Upstream component suppliers such as Intel and hard disc drive (HDD) makers, have started providing support to white-box server players such as Taiwan-based ODMs and the strategy is expected to significantly raise white-box server players' R&D and cost management ability, according to sources from the upstream supply chain.
Intel recently announced its new Rack Scale Architecture (RSA), which is jointly developed with Quanta Computer and has also demonstrated new PCI-E-based SSD products. The sources pointed out that white-box players' advantages in development efficiency is the main factor prompting Intel to choose them as partners. With the cooperation, Intel's development time for server products is expected to be cut in half and also significantly reducing costs.
HDD makers such as Western Digital, Seagate, Hitachi and Toshiba have also recently started supplying free new hard drives to white-box server players for testing. The support is expected to dramatically reduce white-box server players' development costs and help HDD makers to land orders more efficiently.
In addition to hardware, software players Microsoft and VMware are also aggressively cooperating with white-box server players, looking to acquire some business opportunities. Microsoft's Azure cloud computing services are also choosing white-box server players for supply.
Article translated by Joseph Tsai
