eSP - IT Solution Providers in Europe

What's Thinner than Thin?

Pano Logic says there is life after thin... and it's called Zero Client.

Designed by Whipsaw, the stylish Pano Cube holds three USB jacks, VGA and audio/mic jacks.You won't find a CPU or memory or storage inside, nor an operating system, drivers, software or moving parts– but it does lean on VMWare's required presence.

With no firmware upgrades, no configuration, no royalty fees, Pano Logic insists, "Our device is the only zero-client out there." They prefer to be thought of as a PCI interface on the PC, just extended over the wire. The Pano Device uses less than 5 watts, or roughly 3 percent of what a even an EnergyStar certified desktop PC consumes. The company brags that when the Pano Device is in full use, it still consumes less electrivcity than many PCs do when turned off (but not unplugged).

Because of the simple design of the Pano Device and its lack of moving parts that wear out or even firmware needing upgrades, its lifecycle can be 10 years or more, saving two or even three desktop PCs from landfills during that time.

Go Pano Logic

HP will purchase 3Com for approximately $2.7 billion.

“Companies are looking for ways to break free from the business limitations imposed by a networking paradigm that has been dominated by a single vendor,” says Dave Donatelli, executive vp/gm, Enterprise Servers and Networking, HP.

Uh, that's HP-speak for "Companies are buying too much Cisco." So no need to guess who the "HP+3COM" punch is aimed at in their new advertising?

The acquisition of 3Com expands HP’s Ethernet switching offerings, add routing solutions and significantly strengthen the company’s position in China. In addition, the combination will add a large and talented research and development team in China could drive the acceleration of innovations in HP’s networking solutions.

3Com also brings its network security capabilities through its TippingPoint portfolio. For the past four years, TippingPoint has led in Gartner’s “Magic Quadrant” of network security products. Approximately 30% of the Fortune 1000 companies already deploy TippingPoint intrusion prevention systems, says 3Com.

HP itself will dump all its Cisco gear internally and go 3Com.

“We are confident that we can run our entire global business of 300,000-plus employees, including our next-generation data centers, entirely on the new HP networking solutions,” notes Randy Mott, executive vice president and chief information officer, HP. “Based on our experience and extensive testing of 3Com’s products, we are planning to undertake a global rollout within HP as soon as possible after the completion of the acquisition.”

The transaction is expected to close in H1 2010. HP anticipates this transaction will be only "slightly dilutive to fiscal 2010 non-GAAP earnings".

Which is another way of saying: this acquisition is an affordable way for HP to take its swing at Cisco.

Go HP+3Com Punch

EMEA server shipments totalled just over 490,000 units in Q2 2009 (decline of 32%) and server revenue totaled $3 billion in Q2 (decline of 36% from the same quarter last year.)

In the x86 market, total volumes in EMEA declined 31% compared Q2 2008. HP (No.1 spot) declined 31%. IBM (No. 2) and Dell (No. 3) showed the largest declines in the top five at 35%.

RISC and Itanium UNIX revenues declined 38% in Q2. Of the top five vendors in this segment, Sun regained the No. 1 despite a decline of 40%. IBM (No. 2) was the least impacted but still fell 22%. HP (No. 3) posted a 45% decline. Bull (No. 4) fell 46%. And Fujitsu (No. 5) suffered largest decline of 73% due to weakness in demand in key countries such as Germany and a greater focus on its x86 product portfolio.

Go Gartner on Servers in EMEA