The Benefits of IBM System x - Amazon S3...and support is evidenced in its No. 1 mean phone support satisfaction ranking across the past four quarters in TBR’s x86 Server CSAT Studies.

The Benefits of IBM System x: More Affordable M4 Servers for Small

and Midsized Businesses

November 2011

TBR T EC H N O LO G Y B U S I N ES S R ES EAR C H , I N C .

TBR

The Benefits of IBM System x: More Affordable M4 Servers for Small and Midsized Businesses| November 2011

©2011 Technology Business Research Inc.

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The Benefits of IBM System x: More Affordable M4

Servers for Small and Midsized Businesses

Executive Summary: IBM is adapting to changing demand for x86 servers

in small and midsized businesses

IBM is changing its server development and marketing strategy in tandem with

small and midsized business server demand. The company has designed its new

single-socket M4 servers, powered by Intel Xeon processors, to meet emerging

SMB requirements. IBM designed the M4 servers to support lower ownership

costs by reducing the cost of acquisition and delivering improved performance

and simplified manageability relative to existing hardware.

Small and midsized businesses are asking more of vendors such as IBM as they

strive to balance increasing workloads and IT demands with decreasing operating

budgets. IT decision makers are facing complex buying choices when evaluating a

server’s ability to deliver improved capabilities and efficiency at lower costs,

considering features such as reliability, maintenance costs and workload-specific

efficiency as significant purchasing criteria.

IBM, in response, is providing more affordable servers by bringing IBM

technology to businesses at PC pricing. Reduced ownership and acquisition costs

deliver increased value to customers. Simplified management reduces IT

complexity and the need for in-house expertise, helping midmarket customers

save money.

What do SMBs want, and why?

Through its ongoing syndicated x86 Server Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) Studies,

TBR has determined that customers seek the most reliable servers to mitigate

downtime, reduce costs and avoid revenue losses. Customers are also concerned

about the technical support services offered with the servers they purchase, as

more than 45% of respondents over the last six quarters of TBR’s x86 Server

CSAT Studies say that technical support failures would be enough to drive a

brand defection.

Underlining the need for reliable servers is the demand for tools that improve

system energy efficiency and ensure worker productivity. Businesses are

increasingly leveraging efficiency tools, such as management capabilities, to save

time and decrease costs. TBR believes servers’ management capabilities are

another top purchase consideration, as they help reduce server overhead and

ultimately help drive profitable growth for businesses.

Quality and Reliability: Quality and reliability are the foundation for low total

cost of ownership and thus the top midmarket buying criteria, as evidenced by

TBR CSAT Studies. As a result, midmarket x86 server customers seek a vendor

with a reputation for delivering systems that ensure uptime and mitigate the risk

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of failures and malfunctions.

Value: Customers balance acquisition costs with business impact, making value a

key midmarket server buying criterion in TBR’s x86 Server CSAT Studies. In a

climate of macroeconomic uncertainty and tightening budgets, IT decision

makers must justify acquisition costs with business benefits. As a result, value is

a crucial deciding factor between systems. Value is perception-driven at the time

of the purchase decision, thus positioning vendors with a history of providing

high ROI and low TCO systems favorably in a buyer’s mind.

Service and Support: TBR’s x86 Server CSAT Studies show IT decision makers are

increasingly demanding add-on service and support offerings to extend the

functionality of their x86 environments, ensuring uptime so they can focus on

higher-value tasks. Service and support offerings enable midmarket customers to

do more with less; they augment midmarket business IT departments, allowing

IT departments to focus on tasks that generate revenue or help lower costs.

Ease of Doing Business: In TBR’s x86 Server CSAT Studies, midmarket customers

deem easy business transactions as the first step in improving efficiency. This

helps align systems to midmarket business needs in addition to improving

business transaction efficiency. As a result, TBR CSAT studies show that customer

loyalty is tightly linked to ease of doing business.

Manageability: Midmarket customers value simple management tools that

provide a single-pane view into their growing server environments. Midmarket

customers seek tools that help manage disparate server environments and

improve operational efficiency. Simplified management allows IT managers to

spend more time on higher-value tasks.

How IBM is meeting these needs

IBM is responding to SMB customer demand for saving money without sacrificing

performance, flexibility and ease of use by providing its new single-socket

System x M4 servers. The new offerings align with the unique business needs of

smaller companies by delivering reliable compute capacity, streamlined

management, and reduced energy consumption. IBM builds on its reputation for

quality, reliability, compact design and security, positioning its new System x

offerings as affordable and easy to deploy, manage and maintain.

Quality and Reliability: IBM has ranked number one in quality and reliability

mean satisfaction across three of the past four quarters in TBR’s x86 Server CSAT

Studies. With its latest single-socket M4 servers, IBM extends these capabilities

from the enterprise to small-to-midsized businesses.

Value: IBM delivers server functionality at a PC price point to extend its

traditional value proposition, as evidenced by the vendor’s No. 1 mean

satisfaction ranking for value across two of the past four quarters in TBR’s x86

Server CSAT Studies, to the midmarket.

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IBM leverages virtualization capabilities and an Intel Xeon-based backbone to

further position its single-socket M4 System x servers as reducing TCO by

delivering reliability and lower operational costs. As workload demands increase

in tandem with company growth, IBM leverages System x flexibility and security

to keep server TCO low.

Service and Support: IBM provides the same service and support capabilities to

midmarket customers as it does to enterprise customers. IBM services enable

infrastructure management throughout the lifecycle, which enables a strong ROI

while freeing up IT staff to pursue value-add functions. IBM’s strength in services

and support is evidenced in its No. 1 mean phone support satisfaction ranking

across the past four quarters in TBR’s x86 Server CSAT Studies.

Ease of Doing Business: Customers surveyed for TBR’s x86 Server CSAT Studies

ranked IBM the leader in ease of doing business in three of the past four

quarters. As such, IBM and its partners ensure efficiency throughout the

implementation cycle of IBM System x servers. Additionally, the company

leverages relationships and its latest System x offerings to align its systems with

specific midmarket needs.

Manageability: IBM leverages simplified management, diagnostics and common

tools for installation and rapid deployment to further reduce the TCO of its new

System x servers.

Conclusion

In providing its latest lineup of System x servers, IBM is integrating the core

benefits of a PC, including ease of use and low price points, with the reliability,

scalability and serviceability of its x86 servers. IBM is targeting the key server

buying criteria of midmarket customers – high-value, reliable systems that are

easy to manage and support – with its upgraded System x portfolio.

Furthermore, the System x servers are built and tested to IBM specifications and

are accompanied with IBM support.

About TBR

Technology Business Research, Inc. is a leading independent technology market

research and consulting firm specializing in the business and financial analyses

of hardware, software, networking equipment, wireless, portal and professional

services vendors. Serving a global clientele, TBR provides timely and accurate

market research and business intelligence in a format that is uniquely tailored to

clients’ needs. TBR analysts are available to further address client-specific issues

or information needs on an inquiry or proprietary consulting basis.

For More Information

TBR has been empowering corporate decision makers since 1996. For more

information, visit www.tbri.com.

The Benefits of IBM System x - Amazon S3...and support is evidenced in its No. 1 mean phone support satisfaction ranking across the past four quarters in TBR’s x86 Server CSAT Studies.

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