The modern business world poses a range of tough challenges for small and medium businesses (SMBs) - workloads are changing, expectations from partners and clients are evolving, and costs are more of a concern than ever before.
How can Dell servers help your SMB match these demands, stay competitive, and scale on demand? Here are five advantages of adopting Dell PowerEdge R-series servers.
1. How do Dell PowerEdge servers minimize Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)?
Dell PowerEdge R-series servers reduce Total Cost of Ownership by delivering efficient, scalable infrastructure that avoids the cost of over-provisioning.
This means your team can deploy the core configuration (CPU, RAM, and storage) needed now, and scale as workloads grow. This helps to keep the budgets under control as other cost management advantages include high VM density and full support for major operating systems, which help consolidate hardware and lower licensing costs.
Optimized airflow and adaptive cooling, along with power management features, contribute to reduced energy consumption, and with built-in automation tools minimizing routine maintenance overheads, the server platform delivers strong performance with a comfortable TCO.
TL;DR: Dell PowerEdge R-series servers are designed and engineered for high-density virtualization and modern workloads and deliver cost-effective processing.
2. Can you easily manage Dell PowerEdge servers remotely?
Dell offers an impressive set of remote server management features, which can be as simple or complex as the task requires, resulting in minimal downtime.
Dell PowerEdge R-series servers have Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller (iDRAC) and OpenManage, which both offer considerable advantages to server admins and their teams.
IDRAC combines secure and remote access that allows a server admin to monitor and update servers from anywhere, without even entering the data center. Troubleshooting becomes a more integral part of the workflow, and with OpenManage integration, repetitive and routine tasks (e.g. firmware updates, configuration changes) can be automated, while proactive monitoring and early‑warning alerts provide a heads-up when component failure is imminent.
TL;DR: Data centers powered by Dell are easier to manage, saving time and resources that can be deployed to provide business value elsewhere.
3. Are Dell PowerEdge servers versatile enough for modern workloads?
The demand for versatile equipment in small and medium businesses is often delivered via different types of server, but if data-heavy workhorses and virtualization are required, Dell PowerEdge R-series can deliver the versatility required, from SMBs all the way to hyperscalers.
Furthermore, Software-Defined Storage (SDS) is factored in, and PowerEdge servers support flexible, high-density, and scalable internal storage and compute, with storage options including NVMe, SSD, and HDD, available individually or mixed.
This makes PowerEdge servers ideal SDS solutions, facilitating hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) solutions. (HCI can use external storage systems if required, but typically relies on internal storage.)
Dell servers have various port options, and (depending on model and configuration) this can include USB-C and DisplayPort for on-site management.
In addition to storage, architecture standards like PCIe Gen5 enhance connectivity and provide the bandwidth for workloads to efficiently deliver results to the end user, rather than hitting bottlenecks. This ensures the investment your SMB makes today will continue to deliver value tomorrow and beyond.
TL;DR: Dell PowerEdge R-series servers handle data storage, virtualization, and are scalable for HCI based upgrades.
4. How does Dell's server pedigree ensure long-term reliability?
Dell PowerEdge R-series servers are designed for longevity, as PowerEdge architecture is tested for reliability and can offer continuous operation, 24/7/365. The use of high quality components means that the Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) is high, with fewer hardware-related failures over the server’s lifespan.
Dell also offers a range of extended support options for PowerEdge R-series servers, with flexible service contracts offering long-term support that helps maximize the Return on Investment (ROI) of the server.
TL;DR: Dell PowerEdge R-series servers are built for longevity and reliability.
5. Do Dell PowerEdge servers offer advanced security against modern cyber threats?
Third-party security solutions can provide excellent protection, but there is always the risk of chip-level vulnerabilities. PowerEdge servers including R-series units feature embedded security, using the Silicon Root of Trust firmware technology.
With this as part of the server’s physical build, security is part of the server, an immutable foundation that verifies firmware and BIOS before the server boots. Boot-level and supply chain attacks can be defended against with Silicon Root of Trust.
Further security against modern cyber threads is found in the System Lockdown feature. Here, server configuration is locked, preventing unauthorized changes to the firmware and system settings. Intentionally malicious or in error, changes cannot be made without correct permission. This gives small and medium businesses peace of mind, ensuring that critical data infrastructure is protected at every level of the server.
TL;DR: Silicon Root of Trust and System Lockdown features protect servers from cyber threats at the hardware level, and unauthorized changes to configuration are prevented.
Your SMB needs Dell servers
Dell PowerEdge R-series servers offer a complete solution to data-heavy workloads for all kinds SMBs - simply put, the combination of performance, simplified management, hardware-level security, and TCO reduction is virtually unmatched in the market right now.
If you think PowerEdge R-Series servers are the right fit to give your business that streamlined edge, visit the Dell website to learn more.