SearchSystemsChannel.com: Do you have any other blade server and virtualization resources for the channel?
Barb Goldworm: Two more things: For users going through this process and trying to understand both technologies, we have a book called Blade Servers and Virtualization that just came out from Wiley. It's a soup-to-nuts discussion on both technologies; it will give you a basic overview of both as well as advance planning tips – it includes what these technologies are, what the architecture options are, who the venders are, the strengths and weaknesses of the various architectural approaches and the vendors in the mix and user case studies to help users understand what it means in the real world. There's also a section in the book that gives a matrix of all of the different features of both blades servers and virtualization solutions. It gives you a snapshot of all the products there today and a framework for all the features that people will need in RFIs and RFPs. From a channel perspective, it's a great starter.
For channel folks who are want tools to help users understand the reasons for implementing these technologies, as well as how to plan for them, the Server Blade Summit will have an ROI lab on the show floor. It will have tools from various venders available, which will help you understand the ROI/TCO issues related to consolidation and virtualization and blades - space and power and cooling savings, etc. And of course, it will be an opportunity to see the latest and greatest in these areas from the virtualization and blades vendors and partners. We hope to see you there.
10 tips in 10 minutes from Barb Goldworm
Home: Introduction
1: Blade server and virtualization benefits
2: Ideal blade server candidates
3: How to sell blade servers
4: Blade server and virtualization misconceptions
5: Preparing to deploy blade servers and virtualization
6: Server virtualization channel impact
7: Future of blade servers and virtualization
8: Blade server and virtualization consulting
9: Server Blade Summit must-attend sessions
10: Blade server and virtualization resources
About Barb Goldworm: Barb Goldworm is founder, president and chief analyst of Focus Consulting and author of the book Blade Servers and Virtualization. She has spent over 30 years in systems and storage in various senior management, marketing, sales, technical and industry analyst positions with IBM, StorageTek, Novell, Enterprise Management Associates and several successful startup ventures. A frequent speaker at industry events, she also created and chaired Interop's Networked Storage Track. More recently, she was one of the top three ranked analyst/knowledge expert speakers at SNW and has been a regular expert speaker for TechTarget and Ziff-Davis E-seminars. She also chairs the Server Blade Summit on Blades and Virtualization.
