Shrunk: Blades For Small BusinessesShrunk: Blades For Small Businesses

With nearly half of Hewlett-Packard's blade-server revenue coming from the small- and midsize-business sector, the company is launching its Blades for Business initiative, intended to help those customers find the right fit for their infrastructures.

"We're trying to bring to market the appropriate level of blade technology for SMBs," says Vince Gayman, director of worldwide small- and midsize-business product programs for HP. "Those customers are generally not dealing with a whole data center of hundreds of blades but are looking for smaller, manageable implementations."

The features of the program include an easy-to-install power supply for single HP BladeSystem enclosures designed for installations of 16 or fewer blades per server. HP also will provide access to its consulting, integration, and services packages to help small and midsize businesses and their partners develop blade implementations that will integrate with existing IT equipment and get their new systems and software running quickly, Gayman says.

As part of the program, HP also will offer training, marketing tools, and sales incentives to its channel partners to promote the sale and service of BladeSystem products for small and midsize businesses. HP will provide channel partners with new analytical tools to help them better model IT environments for that market, Gayman says.

Tailoring programs for the small and midsize market makes sense, says Ray Boggs, an analyst with IDC. Although corporate spending since 2001 has declined slightly, similar spending in the small and midsize market has increased. Says Boggs, "HP is being really comprehensive in terms of having products designed for companies of all sizes."

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