It had come the time to upgrade server and disk systems at the National Board of Patents and Registration of Finland. Now was a good time to switch to using blade servers and disk storage.

- We also had the clear intention of finding out what technologies are available in the market and making our decision based on that. At the moment, we have six racks of full height containing over forty servers. After the adoption of the new system, it will be possible to fit all the server needs of NBPR into one rack and one view. This reflects the increase in server capacity and the reduction in their size, explains IT chief Timo Junnonen from NBPR.

- The prices of these devices have fallen considerably within the past two years. Now you can get a disk storage capacity of four terabytes and the server package for some 50,000 euros, whereas a couple of years ago, that money could not buy even the disk storage alone. Maintenance fees also fall when there are fewer physical targets to look after.

Servers have also become virtual over the past few years. The experiences NBPR has had with switching to virtual servers have been positive. The capacity requirements of individual services are often quite small, so several critical services can be managed in a virtual manner.

The offer request of NBPR covered a comprehensive delivery of servers, disk storage, installation, training, support, and implementation.

- When we initiated the competitive tender process, Businessforum did not possess the same resources as, for example, Fujitsu or Atea, but IBM had provided Businessforum with its full backing for this deal. In practise, that signifies reliability.

- Businessforum was able to deliver the service package we were looking for at a price that was more affordable than the competition. That is the advantage small players have: they can provide deliveries with smaller margins.

Businessforum has been the main equipment supplier due to its agreement with Hansel.

- An established relationship with a supplier is always beneficial, as it makes life easier when basic purchases can be made quickly and in a centralised manner, Junnonen remarks.

At the National Board of Patents and Registration, there are 40 servers and some 500 work stations in the Windows 2000 and XP environments. A large number of documents are processed, so the monitors must be good. In fact, NBPR has purchased high-quality 21-inch liquid crystal displays for years. These key devices used to be too expensive, but their prices have since fallen.