This category had the entire selection crew team here at AbsolutelyWindows stumped.

We use quite a few HP Proliant servers as part of our daily routines.

All of the time, the Proliants are just there, silent, unobtrusive, just performing their assigned tasks.

They are very well made, extremely reliable, and very easy to cost-justify.

So, it came down to deciding which server would garner the award.

 

 

The contestants:
HP Proliant MicroServer Gen8

This is the new entry-level server in HP’s Proliant inventory. However, do not let the device’s diminutive size and price fool you: this is one serious one-to-ten-user small office/branch office device. Reviewed here.

HP Proliant ML310e Gen8 v2 For us, the ML310e Gen8 v2 is our redefinition of the low end as far as SMB servers are concerned. Like the MicroServer Gen8, this low-cost server packs a lot, with reliability and Proliant DNA engineered in.

HP Proliant ML350e Gen8 v2 We standardized on the Proliant ML350 a couple of years ago, and we have never regretted the decision. The ML350 servers are rock solid, have bulletproof performance, and give our client’s computing environments the reliability they expect from their servers.

HP Proliant ML350p Gen8 The ML350p is the heavier, more powerful version of the ML350 series.

HP Proliant DL380p Gen8 Our trusty standard rackmount Proliant.

We also have a few older Proliant blades, and I am thinking of ordering a couple of Proliant BL460 blades to augment the blades here and in NoCal with them.

Over our several conversations on the topic of deciding which of them would become the SmallBizWindows Server of the Year 2014, we realized that the entire HP Proliant line of servers deserved the award.

While various Proliant servers have won the Award previously, our continued use of the servers, and more importantly, our continued excellent user experience and satisfaction with the server line informed us that short of expanding the Server Award into categories, this year, and this year only, we should give the Award to the entire HP Proliant Server line, giving merit where it is due.

There you have it: the SmallBizWindows Server Of The Year 2014 is HP Proliant Servers. The entire line.

Very well deserved.

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