Lenovo System x servers achieve top customer satisfaction scores in 1Q15 May 2015 TBR T EC H N O LO G Y B U S I N ES S R ES EAR C H, I N C.
System x customer satisfaction scores surpass those of Dell and HP Global enterprise and SMB customers are increasingly deploying x86 servers in demanding use cases, including mission-critical workloads such as ERP, CRM and analytics, and migrating from aging proprietary systems. As a result, the performance and availability requirements for x86 servers continue to grow, as globalization requires workloads are continuously available for end users. With rising demands on x86 servers, customers require a server vendor excel in many areas, including sales processes, product quality, and service and support. Customer satisfaction scores show customers view the System x portfolio as one they can rely on to provide high-quality x86 servers backed with helpful and responsive sales, services and support. Because qualified survey respondents made an x86 server purchase in the past 12 months, the IBM/System x sample represents customers who purchased from either IBM or Lenovo or both. Lenovo completed its acquisition of IBM s x86 server business on Oct. 1, 2014. In TBR s 1Q15 Corporate IT Buying Behavior & Customer Satisfaction Study: x86-based Servers (CSAT x86-based Servers Study), System x customers reported higher levels of satisfaction with their x86 servers compared to Dell and HP customers. Of the 22 customer satisfaction attributes measured in TBR s 1Q15 study, System x was the leader in rolling six-month mean satisfaction scores for 18 attributes. The vendor s overall weighted satisfaction score, which includes sales, product, service and loyalty attributes, was 75.1 out of a possible 100 in 1Q15, surpassing Dell and HP, which each scored 73.4 in the quarter. TBR believes Lenovo s leading satisfaction score indicates the company is integrating IBM s System x servers while maintaining strong sales and services quality. Vendors must deliver in critical attributes to meet customer expectations As enterprises increasingly deploy x86 servers for mission-critical workloads, customers expect continuous server uptime. Furthermore, organizations migrating from proprietary systems to x86 servers expect business benefits such as reduced costs and faster decision making. To unlock the cost benefits of virtualization, it is becoming increasingly common for IT departments to virtualize their IT infrastructures using x86 servers, running workloads such as business intelligence and analytics applications, and enterprise software such as Oracle Database. Consequently, global x86 server customers are turning to server OEMs for services and support to help them update their infrastructure and receive the most value from their x86 server investments. TBR surveys x86 server customers quarterly to determine the sales, product, and services and support attributes that are most important to customer satisfaction. In the 1Q15 study, customers rated hardware quality, reliability, performance, virtualization, efficiency, scalability, purchase price and total cost of ownership (TCO) as the most critical attributes to overall satisfaction with their x86 servers. Services, maintenance and management capabilities are secondary to the product features critical to customers, but are still important, emphasizing customers desires for a seamless experience in managing and updating their server install base. Initial hardware quality and ongoing reliability Enterprises deploy servers in increasingly diverse and performance-intensive environments to address businesscritical applications and demanding workloads. This was demonstrated in TBR s 1Q15 CSAT x86-based Servers Study, as customers reported that initial hardware quality and ongoing hardware reliability were critical attributes in their overall server satisfaction. Vendors that provide higher-quality hardware than competitors will have higher overall satisfaction scores and greater success capturing customer spending. Performance Although all x86 servers are built on a similar processor foundation, server vendors tailor their x86 solutions to optimize the performance of their portfolios. These enhancements are designed to improve performance for a variety of customer requirements. For example, server vendors optimize x86 server models for compute- or memory-intensive workloads, data-driven applications and transaction processing use cases. 2 System x Server White Paper May 2015 2015 Technology Business Research Inc.
Virtualization, efficiency, scalability Enterprises virtualize workloads to reduce IT operating expenses, improve server efficiency and enhance costeffectiveness. As virtualization use grows, IT departments will increasingly seek x86 server hardware that can be easily scaled. Furthermore, customers demand x86 servers that include automation features for simplified management, efficiency and support. Finally, processing efficiency and scalability are critical for managing the growing demands placed on servers as enterprises virtualize IT infrastructures. Service and support Enterprise IT departments choose x86 server vendors that provide support services to augment in-house support organizations. High-quality services and support are becoming increasingly important to help enterprises deploy x86 servers effectively and efficiently and to ensure continuous server uptime. In TBR s 1Q15 CSAT x86-based Servers Study, seven out of nine service attributes ranked as either critical or important to customer satisfaction, indicating customers demand highly available services and support backed by strong technical expertise. Purchase price and total cost of ownership (TCO) In TBR s 1Q15 CSAT x86-based Servers Study, customers cited purchase price and TCO as two of the most important factors in x86 server purchase decisions. As the value proposition in the global server market shifts from hardware to software and services, x86 server pricing is becoming increasingly important to customer satisfaction. However, enterprises increasingly determine long-term value by evaluating the longevity of the server hardware and the strength of the services provided to support the servers uptime. While purchase price remains a key factor for potential x86 server customers, enterprises are increasingly analyzing TCO to gain a more accurate view of long-term business impact. Customers recognize the added value servers provide as they are tasked with increasingly demanding workloads such as analytics, which TBR believes is causing TCO to outweigh initial price in purchasing decisions. System x excels in customer satisfaction for critical sales, product and support attributes Through investments in new server technology and commitment to high-quality services and support, Lenovo delivers leading x86 server satisfaction scores. System x servers help customers meet business objectives such as reduced IT costs and faster business insights, and System x earned the No. 1 overall satisfaction rating in TBR s 1Q15 CSAT x86-based Servers Study. These servers deliver a strong value proposition of high-quality, highly reliable solutions with strong compute capabilities and the ability to be easily scaled as enterprises increasingly deploy x86 servers for mission-critical workloads. Furthermore, TBR s study revealed IBM s service and support programs for Lenovo s System x servers are meeting or exceeding customer expectations. System x servers will continue to receive service and support from IBM for the foreseeable future. Initial hardware quality and ongoing reliability Lenovo s System x team develops its x86 solutions to fulfill customer expectations for high-quality hardware. In TBR s study, customers reported high satisfaction with System x initial hardware quality, resulting in System x earning the No. 1 position in rolling three-month satisfaction over Dell and HP. Customers scored System x servers well in ongoing hardware reliability, which ranked critically important to x86 server customers. System x was the leader for rolling three-month ongoing hardware reliability satisfaction in TBR s 1Q15 CSAT x86-based Servers Study. TBR anticipates hardware reliability will remain a key The servers do not break down very often. They perform better than other servers we have used, and they are easy to do selfmaintenance on. System x customer 3 System x Server White Paper May 2015 2015 Technology Business Research Inc.
factor in x86 server satisfaction, as mission-critical workloads that require continuous uptime are increasingly deployed on x86 servers. Performance System x servers achieved the highest customer satisfaction scores for performance in 1Q15. Server performance satisfaction scores were up from the previous and year-ago quarters, resulting in the Lenovo s No. 1 position in rolling three-month performance satisfaction. System x server performance scores were higher than Dell s and HP s x86 server performance scores among medium and large business customers. TBR believes this demonstrates the enterprise performance advantages System x has over its main competition. Virtualization, efficiency, scalability In 1Q15 System x earned the top position in rolling three-month virtualization, efficiency and scalability satisfaction. System x customers frequently need to add server capacity as their businesses grow and new regulations add pressure to their data centers. System x virtualization tools enable users to add workloads without having to add new servers. System x servers are designed to offer flexible configurations with high-speed I/O as well as enhanced memory and processing capabilities optimized to take advantage of the cost reductions and operational efficiencies offered by virtualization. System x servers were designed with virtualization in mind. Specifically, System x is scalable and allows users to pay as they increase capacity. Furthermore, Lenovo System x offers customers the ability to consolidate multiple operating systems and software stacks as well as support open platforms and industry-leading hypervisors from VMware, Microsoft, Red Hat and SUSE. Service and support Customers surveyed in TBR s 1Q15 CSAT x86-based Servers Study were asked to provide feedback on nine attributes related to the service and support of their x86 servers. In 1Q15 System x earned the highest satisfaction scores or tied for the No. 1 position across all nine service and support attributes. System x achieved sole possession of the highest satisfaction scores for phone support availability, phone support technical expertise, on-site response time, on-site technical expertise, online technical support, self-support/automated support and social media support. IBM trains its services teams to help enterprises minimize server downtime, manage application deployments cost-effectively and troubleshoot issues quickly. Their on-site server support is very fast and reliable. They seem to have a great level of technical knowledge and are very pleasant to deal with. System x customer Purchasing System x servers enables enterprises to focus on supporting business-critical applications, services and processes, while IBM Global Services employees support or entirely manage the server infrastructure. System x also leverages affiliated partner resources to deploy hardware solutions and software services. The System x team serves as a proactive partner throughout the entire server life cycle for businesses upgrading server environments or updating infrastructures. While the divestiture of IBM s x86 business to Lenovo was completed in October 2014, IBM will continue to provide support for System x servers for at least the next five years. According to the vendors plans, service and support will be provided by IBM and managed by Lenovo. TBR believes the vendors will leverage their experience from the similar arrangement they developed following the sale of IBM s PC division to Lenovo in 2005 to effectively provide services and support to global System x customers. 4 System x Server White Paper May 2015 2015 Technology Business Research Inc.
Purchase price and total cost of ownership (TCO) Customers surveyed in TBR s 1Q15 CSAT x86-based Servers Study ranked System x first in rolling three-month purchase price/acquisition cost mean satisfaction. Midmarket and large enterprise customers reported greater purchase price satisfaction than small customers, which TBR attributes to the positioning of System x in the high end of the global x86 server market. Much better value than other brands because it can be upgraded and offers more features. Discounts we received were [the best], bar none. System x customers System x server hardware quality and reliability, simple management and variety of upgrade options enable the System x team to accelerate customers ROI and reduce TCO. Consequently, in TBR s 1Q15 CSAT x86-based Servers Study, System x ranked first in rolling three-month TCO satisfaction. Conclusion System x servers meet and exceed the demands customers are placing on x86 servers. Based on consistent customer feedback in the CSAT x86-based Servers Study, System x satisfies customer demand for hardware quality; reliability; performance; virtualization, efficiency and scalability; and purchase price and TCO. The no. 1 overall ranking for System x in TBR s 1Q15 CSAT x86-based Servers Study demonstrates System x sales, hardware quality and support meet the evolving demands of enterprises. About TBR s Quarterly Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) Studies Technology Business Research Inc. (TBR) measures the expectations, satisfaction and loyalty of enterprise customers in its quarterly CSAT studies. TBR surveys more than 1,200 individuals responsible for purchasing x86 servers and PCs at North America-based enterprises with more than 500 employees on a quarterly basis. TBR ranks major vendors in each form factor area through a series of indices including sales satisfaction, product satisfaction, service satisfaction and loyalty. About TBR Technology Business Research, Inc. is a leading independent technology market research and consulting firm specializing in the business and financial analyses of hardware, software, professional services, telecom and enterprise network vendors, and operators. Serving a global clientele, TBR provides timely and actionable market research and business intelligence in formats that are tailored to clients needs. Our analysts are available to further address client-specific issues or information needs on an inquiry or proprietary consulting basis. For more information TBR has been empowering corporate decision makers since 1996. For more information, visit www.tbri.com. 2015 Technology Business Research, Inc. This report is based on information made available to the public by the vendor and other public sources. No representation is made that this information is accurate or complete. Technology Business Research will not be held liable or responsible for any decisions that are made based on this information. The information contained in this report and all other TBR products is not and should not be construed to be investment advice. TBR does not make any recommendations or provide any advice regarding the value, purchase, sale or retention of securities. This report is copyright-protected and supplied for the sole use of the recipient. Contact Technology Business Research, Inc. for permission to reproduce. 5 System x Server White Paper May 2015 2015 Technology Business Research Inc.