
