In October 2005, second-tier enterprise-class servers compared very well against name-brand offerings in performance and reliability, at less cost.  By December 2006, IBM and Dell had closed the gap. IT managers pricing application servers in the $6,000 range should still investigate both first and second-tier server vendors.

The Metal Market

The difference between second-tier and name-brand application servers, however, stops at price. Industry-standard components and platforms – along with rich ecosystems for distribution, support, and training – allow second-tier builders to compare well against name-brand servers in terms of performance, reliability, and service. 

Second-tier system builders utilize Intel and AMD preconfigured server options in the same manner as name-brand vendors.  Additionally, second-tier server manufactures are supported at the OS level through Microsoft Partner Programs for system-builders, further leveling the playing field between name-brand and second-tier servers.

Second-tier server builders face a tough job getting their server offerings onto the short-list when competing against established vendors such as IBM...