HP today strengthened its mission-critical Converged Infrastructure portfolio with innovative and enhanced HP Integrity systems, HP-UX software and services to triple performance, boost resiliency and deliver investment protection for critical workloads deployed into the next decade. Based on HP enhancements and the Intel Itanium processor 9500 series, transactions are processed up to three times faster than previous generations, while using 21 percent less energy. As a result, clients can realize a 33 percent savings in total cost of ownership (TCO).

Today's announcement delivers against HP's commitment to industry-leading innovations for the HP Integrity platform. With advancements in availability and reliability, HP's mission-critical Converged Infrastructure will continue to enhance established HP Integrity platforms supporting HP-UX, HP NonStop and OpenVMS operating systems. Over time, these advancements will cascade to mission-critical x86 platforms delivering a single, unified infrastructure for UNIX, Windows Server and Linux environments.The newest solutions offer the scalability, continuous availability and efficiency needed by clients to achieve their mission-critical business goals and improve productivity. The new offerings include:

• A faster, more robust HP Superdome 2, with new blades and advancements to HP's flagship server that provide high availability for mission-critical workloads;
• Three new HP Integrity server blades for the HP BladeSystem c-Class enclosure, providing unique workload flexibility with the industry's only electrically isolated hard-partitioning capabilities;
• A new entry-class HP Integrity server for branch offices or expanding businesses that is ENERGY STAR certified for reduced energy use;
• HP-UX advancements that deliver enhanced security and management to speed threat detection and optimize resource utilization; and
• New advisory workshop services, financing programs and cost assessment tools to assist clients in optimizing their mission-critical environment.

"Our mission-critical clients face ever-increasing demands for uptime, performance and security with their most critical applications," said Ric Lewis, vice president and interim general manager, Business Critical Systems and Converged Application Systems, HP. "Today's announcement demonstrates HP's continued commitment to transform the server landscape with innovations to the Integrity portfolio -- offered within a mission-critical Converged Infrastructure that will endure into the future."

HP fortifies IT with improved scalability, reliability and efficiency
HP Superdome 2 now offers a boost in scalability and performance with double the number of cores. Increased reliability also is achieved with enhancements that provide built-in intelligence that enables proactive detection, analysis and repair of errors.

HP's expanded portfolio also includes server blades that deliver improved resiliency with electrically isolated hard partitions that fully isolate workloads without compromising data integrity. The new server blades utilize reduced power -- up to 21 percent less energy -- with new low-voltage, dual in-line memory modules (DIMMS). They also improve efficiency with the new 9500 series processors.

The new server blades include the HP Integrity BL860c i4, which scales up to two sockets; the HP Integrity BL870c i4, with up to four socket configurations; and the HP Integrity BL890c i4, with up to eight sockets. Additionally, the ENERGY STAR certified HP Integrity rx2800 i4 entry-level server improves energy efficiency.

"Both lines of our business were experiencing phenomenal growth and struggling to manage increased data traffic," said Heini Kalt, director, ICT Infrastructure & Operations, Hotelplan Group. "We selected HP Integrity servers to ensure high system availability because we needed the most reliable option to support the nearly ten-fold increase in data volumes from holiday accommodation agents, travel agents and internet-based customers. The HP Integrity server platform met our current needs, while providing us the flexibility and scalability to protect our investment, making sure our data centers are equipped for future needs."

Secure, automate and scale operations with HP-UX updates
New enhancements to HP-UX 11iv3 enable clients to:

• Improve security with a new common log file that delivers up to 10 times faster threat detection than previous generations;
• Simplify management with HP Capacity Advisor's new analysis tool that identifies idle and under- or over-utilized servers to increase server efficiency; and
• Double the size of HP-UX workloads supported within the same data center footprint with up to 256 cores per server.
• New service and programs align IT with business needs to lower risks

HP also has introduced the HP Platform Advisory Workshop to assist clients in planning future mission-critical environments or transitioning from legacy servers to HP Integrity with recommendations for optimization, migration and risk mitigation. Upon completion, clients receive a customized blueprint of their organization's ideal transition path to the newest HP Integrity systems.

Also new is an enhanced TCO Calculator to help mission-critical customers assess the TCO for maintaining existing infrastructure and to help determine the cost to transition and support new HP Integrity systems.

Flexible financing, leasing and trade-in options provided by HP Financial Services, the company's leasing and life cycle asset management subsidiary, enable clients to transition from legacy infrastructure to the newest HP Integrity systems with minimal upfront investment.

Pricing and availability
The first new HP Integrity systems, including the Superdome 2 server blades, will be available worldwide beginning next month at a starting price of $6,490 per blade.
The HP Platform Advisory Workshop services are available worldwide with pricing based on location and implementation.

HP's premier Europe, Middle East and Africa client event, HP Discover, takes place Dec. 4-6 in Frankfurt, Germany.