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Take Our Server Survey

The server space has changed rapidly over the past few years, forced
into a technological transition by four broad and simultaneously
emerging trends: the ongoing push toward consolidation, the business
imperative to rein in out-of-control power and cooling costs, the rise
of cloud computing and a looming push for next-generation data center
architectures.

To get a better handle on precisely what's
happening -- and, more importantly, to get the scoop from the business
technology professionals who really know what's going
on--InformationWeek Analytics is conducting a survey on the current
state of server technology within the enterprise. The results of this
survey will appear in an upcoming issue of InformationWeek as well as an
in-depth InformationWeek Analytics report.

Why am I so
interested? Because I'll be the person writing the report! That's why
I'm asking you, dear readers, to please fill out the survey; it'll only take you about five minutes to do the whole
thing.  If you complete it, you'll be eligible to enter a drawing for a
32GB Apple iPod touch. Your responses will remain confidential and will
only be reported in aggregate.

Most of the survey asks
check-box-type questions, but there's a place at the end to add your
comments. I hope you'll do this, because comments are key to breathing
additional perspective and life into the State of Server Technology
report I'll be writing. The big areas I'm curious about are obvious, but
no less important because the issues are apparent to everyone. At the
top of the list is, what's driving your purchasing decisions? Is it a
raw-power equation, driven by the need for more processing heft to
support additional apps? Or are you trying to consolidate your physical
footprint and save on power and cooling at the same time?

On the
vendor front, I've very interesting in your perceptions and rankings of
HP, IBM, Dell, and Sun/Oracle, as well as the disruptive effect of
Cisco's incursion into the server market. I don't want to give away any
more, because then there will be no reason for your to go take the
survey, which I hope you'll do by taking the survey.