Intel

Overview

Client: Intel. Published by Edison Group. Anthony Sarno, Senior Analyst.

Industry: Semiconductors, data center infrastructure, virtualization.

Project

A Business Strategy Report demonstrating the end-user business impacts of choosing better processors when designing or purchasing multi-processor servers for data center consolidation projects.

Challenge

People selecting x86 servers for the data center needed information to make an informed decision about the value of higher-density Xeon processors by quantifying the value of energy-efficient data center processors.

Solution

• Identified and included all credible, meaningful financial impacts of higher-density server consolidation through better processors and virtualization.
• Developed a TCO analysis using recognized cost metrics, balanced against the virtualization density advantages demonstrated in the Edison Group VM benchmarks.
• Introduced VM Cost Efficiency as the metric comparing platforms for any given set of VM workloads.
• Illustrated the financial calculations through hypothetical scenarios.

Results

• Delivered a framework that clearly communicates total cost of ownership and supports decision-making.
• Published independently under Edison Group, giving buyers an analysis that is not authored by the processor vendor.
• Written to compel readers to conduct their own ROI/TCO analysis, with the cost model provided as a template for their own inputs.