Computer giant Dell stepped up its environmental push today unveiling new servers and racks which the firm claims are more energy efficient and easier to manage than competing offerings.

The M-Series blade servers and rack enclosure consume 19 per cent less energy than HP's c-Class blades and 12 per cent less than IBM's BladeCenter H models, according to Dell.

So-called blade servers, which allow multiple slimmed downed servers to be slotted into a shared cooling system and chassis, have been heavily touted by leading IT vendors as a more energy efficient alternative to traditional server systems.

Dell claims to have cut energy use further through a number of innovations, including energy efficient processors, improved power units and intelligent cooling systems that only operate when required.

The company said the M-Series also exceeds requirements set out under the EU's restrictions on hazardous substances directive and provides lead-free configurations that "further help customers minimise their environmental impact ".

Eric Velfre, director of enterprise product marketing for Dell in Europe, Middle East and Africa said the new servers would allow "customers to achieve the compute performance they need while lowering their overall power consumption and reducing datacentre complexity and server sprawl".

However, Rick Becker, vice president of solutions at Dell, told BusinessGreen's sister website vnunet.com that the vendor is not attempting to push blades to all customers.

"We are committed to blades, but our focus is on solving customer problems and using blades where appropriate," he said.

IBM and HP have been notable for blade server campaigns, but Dell has remained relatively quiet in this area.

Becker dismissed the idea that Dell has been lagging behind its competitors, claiming that supplementing existing hardware can be better than replacing everything with new blade systems.

"[IBM and HP] love to talk about blades and 'blade' everything," he said. " Dell takes a different view. You are not going to see us enter a blades arms race."

The new servers represent the latest in a line of initiatives from Dell designed to position the company as a provider of green IT. Last year, the firm launched a major green initiative including company-wide emission reduction targets, a new carbon offset scheme offering customers the chance to offset emissions associated with their computers and a global competition to build the world's greenest computer.

A version of this article first appeared at vnunet.com