These products are far simpler than general-purpose servers and are not typically hardware upgradable. Advances in technology have allowed what were once discrete functions to be integrated into a smaller number of components, thereby reducing costs. At the same time, these devices are fully Web enabled and can in some cases be managed and software upgraded remotely. The reason for this single-application focus was largely technology and price point driven. This was true in virtually all aspects of the device, in terms of the operating system, components, and the enclosure.
Server appliances address the specific needs of the enterprise well.
Beyond the enterprise, however, the needs of other important market segments, such as small business, are different. This need has dictated the evolution of appliance servers that can aggregate a few useful functions into a single device, therefore providing the horizontal functionality this class of user needs in an easy to deploy and manage package and at a compelling price point. IDC tracks a number of these devices. To date, IA's have been focused primarily on lowering the barriers to communicating over the Internet. For this technology to be brought to the masses, compromises must be made.