Three Opinions (But One Counts More)
I saw three new opinions about BladeSystem last week.
First, PC World Latin America announced that the HP BL490c G6 virtualization blade won in the "Best Server" category of the annual PC World Latin America 2009 Awards. These awards honor the "best digital & IT products available in Latin America", and I'm proud to see this virtualization-oriented blade got recognized. (HP's been active in Latin America for a long time -- back in 1968, HP helped in the broadcasting of the Mexico City Olympic Games.)
A second opinion came from a market research company. This one caught my attention when Cisco's Omar Sultan pointed out that Gartner had placed Cisco in the "Visionary" area of Gartner's Magic Quarter for blades, a section also occupied by Liquid Computing. Omar says that category holds companies with of keen insights into blade usage, but as one comment points out, little track record for delivering on that vision.
That led me to the Quadrant itself, where it looks like HP has been placed in the "Leaders" quadrant. I’d agree with that – it signifies solid vision, along with the ability to deliver on that vision. Obviously one criteria for demonstrated leadership is a satisfied base of users, which points me the third (and most revealing) opinion I saw last week.
Bytemark Hosting, a web hosting provider that calls itself the "nerd-hosting outfit of choice", let HP write a case study about their infrastructure based on BladeSystem. It uses virtualization blades (specifically the ProLiant BL495c), HP Virtual Connect Flex-10, and carvable storage from the SAS-connected HP StorageWorks MSA2000.
But the slots-and-watts of what the guys put together what stood out to me. It's what Bytemark's Peter Taphouse said about the impact of the system. He said BladeSystem’s improved uptime can actually boost the company’s revenue (by as much as 5%), because it delivers an SLA that lets Bytemark reach a new, untapped set of customers.
Now THAT'S an opinion on BladeSystem that's truly eye-opening. It's not that BladeSystem earns awards, or that it helps guide data centers toward the future. It’s that BladeSystem users say it doesn’t just cut costs, but it can also expand the reach of your business.
