Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Cloud
    • Cloud
    • Networking
    • PC Hardware
    • Storage

    Acer Unveils Intel- and AMD-Based Server Line

    Written by

    Jeff Burt
    Published February 21, 2011
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.

      Acer, which over the past couple of years has muscled its way into becoming one of the top PC manufacturers in the world, is now looking to reclaim a part of the highly competitive U.S. server market.

      Acer on Feb. 21 unveiled a lineup of server and storage offerings powered by x86 processors from both Intel and Advanced Micro Devices and aimed at a number of areas of the market, from SMBs to cloud computing environments.

      The product rollout comes about a year after Acer reinvigorated its data center offerings with new servers and storage products in the European market, and several years after it made its last efforts to establish a toehold in the United States.

      “Acer has steadily built one of the broadest lines of server and storage solutions in the world, and now we are bringing this offering to the U.S. to meet customer demands for cost-effective performance, simplified management, flexible scalability and return on storage investments over time,” Gianluca Degliesposti, vice president of worldwide business development for Acer’s Servers and Storage business unit, said in a statement. “Our initial family of 16 server solutions also leverages our deep expertise in virtualization, multi-node architectures and HPC to meet increasingly challenging needs in cloud computing and other complex computing applications.”

      Degliesposti said the company plans to expand both its server and storage lineups later this year.

      This is the largest push by Acer in this area in recent years, but it isn’t the first noise company officials have made about their data center ambitions. A year ago, after AMD rolled out its “Magny-Cours” Opteron processors, which offer eight to 12 cores, a number of server makers-including top-tier OEMs Hewlett-Packard and Dell-lined up to support the new chips with new servers. However, also included among those manufacturers was Acer.

      The company also unveiled a few Intel-based systems in late 2009.

      Acer comes into the server market with momentum behind its PC efforts, which got a boost in 2007 when the company bought the bulk of Gateway’s consumer PC business for $710 million. Acer, which already had a strong PC business via its lineup of low-cost consumer notebooks, was able to parlay that move to push it higher up the ladder, and now finds itself in a quarterly battle with Dell for second place in the global PC market.

      Acer officials now are hoping to find the same success in the server market. In Europe, many of Acer’s servers are sold under the Gateway brand. However, in the United States, Acer will be the brand on most systems.

      The company is entering a rapidly growing market, fueled in part by the rise of such technologies as cloud computing and virtualization, with the x86 space being the primary beneficiary. According to market research firm Gartner, server shipments in the third quarter of 2010 jumped 14.2 percent over the same period in 2009, while revenues grew 15.3 percent.

      “As in the first half of [2010], x86-based servers were the main driver of the market; they grew 14.9 percent in units and 29.5 percent in revenue in the third quarter of 2010,” Gartner analyst Jeffrey Hewitt said in a statement at the time. “Also following earlier trends, the x86-based server market provided an increase in average selling prices from more robust server configurations to accommodate virtualization; these higher average selling prices pushed revenue higher than shipments, and this was the case in the third quarter for all regions.”

      In the server space, Acer is offering a line of one- and two-socket tower systems; up to four-socket blade rack servers that are designed to reduce power, space and cooling costs; multinode rack servers for cloud environments that come in 2U (3.5-inch) form factors; and blade servers for dense computing environments.

      Acer also is leveraging a partnership with Hitachi Data Systems to offer storage solutions, according to the company. Its NAS (network-attached storage) products offer such technologies as deduplication and snapshot. The lineup includes the Acer AN1600 F1, a 2U device that offers up to 12 SAS or SATA (Serial ATA) hot plug drives, RAID capabilities, and redundant hot-plug power and cooling.

      Acer is backing all this up with around-the-clock phone support, 4-hour review and remediation for all calls, next-day parts delivery, and on-site repair. Specifically for servers, Acer also is offering advanced configuration and troubleshooting support.

      For the servers and storage devices, Acer officials also are leveraging the channel strategy that they say has worked so well for the PC business.

      Jeff Burt
      Jeff Burt
      Jeffrey Burt has been with eWEEK since 2000, covering an array of areas that includes servers, networking, PCs, processors, converged infrastructure, unified communications and the Internet of things.

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Artificial Intelligence

      9 Best AI 3D Generators You Need...

      Sam Rinko - June 25, 2024 0
      AI 3D Generators are powerful tools for many different industries. Discover the best AI 3D Generators, and learn which is best for your specific use case.
      Read more
      Cloud

      RingCentral Expands Its Collaboration Platform

      Zeus Kerravala - November 22, 2023 0
      RingCentral adds AI-enabled contact center and hybrid event products to its suite of collaboration services.
      Read more
      Artificial Intelligence

      8 Best AI Data Analytics Software &...

      Aminu Abdullahi - January 18, 2024 0
      Learn the top AI data analytics software to use. Compare AI data analytics solutions & features to make the best choice for your business.
      Read more
      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Video

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2024 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×