Lenovo Tower ThinkServer Aims at SMB Back-Office

Global PC shipment leader Lenovo has rolled out the ThinkServer TD330 aimed at handling back-office IT tasks for small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), the first product to come off the assembly line from the vendor’s new Enterprise Product Group (EPG) tasked with expanding the company’s server, networking and software portfolio.

The TD330, based on the Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) Xeon E5-2400 chip series, is intended to run line-of-business applications, can be deployed for virtual desktop sessions or blackboard applications and behind-the-scenes IT tasks in retail settings and distributed environments such as multilocation banks. It’s designed with industry-standard IPMI 2.0 compliant protocols and interfaces, enabling it to conform to a hybrid environment.

Lenovo’s TD330 server is available now through business partners and at the vendor’s shopping web site, priced starting at $929.

Roy Guillen, Lenovo EPG vice president and general manager, said that the TD330, as a flexible, scalable tower solution, fleshes out the vendor’s server lineup.

“We’ve placed expanded emphasis on building our server portfolio this year, introducing products that meet the needs of all our customers – from enterprise customers to small businesses,” he said.

The TD330, which can handle up to 192GB of memory and a variety of hard drive and network card options, is equipped with onboard RAID and diagnostics, hot swap support and web-enabled remote management, and can be configured to suit a customer’s precise needs, according to Lenovo. A software suite is bundled into the unit for setup, configure and manage: EasyStartup, to simplify configuration, and EasyManage, for server monitoring and management tools.

“The ThinkServer TD330 meets the need of an organization that demands flawless dual-socket performance in a flexible, scalable tower solution, and values the reliability and sturdiness that ThinkServer products are known for,” said Guillen.

In mid-October, Lenovo rolled out a new collection of four Windows 8 convertibles at nearly the same time as researcher Gartner said its Q3 2012 figures showed the vendor had overtaken longtime leader Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) for worldwide PC shipment supremacy. In Gartner’s view, Lenovo shipped 13.7 million units shipped for 15.7 percent share of the market, nudging HP, with 13.6 million units shipped, from the top spot by a mere .2 percent. In contrast, researcher IDC posted figures that showed HP retaining a slight lead for the period.