Despite the economic downturn, the majority of small and midsize businesses intend to buy new server hardware in the next year, suggesting that tightening budgets won't derail business-critical technology purchases.
A new study shows that despite the economic downturn, three out of four small and midsize companies intend to buy new server hardware in the next 12 months -- data that suggests that cost-cutting measures won't disrupt essential technology purchases.
This is one of the key findings of a new Web-based study of 345 server customers in small and midsize companies conducted by bMighty in December. Although no one knows when the recession will end, the vast majority of small and midsize companies surveyed by bMighty may expand their server infrastructure this year.
Download it NOW! [Free registration required]
While nearly one in five small and midsize customers say expansion is a "definite," about three in five tie that growth to changes in business needs and the economy.
Some companies plan to avoid increasing their server investments by deploying virtualization software. Virtualization, software that optimizes resource sharing on servers among other devices, was once a cost-savings option exclusively for large enterprises. But bMighty's study indicates that about 40% of small and midsize companies, so-called SMBs, are starting to use virtualization software on the server.
Slowing the rapid expansion of servers has been a challenge for Brian Smith, director of network services at Quality Transportation Services, an 80-employee company that has gone from hosting 15 Windows servers to 35 in a four-year span. Smith says the transportation company recently adopted VMware ESX to virtualize its development environment. He estimates this move alone could save the company $15,000 in hardware costs by avoiding the purchase of more servers.
Part of the credit for this surge in interest can be attributed to server virtualization software introduced to the SMB market last year by Microsoft and Citrix, according to Forrester Research VP and principal analyst Frank Gillett. These products are among more cost-effective options available to buyers in small and midsize companies.
Another reason SMBs would consider expanding their base of servers is that customers perceive them as reliable investments. According to the study, 94% of SMB customers say that their servers meet or exceed their expectations.
Don't Miss:
The study results indicate that small and midsize companies aren't highly concerned about how much energy is consumed by their servers. Two in five small and midsize businesses do not meter server energy consumption. "There's probably not as much awareness about energy costs when it comes to computers as there should be," says Anita Campbell, editor of Small Business Trends. "A lot of small businesses are not that aware and need some education on it. Those that care about running a green business would be interested in learning about energy consumption."
Another large-organization trend that's beginning to gain traction among SMBs is cloud computing -- a third-party hosted service that provides customers with scalable servers and storage as a utility. Nearly half of the businesses in the study are considering hooking their servers up to clouds at some point in 2009.
If SMBs were to adopt cloud computing, it would mark a major shift in how they operate their servers now. Just 15% of those surveyed said that they use an off-site service provider. This suggests that they prefer to keep the servers close to operations so that they can keep an eye on their data and communications.
Exclusive research report: Servers In Small And Midsize Businesses
Download it NOW! [Free registration required]
Rusty Weston is a San Francisco-based journalist who blogs for My Global Career and Fast Company.
