VENDOR: IBM
MODEL: BladeCenter S (available in Q4)
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Scot Petersen, Editorial Director, SearchCIO-Midmarket
HOW IT'S BUILT: Based on a chassis small enough to sit on a desk that holds up to six blade servers, the system can plug into a standard 110-volt wall socket, a boon to small IT shops that are dealing with power capacity problems.
WHY IT SERVES SMBs: Smaller, energy-efficient blade system at a lower price point.
POSSIBLE DOWNSIDES: Lack of clarity around blades in general. "For a larger part of the [small business] market that sees blades as just another way to do rack servers, there needs to be education," says Charles King, principal analyst at Hayward, Calif.-based Pund-IT Research.
This was first published in September 2007