Rational thinking on server procurement under financial crisis TCO

"In the first half of 2008, a total of 67,000 SMEs were closed." "A shocking set of statistics for the NDRC is enough to keep all small and medium-sized enterprises in suspense. In this unpredictable economic crisis, due to limited funds, high cost of splitting, many small and medium-sized enterprises are experiencing severe challenges, enterprises at the same time face the sharp increase in production costs, market demand, such as the sharp decline of various pressures.

In such a big environment, many SME managers are beginning to cut their budgets for the next year. In the process of it construction of the server procurement nature has become a large number of SMEs to reduce the cost of one of the key. However, at this critical juncture of life and death, how to enhance the immune system, improve the survival ability in the "winter", balance the lever between the server procurement and budget reduction, so that users really through IT systems to help them achieve business growth, is the economic crisis more need rational thinking of the key issues.

Economic environment worsens server becomes the key link of business guarantee

When the winter comes, what is the most important thing for small and medium-sized enterprises? Experts suggest that in the face of economic crisis, small and medium-sized enterprises with limited capital should try their best to improve their immune system, which is the key to the failure of many SMEs.

In the past, enterprises in the process of information construction, that it equipment is only the ancillary facilities of the business, even feel is dispensable. In recent years, enterprises have stepped out of this erroneous mode of thinking, recognition of it facilities and related applications, is the business support system, enterprise in the operation and development process is an indispensable link.

Enterprise's customer data, financial data, production data and a series of business operations closely related to the information, have become in the fierce market competition precious resources. On this basis, enterprises can effectively grasp a variety of information to provide users with more perfect service quality, improve product quality and enterprise management capabilities, so that enterprises in the fierce competition and crisis, Yi Invincible.

In view of this, SMEs in the economic environment deteriorating today, must be rational view of the IT-related server equipment procurement, not because of budget cuts, but blindly undermine its own business support system.

Cut expenditure, should be throttling in the right place, according to the law of the bucket in economics, how much water a bucket can hold, depends entirely on its shortest piece of wood. Small and medium-sized enterprises should correctly understand the necessity of it facilities, as far as possible because it business support system to become the whole business development of weak links, the real use of the server, is the small and medium-sized enterprises should be rational thinking of one of the problems.

Server sourcing need rational thinking TCO

Financial problems have always been the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, especially in the financial tight today, in the past, in the process of procurement server, small and medium-sized enterprises pay less money, more work, but less money does not mean that the choice of low-cost only for the blind choice of conditions. In the procurement process, SMEs should be more concerned about total cost of ownership (TCO), which will mean more money, not just upfront investment in the dominant price.

In the interview process, a well-known server manufacturers told reporters: "Many SME users in the selection of servers, usually focus on the initial investment, and ignore the overall cost of ownership, users usually believe that a large brand server can be used to buy two lower prices of two or three-line brand servers, If it breaks down one can be supplemented with another. In fact, if only the price of the device itself to calculate the value of the server is a big misunderstanding, running on the server application and data is actually its business can continue to effectively develop the focus. If because of the quality of the server itself, services and other issues, resulting in business interruption or loss of data, this loss is not a server price can be made up.

Small and medium-sized enterprises tend to fall into the initial investment price as the final measure, ignoring the server later management, maintenance, software and other factors. Although in the initial purchase of money, in the use of the process, but found that the management of maintenance costs, power costs, follow-up upgrade costs in the total cost of ownership accounted for more and more proportion.

According to IDC's survey data: "By 2010, the cost of new-purchased servers has stabilized, while the cost of power and cooling and server management and maintenance costs have increased by 8 times and 4 times times respectively." "

This shows that the power and management costs have become a server procurement process can not be overlooked one of the elements, in the selection of the server process, the user should be as far as possible to select some technical strength of products, such vendors will be required to the server's power supply system for special optimization, so as to help customers save money.

For example: IBM x3850 M2 and x3950m2 servers are rated at only 1440 watts in a 220-volt configuration. According to the test data, if according to the 24*7*365 operation, probably will save the equivalent product 4500 yuan about the electricity cost.

Small and medium-sized enterprises usually in the server management and maintenance personnel than large enterprises, low management and maintenance capacity, but also become a large number of small and medium-sized servers in the process of using one of the short board. Therefore, experts suggest that in the early selection process, as far as possible to select a number of supporting software and services strong well-known brand server. So as not to cause the server to buy back, become a very small power consumption machine.

SMEs in the start-up and growth stage, each investment for small and medium-sized enterprises are significant, in the process of procurement server, small and medium-sized enterprises should be integrated into a variety of factors, so that limited resources to be fully utilized, small and medium-sized server demand characteristics are cost-effective, high availability, easy to configure, manage and use.

Based on the above characteristics, when choosing a server, small and medium-sized enterprises need not only a server to meet their needs and future growth of business needs. At the same time, you need to consider a variety of integrated factors, select a set of high availability, high reliability, easy to manage and maintain a higher level of service capabilities of the server.