|
June 2007
HP professes to know "the real story about Blade.org", but HP doesn't know the real story.
By creating an open, collaborative environment, Blade.org is putting the collective ingenuity of its members to work on challenges and opportunities within the blade server ecosystem. This environment sparks innovation among members, and is helping to bring new blade-based computing solutions to market more quickly, which benefits customers.
Blade.org is run by its members, not IBM. Lucky for the members, it is not a traditional business partner program, but one that provides the opportunity for members to truly collaborate to innovate.
It is true that IBM took its competitors by surprise when it opened up the IBM BladeCenter specifications in 2004, which helped create market and revenue opportunities for companies selling peripherals like network and storage cards, switches and software. Since then nearly 500 companies have downloaded the specifications for free.
Lets face it, the disruptive force fueling Linux and Wikipedia is starting to take hold in hardware development. In 2006, eight technology leaders joined to form Blade.org, and just over one year later the group has grown to nearly 100 member companies.
But, it's not just developers that understand the opportunity. Blade.org's newly formed Customer Advisory Council includes over 10 users of blade-based computing that are providing perspective and insight into future product and solution development in this market, and over 50 global venture capital firms have invested more than $1 billion to date in Blade.org member companies.
If you have any question as to whether the goals of the community are being met, consider the following:
- Blade.org members are driving industry-firsts: BLADE Network Technologies, Broadcom, IBM and NetXen teamed up through Blade.org to deliver the industry's first solution offering 10 Gigabit Ethernet connectivity for blade servers.
- Blade.org members are creating value for customers: Devon IT, a founding member of Blade.org, established a Server Desktop Solution Center where companies can bring their own servers - either physically or virtually - to test and implement server-centric computing environments. Customers can test not only Devon IT desktop devices, but also offerings from other Blade.org members, including Citrix, IBM and VMware.
- Customers are choosing solutions from Blade.org members: Blade.org members worked together to implement a solution for the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. Avnet, DataCom, BLADE Network Technologies, and IBM helped enable the Museum to tighten security for its world-renowned collection of more than 16,000 Asian Artworks, by implementing a video surveillance system with software from Datacom, Ethernet network switches from BLADE Network Technologies, and blade servers from IBM. Avnet pre-configured the systems. (Hear more about it from the Director of Information Technology at the Asian Art Museum, by clicking on the video on this web page: http://www.blade.org/firstyear.cfm)
Now if there is still any doubt about who runs Blade.org and who benefits from Blade.org, we encourage you to please consider the following facts:
Fact 1: Members of Blade.org are not obligated to manufacture or use any particular products or solutions. And the Blade.org organization is structured in such a way that no single company could control the management of the organization. Like most .orgs Blade.org's organizational structure includes a Governing Board, voting members and non-voting members.
Fact 2: IEEE-ISTO is employed by Blade.org because Blade.org realizes value from the services that IEEE-ISTO provides to the organization. The mission of Blade.org is as follows:
- Provide leadership to the blade server market.
- Foster a collaborative community of customers and members to expand the blade ecosystem.
- Accelerate the growth and adoption of technologies and solutions in the market.
Fact 3: The Blade.org community is inclusive of customers, hardware companies, software companies, distributors, resellers, venture capitalists and others. Both Intel and AMD are members of Blade.org. The companies that have joined Blade.org are rallying around an open hardware architecture, which helps to create choice for customers. HP, Dell and Sun have not opened up their blade server specifications.
Fact 4: HP's BladeSystem Solution Builder program is comparable to IBM's BladeCenter Alliance Program. Both programs have about the same number of members. Both programs are designed to foster each company's ecosystem. Neither company qualifies for each other's program. Blade.org is unlike either of these company run programs because Blade.org is not a program run by a company; it is an industry consortium that depends upon the leadership and participation of its members.
Fact 5: The BladeCenter® Alliance Program provides participating independent software and hardware vendors with enablement, marketing and sales benefits that are specific to the IBM BladeCenter platform; and also provides access to IBM's Virtual Loaner Program. Blade.org is a collaborative organization and developer community that helps accelerate the expansion of blade solutions for customers.
The Blade.org compliance program is still accepting new vendors. Compliance and interoperability are a key focus area for Blade.org.
|
