FS embraces blades - beyond the server room

Blade PCs and workstations are being increasingly adopted by the financial services industry as the benefits of the tech are fully realised.

Blade technology is in the running as companies look to replace existing PCs and workstations with more efficient, more secure and even greener systems.

Anglo-Dutch bank Insinger De Beaufort replaced its ageing desktop computers with PC blades more than a year ago and since then more and more financial organisations have shown an interest in the potential of blade technology.

More recently Lloyds TSB took the opportunity to install blade workstations during an office move this summer. Since then the bank has been using HP blade workstations with instant benefits.

Blade PCs and workstations use hardware blades located away from a user's desk in a separate computer room. This means that all users have at their desk are screens, a keyboard, a mouse and a head unit or thin client which receives images of data located on the server.

No data is stored on the client, which basically processes images of data - to be displayed on a screen in front of the user. The security benefits are obvious as the theft of a thin client would not mean theft of data as this is stored in the computer room.

Financial services companies require huge computing power to run their increasingly complex businesses. Traders can use up to 16 screens at their desks. Up until now they have had to deal with workstations cluttered with numerous PCs.

As well as clutter, the heat generated by the computing power makes for an uncomfortable working environment. Blade technology takes this hardware away from desks, improving the working environment.

According to IDC analyst Jin-Chui Kim, blade systems have the additional benefits of increasing the time available for IT issues to be dealt with (by up to 40 per cent), bringing a rapid return on investment and having the potential to save on maintenance costs.

Kim added that the recent interest in blade tech represents a shift in focus for businesses away from a disaster recovery mindset to business continuity. The only potential problem he foresees is the lack of knowledge about how reliable systems will be in the long term.