Small to medium enterprises (SMEs) are continually under pressure to do more with less. Companies are forced to stay in touch with the latest technology trends, but with reduced IT budgets, they are often tempted to make the most of inappropriate or non-branded hardware such as a PC to act as a server.
This is no longer necessary, says Marco Vieira, HP product manager at independent IT solutions provider First Technology.
He says the latest branded SME server solutions are not only competitively priced when compared with PC boxes, but are sold with vendor backup as well as after-sales and support services not offered elsewhere.
"PC box components usually conform to certain standards, but they are not tested as thoroughly as SME server components, especially on server operating systems and applications. The branded SME server is tested and manufactured by the vendor, who will guarantee that the product is compatible with required products, applications and operating systems," he explains.
In addition, Vieira says the customer opting for an SME server will benefit from research and development conducted by vendors on their larger server boxes - and the technology is then transitioned to the smaller SME servers.
"There is a perception in the marketplace that the PC box is less expensive to purchase and maintain, and that branded products are `always more expensive`. This is not true. Branded SME servers can be purchased for less than R5 000 - excluding the operating system - including support, warranties, and repairs and upgrades.
"Repairs and upgrades on PC boxes can be problematic if one considers that the server may originally have been purchased from a supplier that is no longer in business or the server was sold with disparate parts and components.
"A PC box is a PC. No questions asked. On the other hand, a branded SME server has been designed to operate as a server - repairs and upgrades will never be a problem with a branded SME server," he points out.
Vieira says that HP, for example, guarantees it will supply spares for five years after a product is discontinued.
"HP servers will always contain IDE drives to keep costs down, but will feature a server chipset on the motherboard as standard. It will also be sold with the latest memory and would have been tested and guaranteed for the life of the product. SME servers are sold with guaranteed performance and backup and support.
"OEM (original equipment manufacturer) products are always better than their `white box` counterparts and will always be sold with value-added after-sales peace of mind. The vendors have realised this and have already taken steps to cater for the growing SME sector," he concludes.
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First Technology is one of SA`s largest, independent IT solutions providers, offering customers solutions and services that maximise business productivity, reduce the risk associated with deploying new technologies and minimise the total cost of IT ownership. The company has fully-fledged branches in every major business node across SA and maintains one of the largest teams of highly skilled technical personnel in the country.
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