The move will bring enterprise-class storage capabilities to smaller firms and branch offices that lack the IT staff and budgets to manage expanding volumes of business information, according to IBM, cutting the cost of shared storage by 30 to 40 per cent.
Prices for IBM's BladeCenter S systems start at US$2,599 which includes power supplies, fans, rack rails and a DVD/CD combo drive.
IBM also announced the BladeCenter Start Now Advisor, which claims to guide customers through setting up a system in 30 minutes or less, plus the BladeCenter Service Advisor that provides a 'call home' feature to alert IBM or the customer's service provider to any problems.