Let's face it–the Intel® Xeon® processor is the world's most widely deployed server for a good reason. IT has grown to rely on Intel Xeon processors for their performance, reliability, virtualization capabilities, and a whole lot more.

And at this week's Intel Developer Forum (IDF) in San Francisco, Intel Senior Fellow Stephen Pawlowski took the stage to discuss the next generation of Intel Xeon processors, codenamed Nehalem-EX. "We've had a number of customers who have come to us and said, 'we want to be able to use Xeon and also the mission critical segment.  What kinds of things or what kinds of capabilities can you put in there?'" spoke Pawlowski in his IDF session. The answer? Intel is throwing a whole lot at Nehalem-EX, all but the kitchen sink.

Designed for mission-critical performance, RAS, along with hardware-based virtualization, Nehalem-EX has got an industry-standard server makeover, with the ability to monitor, report, and recover from hardware errors to maintain data integrity and keep mission-critical services online. And that's just the half of it. With Nehalem-EX, IT and business knows that they've got a solid roadmap they can rely on for years to come.

Nehalem-EX also offers scalability along with world-record virtualization performance, enabling the highest consolidation ratios of any industry-standard server. And as IT departments across the board move to lower costs while increasing hardware utilization, Intel has responded to their needs by improving and enhancing its hardware-based virtualization technology.

Including broad industry support for an era that is increasingly moving towards the cloud, virtualization technology combined with energy-efficient performance and RAS-rich environments provide a reliable, scalable environment that IT departments can bank on. 

The April 1 issue of CIO magazine stressed the importance of “Marketing IT to the Business.” Per the call to "innovate and communicate," you can also market your projects via industrywide recognition.  Which brings me to the Premier IT Awards, where we’re a few weeks to the end of our call for submissions.

CIO custom solutions group and Intel have been receiving numerous IT department submissions from around North America that demonstrate best practices in data center or client fleet management.    Grassroots IT innovation and dedication to driving business value.  The submissions span projects valued from $10K to $2.5M, from customers with in-house vs. managed data centers and client solutions.   Intel products at the center of these solutions include not just Intel Core 2 processors with vPro technology or Intel Xeon processor-based servers, but Intel Itanium processor-based servers, Intel XScale technology and devices.

Just a few examples of our diverse submissions include a:

-Law firm

-Leading transportation company

-State government

-Non-profit healthcare network

-Managed service providers with small/medium business customers

-One of Fortune magazine 100 Best Companies to Work For

The short list of contenders for the awards will be posted on the Intel Premier IT Professional site soon.  And you’ll have the chance to vote for the “people’s choice” winner if you’re a member (it’s free to join).

If you think you’re too small or your industry doesn’t lend itself to driving business value because you’re state/local government or a nonprofit, I encourage you to think again.  Submit your best practices.  For more information visit the program website or if you have any questions, ask me here.

I'm going to be speaking this Thursday at the Intel Jones Farm site in Hillsboro on the technology roadmap. Here's some of the topics we're going to cover:

• Intel processing and manufacturing technology

• CPU architecture

• The real value that the first two items bring to IT managers and end users

• Server roadmap

• Client roadmap

• New trends that will be impacting IT over the next 5 years

You can find the details on the right hand margin of the web page where you found this blog, or search on "IPIP". If you aren't in Portland you'll see there are another set of events across the country over the next few months. I hope to see you at one!