HP Server-Storage Appliance Targets SMBs

HP is launching a server-storage product targeted to small to midsize businesses, the same US$60 billion SMB market targeted by rivals IBM, Dell and others.

During an event Webcast from HP's headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif., HP unveiled the HP BladeSystem c3000 enclosure, nicknamed Shorty because of its compact size, similar to that of a dorm refrigerator. A companion appliance, the StorageWorks All-in-One SB600c Storage Blade, dubbed Shorty's Best Friend, contains iSCSI storage-area network storage drives. But the enclosure can be configured to include multiple combinations of servers, disk or tape storage, and network connections in the same box.

HP's announcement follows launches earlier this year from IBM and Dell of products for smaller companies that may not be as big as the Fortune 500 but are realizing the importance of IT to their business model.

"There is a critical market segment in the ... Fortune 500,000," said Ann Livermore, executive vice president of the Technology Solutions Group (TSG) at HP. "They have a very unique set of IT needs that have not been served well."

SMBs, she said, don't want "watered down" products originally designed for enterprises.

HP touts Shorty and its sidekick as a solution for the "un-data center" at SMBs that don't have a football field-sized room for their IT equipment, but store it in a closet or in a corner of a factory floor.

To illustrate how simply a Shorty can be set up, Mark Potter, vice president of TSG's blade products, plugged the enclosure into a standard 110-volt electrical outlet and connected it to a network with a standard Ethernet cable. It also comes with wheels so it can be moved around a warehouse or factory as needed.

Pricing for the c3000 starts at $4,299 and for the SB600c at $9,968, HP stated in a news release.

The new HP products share similarities with other products from vendors pursuing that SMB market.

IBM in June introduced the BladeCenter S system, scheduled to ship in the fourth quarter, which combines server, storage, network connections and software into a single chassis. It also can be plugged into a standard outlet.

Paul Miller, HP's vice president of enterprise storage and services marketing, criticized the IBM offering.

"They just took an existing box and put a new logo on it to say it was a new box," Miller said. "[And] it's still not shipping. The channel needs products to ship now, not revenue possible in two or three quarters."

Sun last year introduced the Sun Fire x4500, which combines server and storage into one unit.

Dell began shipping in July the PowerEdge SC430, which starts at $499 and offers a dual-core processor and approximately 50% more storage capacity than its immediate predecessor, the PowerEdge SC420.

But Miller, playing on Dell's latest marketing message about "simplifying" IT for SMBs, felt its solutions come up short. "It's not just about making it simple, it's about making it useful," he said.

Along with the products, HP announced a new set of services also targeted at SMBs called HP Total Care Initiative. HP expects to reach the SMB market through its multiple channel partners.