Fujitsu Introduces Three Rack-Optimized Servers - Product Announcement

Looking to penetrate the US rack-optimized market, Fujitsu Technology Solutions (FTS) recently announced three new Intel architecture-based Primergy servers: the TS120, TS220, and ES320. These compact servers are designed to address the low cost and space-saving needs of ISPs and application service providers (ASPs).

The announcement comes on the heels of Fujitsu's push to enter the North American open systems market. In November, the $50 billion company launched FTS to sell Unix systems, Intel architecture systems, and network attached-storage in the US.

The Primergy TS120 and TS220 are Web server platforms, while the Primergy ES320 is an application server. Primergy TS120 is a 1U, mass-rackable server that comes with an 800-MHz or 933-MHz Pentium III processor. It can be programmed, loaded, and booted remotely for easy operation and lower cost of ownership.

The TS220 is also a 1U rack-mountable server, but contains two 800-MHz or 933-MHz Pentium III processors for companies that need a higher performance infrastructure solution for first-tier Internet usage, shared hosting services, or as a workgroup server.

The ES320 has a rack-optimized 4U footprint for the data center, offers two 1-GHz Pentium III processors, 4 GB of memory, and up to 192 GB of internal disk storage.

A recent report by IDC says the growing number of Internet-related businesses and services has resulted in an increased need for Intel-based servers. According to IDC, rack-optimized servers are emerging as one of the strongest segments for growth in the server space. With the introduction of these servers, FTS is hoping to position itself as a player in this rapidly growing market.

Despite its intentions, Jonathan Eunice, server technologies analyst at Illuminata, does not see Fujitsu making major inroads into the US market. "In the US, Dell, Compaq, IBM, and others have better brand recognition," he says. "When the major suppliers are weak, second-tier companies can do well. However, a lot of companies have great products in this space, so I'm not particularly optimistic."

Eunice was quick to point out that his concern stemmed more from a sales point of view, rather than a product point of view. "Fujitsu has great products, but as strong a company as they are, they just don't have a US preference," he added. "Their international sales team is much stronger than their US sales team. Companies such as Fujitsu, Toshiba, or Hitachi aren't good in retail. However, they can do well selling directly to large ISPs or ASP."

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