Dell`s new generation of server products includes four two-processor servers incorporating a new controller chip and management software.
This is in line with the company`s strategy to gain market share through standardisation and ease of use.
International Data Corporation (IDC) statistics show Dell has increased its market share by 0.8% in the past quarter to 24.7%, narrowing the gap with market leader, Hewlett-Packard, by 6.6% to 8.3%.
The eighth generation of Dell server products includes the introduction of four new two-processor servers using Intel Xeon processors with EM64T support. The rack-mountable PowerEdge 1850 and 2850, and the PowerEdge 1800 and 2800 tower units enable the deployment of 32-bit applications, while supporting future 64-bit migration.
Dell`s choice of two-processor units is in line with IDC predictions that sales of two processor servers are likely to double in 2005. "Two-processor servers represent the bulk of the market for the next couple of years," says Mark Smith, Dell enterprise product manager for Europe, Middle East and Africa.
HP continues to lead the server market with a 33% share, but Dell hopes to challenge that position further. Dell ascribes recent market gains to its support for open standards and believes this strategy will help it win gains of up to 5% in the coming year, assisted by a strategy to undercut competitor prices in the two-processor space by an average of 26%.
"This new generation of servers is even more standards-based than its predecessors," explains Tiny Maubane, Dell SA enterprise manager. "Dell has moved on from the non-standard ESM controller chip to the industry standard IPMI 1.5 compliant controller."
Maubane says Dell`s server focus has shifted to the management component, comprising new management software aimed at making servers easier to use by helping customers to identify where problems are located in the system and to manage change proactively.
In addition to using a controller that has been endorsed by all the major players in the industry, Maubane says Dell`s new generation servers share the same BIOS and chipsets, enabling customers to develop applications and drivers only once for use across the whole range.
Share
