The HP BladeSystem is designed specifically for midsize customers

Versatility to customise and upgrade vital solutions as the business grows. Useful tools to save maintenance and integration time. Storage and servers managed as one. Smart self-cooling that also lowers the electricity bill.

Any technology with those benefits would be a perfect match for midsize customers. But for too long, blade systems – storage and server infrastructure in a single box – were the domain of large data centres. Midsize customers continued to stack unwieldy rack and tower servers in any available space. For example, back office spaces, mail rooms, warehouses – any place with a power plug and some space. Blades were too big and complex for midsize customers.

Not anymore. Now, the technology concept that seemed exactly suited to midsize customers is actually being made for midsize customers. The result is a complete, customisable infrastructure for servers, storage and everything else your business needs.

The history of your IT department probably goes something like this: First, you needed solutions for mail and messaging, customer relationship management and enterprise resource planning. Then you needed backup, disaster recovery, a storage area network and so on. You probably deployed and managed these pieces separately – a task that got more complicated every time you added to it.

Then, one day, you entered the equipment room and saw a jumble of cables and metal and plastic. You realised that you didn’t have space, time or budget to meet the next business requirement. Anyone who can relate to that scenario can understand why blades are a great idea:

• They’re simple, and several storage and server blades stack neatly into a single enclosure.
• The cabling and cooling is built into the enclosure, not the servers, leading to lower power costs and fewer tangled wires.
• You can manage the system as one in less time.

In short, blades are ideal for expanding businesses with 'undatacentres'. Specifically small spaces that don’t have raised floors, a specialised heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, a big IT staff or boundless space.

Some vendors produce cutting-edge, must-have technology for enterprises, then release a scaled-down, one-size-fits-none version for midsize customers. As a result, midsize customers – who have completely different challenges and needs – end up with a downsized enterprise product.

HP developed the HP BladeSystem c3000 Enclosure specifically for midsize customers, and it offers:

• Versatility to mix and match a variety of storage and server blades and run a choice of thousands of applications for Windows®, Linux, HP-UX and more in one box.
• Flexibility to fit into a tiny space and plug into a standard outlet. It can be up and running in minutes.
• Ease of management so you don’t need to hire a network or storage specialist or more IT staff. Built-in software tools are included that enable you to get the job done fast. Or that enable your service partner to manage it remotely so you don’t have to pay for expensive in-house service calls.

The HP BladeSystem gives you the option to incorporate storage. It also lets you decide what kind of storage you need. With the bladed tape drive, you can back up all of the data on as many as seven server blades.

The HP All-in-One storage blades provide a way to expand storage in seconds without being a storage expert. It provides network attached storage or iSCSI SAN in one package. This allows you to consolidate your file serving, add disaster recovery, backup and support shared storage for multiple applications across multiple server blades.

The HP BladeSystem might be simple to use, but there’s real power under the bonnet. You can pack it with almost everything you need to run your business. You can stand it up in a tower and roll it into even tighter spaces.

HP’s Factory Express service ensures that your configuration is shipped right to your door in one box. This service also includes preconfigured and preloaded software so you can plug it in and get to work. Once your HP BladeSystem powers up, you can feel secure that it will keep your business running smoothly.

Midsize customers aren’t miniature enterprises. You have needs that are as diverse as the businesses you operate. That’s why HP develop products specifically with you in mind. HP also back them up with a network of partners to put everything together and support you. HP’s goal is the same as yours: Make your IT work hard for your business and provide support for future opportunities.