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Gartner
conducted telephone- and Web-based surveys with CIOs
and IT Managers in 2003 that focused on the server
requirements, priorities and preferences of North
American midsize businesses (MSBs). The following
findings and recommendations are drawn from this study.
On
average, MSBs operate 19 to 22 servers in their environments,
with more than 90 percent of the servers deployed
in uniprocessor or two-processor configurations. Server
appliances account for less than 5 percent of the
servers in the midsize enterprise, and the primary
functions being served by them are security such as
firewalls, and storage such as network-attached storage.
In the near future, midsize businesses will continue
to deploy general-purpose servers to perform relatively
simple functions because the hardware is inexpensive
and software vendors continue to recommend the use
of dedicated servers for their applications.
The
most common and numerous servers in MSBs were application,
file/print, database, Web and e-mail in that order.
Operating
Systems
Not surprisingly, Windows is the dominant operating
system (OS) in MSB server infrastructures, though
many CIOs continue to inquire about alternatives as
a result of their frustration with Microsoft’s
costly upgrades and the growing “mind share”
of Linux in the market. Despite the strength of Windows,
there is still a pretty strong showing of other OSes
used by MSBs. For example, nearly 30 percent have
Unix and Linux deployed somewhere in their enterprise.
That said, they are only being used on 5 percent and
7 percent of servers, respectively and usually deployed
in appliances providing network functions, file and
print services, Web front-end applications or computational
server farms. However, MSBs stated that they will
increasingly consider and evaluate Linux and leverage
it for negotiating strength as an enterprise operating
system in new systems.
Table
1
OSes Deployed by Company Size (Percent)
| |
100-499
Employees |
500-999
Employees |
Windows
2000 |
77 |
87 |
Windows
NT |
59 |
53 |
Windows,
other |
2 |
11 |
Unix |
25 |
36 |
Linux |
27 |
29 |
Netware |
9 |
31 |
OS/400 |
5 |
11 |
Others |
9 |
7 |
| Note:
Multiple responses allowed. |
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| Source:
Gartner, Inc., July 2003 |
MSB
Plans to Purchase Servers in 2004
Midsize businesses, on average, stated that they plan
to increase their server population by 8 percent to
10 percent in 2004, and MSBs with 500-999 employees
had the highest percentage of companies that cited
plans to purchase new servers in 2004. Server vendors
should recognize that MSBs are more apt to purchase
hardware to support new business solutions. For example,
the affordability of certain software (such as portals
and middleware) to the midmarket over the year could
spur server sales.
Additional
server purchasing plans and preferences include:
• |
Despite
the hype around server blades, the overall blade
market will remain small through 2007 compared
with the mainstream IA-32 server market. |
• |
In sharp contrast with the plans of larger enterprises,
only 16 percent of MSBs cited plans to consolidate
servers during the next 12 months. |
• |
MSBs purchase servers both offline and online,
with 56 percent stating that they purchase their
servers directly from the manufacturer. Some MSBs
prefer the speed and convenience of direct server
purchases, while others need the support provided
by resellers. |
Price and price/performance continue to be key metrics
that drive server-purchasing decisions. However, in
the current market, price is often not enough of a
differentiator between vendors to be the deciding
factor. When this is the case, MSBs turn to additional
criteria to drive the decision process, such as:
• |
Warranty
– The cost and length of a standard warranty
is often an important factor. |
• |
Investment protection –
Although statistics show that most customers do
not actually upgrade or trade in their hardware,
customers respond to the investment protection
message well. |
• |
Service/repair – The ability
of a vendor to respond to a problem is, of course,
a key concern, however MSBs have different preferences
on how quickly response is needed and the nature
of the response. Because service/repair is difficult
to evaluate during a selection process, MSBs expect
to see industry metrics that show a vendor’s
strength in this area. |
• |
Ease of doing business –
The way a vendor interfaces with MSBs during the
sales, procurement and support phases can be a
deciding factor. Vendors that are perceived as
“easy to work with” often have an
advantage. Peer feedback is very influential in
this area. |
• |
Factory integration capabilities
– Many MSBs don’t have enough staff
to handle server deployments, so vendors that
can assist in deployment efforts may be viewed
more favorably than those that can’t. This
may range from basics such as image burning to
higher levels for integration such as testing
servers and external storage together. |
• |
Professional services –
When MSBs enter more complex computing solutions,
such as fail-over clusters, they most often turn
to the vendor for help as they may lack core technical
expertise. The more services a vendor can offer
directly or through its channel, the more comfortable
an MSB feels. |
• |
Server manageability –
Vendors that provide “quick-start”
mechanisms to initially configure servers, easy-to-use
diagnostic tools and remote management technology
can often win deals based on this and other types
of server manageability technology. |
Discuss
2004 purchasing plans with CIOs and IT Directors from
midsize businesses at Midsize
Enterprise Summit. . Click
here for event details.
Reference
User Wants and Needs
SMB Server and Storage Preferences and Investment
Plans
Publication Date: August 18, 2003
Authors: J. Browning, J. Enck and A. Couture, Gartner,
Inc.
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