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ABI: AdvancedTCA Battle with IBM�s BladeCenter Technology Heats Up

By Mae Kowalke, TMCnet Contributor

Manufacturers that produce carrier-grade, blade-based server equipment are gearing up for a fight that pits the open AdvancedTCA standard against IBM’s proprietary BladeCenter.

 

That’s according to a recent report by high-tech analyst firm ABI Research.

 

ABI notes that companies including Hewlett Packard, Motorola, RadiSys and Sun Microsystems are rallying around AdvancedTCA (News - Alert) which as a result is now gaining major ground as a competitor to IBM’s (News - Alert) platform.

 

AdvancedTCA is appealing to manufacturers for several key reasons, ABI said:

Telcos increasingly are demanding open, next-generation platforms capable of delivering better performance and innovative applications for a reasonable price.

 

Platform providers generally are of the view that off-the-shelf components provide a more cost-effective way to assemble platforms than proprietary technology.

 

AdvancedTCA’s status as an open standard provides telcos better protection of their long-term investments, and allows more flexibility in introducing new applications as time goes on.

 

Of course, IBM isn’t just rolling over to AdvancedTCA.

 

“Although the IBM BladeCenter T may have a few disadvantages, IBM will present the BladeCenter series T platform to prospective customers as a product offering similar to AdvancedTCA platforms,” ABI analyst Norm Bogen said in a statement.

 

Bogen added: “IBM is leveraging the strength it has with its Telco customer back office systems by offering a companion Central Office product known as the BladeCenter T.”

Editorial note: In related news, the PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group this week ratified a new hardware specification, MicroTCA (News - Alert), which is a sister standard to AdvancedTCA designed to provide similar functionality in a smaller form factor.

 

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Mae Kowalke previously wrote for Cleveland Magazine in Ohio and The Burlington Free Press in Vermont. To see more of her articles, please visit Mae Kowalke’s columnist page.