MESSAGE
| DATE | 2003-04-24 |
| FROM | Ruben I Safir
|
| SUBJECT | Re: [hangout] Lost oppurtunities in our back yard
|
More on this:
Windows NT replacement unveiled
By Byron Acohido, USA TODAY
SEATTLE ? With the launch of Windows Server 2003 Thursday, Microsoft is
rolling out its biggest weapon yet to make another run at dominating
corporate networks the way it does desktop PC software.
Aimee K. Wiles, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
Gary Smarcz, warehouse manager for Fleischer's Bagels, wirelessly
transmits data entered into a Pocket PC to a server using Windows Server
2003.
The software giant has stumbled before while trying to tap deeper into
the corporate market. But this time may be different. "They've never
before had an entry this strong," says John Rymer, software systems
analyst at Forrester Research.
Windows 2003 is a replacement for creaky Windows NT, which accounts for
as much as 70% of Microsoft server software in corporate settings. It is
intended to serve as the hub for Microsoft's .Net products ? new e-mail,
database, Web serving and software management programs that help
companies make better use of computer networks.
Microsoft is betting that wide adoption of Windows 2003 will, in turn,
spur demand for related networking software, which it has under
development.
A new cash machine?
A spike in server software sales and related .Net products would help
offset slowing sales of Microsoft's cash cow Windows and Office desktop
PC products. Thus, Windows 2003 could underpin the "third pillar of
profits" Microsoft has long sought, says Greg DeMichillie, technology
analyst at research firm Directions on Microsoft.
But, while Windows 2003 has earned positive technical reviews, Microsoft
must surmount large marketing and competitive obstacles, including:
* Reluctant buyers. In a tight economy, Microsoft must persuade
cost-conscious NT users to embrace Windows 2003. It says it will no
longer support NT after 2004, meaning customers won't get help fixing
glitches. Plus, future products, starting with the next version Exchange
e-mail software, due this summer, won't run on NT.
"Microsoft isn't giving people much of a carrot to make the move," says
Tom Bittman, Gartner tech analyst. "It's using more of a big stick."
But that's risky. Some tech buyers ? fuming about Microsoft's new
licensing program that penalizes customers who don't upgrade every three
years ? may look harder at switching to cheaper, less restrictive
alternatives, such as software based on the Linux operating system, tech
analysts say.
* Tough competitors. Microsoft hopes Windows 2003 provides an entree
to the market for high-end data center computing. The hot item in that
arena: application servers, which tie together big databases and complex
business applications.
Windows 2003 is Microsoft's version of an application server. But it is
going up against savvy, entrenched competitors, including IBM, BEA
Systems, Oracle and Sun Microsystems.
Big Blue has set the pace, installing application servers for 500 or
more computer users at dozens of big companies, including Home Depot,
Charles Schwab, eBay, CNN and Panasonic.
* A late start. Microsoft's rivals have been selling application
servers for five years, so Microsoft must play catch-up. The stakes are
lofty. Gartner estimates corporations will spend $3.2 billion on
application servers by 2006, up from $1.8 billion this year. Whoever
supplies the application server gets first crack at billions more
expected to be spent on related software and services.
That's where Microsoft, launching the product Thursday in San Francisco,
would like to play. "We're working very hard to deliver a comprehensive,
integrated solution because that's what the marketplace has challenged
us to do," says Microsoft Vice President Bill Veghte.
Making bagels, not software
Microsoft is just beginning to court customers like Fleischer's Bagels,
a $20 million-a year wholesale bakery near Rochester, N.Y. It has 28 PCs
linked to two Windows NT servers. Fleischer's is a model for how
Microsoft sees businesses ? large and small ? migrating to its products.
Networked computing
Application servers help companies build more sophisticated computer
networks. Worldwide sales, in billions:
2002 $1.6
20031 $1.8
20041 $2.2
20051 $2.6
20061 $3.2
1 - projected. Source: Gartner Dataquest
Last month, Fleischer's upgraded its NT servers ? which handle e-mail,
accounting, inventory control and production scheduling ? to Windows
2003 and installed Microsoft's SQL Server database.
The company was then able to use Pocket PCs, which use a miniaturized
Windows operating system, to wirelessly transmit operations data from
different parts of the plant back to the servers.
Customized programs ? written with Microsoft tools ? then automatically
process the data.
In addition to boosting efficiency, the new system lightened the plant
manager's peripheral duties. "As a small company, we all wear more than
one hat," says operations chief Jodie Fleischer.
"This gives us more time to spend doing our primary thing: making
bagels."
On 2003.04.24 18:41 Ruben I Safir wrote:
>
> Where is that database of componies in our area?
>
>
>
> Microsoft Corp. is pushing out a 64-bit database with performance it
> boasts will rival those of Unix-based systems along with greater ease
of
> use and lower cost.
>
> The company today announced it is shipping SQL Server 2000 Enterprise
> Edition as part of its launch of the Windows Server 2003 platform,
> following in the footsteps of Oracle Corp. and IBM, which have offered
> 64-bit versions of their databases for the Unix and mainframe
platforms
> for years.
>
> Oracle also announced the availability of an optimized version of its
> Oracle9i Database Release 2 for 64-bit Windows Server 2003.
>
> This 64-bit Microsoft database now gives customers who need an
> enterprise-strength database a choice other than the Unix platform,
said
> Sheryl Tullis, product manager for SQL Server. "For customers that
need
> high-powered computing, this makes it attainable without the upfront
> maintenance and management costs of Unix systems."
>
> Tests indicate the database will have 512GB of addressable memory,
> double what was available under 32-bit SQL Server.
>
> A couple of SQL users already are or have plans to bring up 64-bit
SQL.
> At Forest Hills, N.Y.-based airline JetBlue Airways Corp., IT staff
have
> been live since December on a 64-bit SQL Server database that supports
> the company's frequent-flier application, said CIO Jeff Cohen. His
staff
> is also in the process of building a 64-bit SQL Server-based data
> warehouse to run customer analytics.
>
> Simultaneously, the airline is running 32-bit SQL Server to support
> internal business applications, as well as an Oracle database for
> special aviation applications. Cohen said that when using the 32-bit
SQL
> Server for the frequent-flier application, JetBlue had to keep adding
> more servers and processors to maintain performance. With a 64-bit
> architecture, the company was able to shrink a three-box Proliant
system
> with 12 processors to one four-way Hewlett-Packard box.
>
> "We were very thrilled by performance," said Cohen, who said that
64-bit
> SQL requires only 10% to 20% CPU utilization, as opposed to as much as
> 60% with 32-bit SQL.
>
> A couple of analysts had mixed views about the release. Outside of a
> very few organizations that have a need for "serious number
crunching,"
> there will be a limited demand for 64-bit SQL Server, said James
> Governor, an analyst at RedMonk, a consulting firm in Hollis, N.H.
"It's
> the same as ever with 64-bit. It's a technology in search of a mass
> market application. Sixty-four bit is a 'nice to have,' not a 'need to
> have' in many cases." He also wondered how many of Microsoft's
> application partners have optimized their software to exploit 64-bit
> SQL.
>
> According to Tullis, Microsoft has already has signed business
software
> vendors Siebel Systems Inc., PeopleSoft Inc. and SAP AG.
> --
> __________________________
> Brooklyn Linux Solutions
> __________________________
> DRM is THEFT - We are the STAKEHOLDERS http://fairuse.nylxs.com
>
> http://www.mrbrklyn.com - Consulting
> http://www.inns.net <-- Happy Clients
> http://www.nylxs.com - Leadership Development in Free Software
> http://www2.mrbrklyn.com/resources - Unpublished Archive or stories
and
> articles from around the net
> http://www2.mrbrklyn.com/downtown.html - See the New Downtown
> Brooklyn....
>
> 1-718-382-0585
> ____________________________
> NYLXS: New Yorker Free Software Users Scene
> Fair Use -
> because it's either fair use or useless....
> NYLXS is a trademark of NYLXS, Inc
>
--
__________________________
Brooklyn Linux Solutions
__________________________
DRM is THEFT - We are the STAKEHOLDERS http://fairuse.nylxs.com
http://www.mrbrklyn.com - Consulting
http://www.inns.net <-- Happy Clients
http://www.nylxs.com - Leadership Development in Free Software
http://www2.mrbrklyn.com/resources - Unpublished Archive or stories and
articles from around the net
http://www2.mrbrklyn.com/downtown.html - See the New Downtown
Brooklyn....
1-718-382-0585
____________________________
NYLXS: New Yorker Free Software Users Scene
Fair Use -
because it's either fair use or useless....
NYLXS is a trademark of NYLXS, Inc
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