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.