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http://www.insanely-great.com/news.php?id=483
Is XServer''s Enemy Within Windows or Linux?
By Remy Davison, Insanely Great Mac
May 30th 2002
Will we bury you, Linus? We''re Coming to Get You, Buddy.
Charles Haddad''s lastest BusinessWeek column focuses on Apple''s new XServe
rack-mount server. Haddad thinks - and some analysts support him - that XSwrve may
well give corporate and educational information technology officers the option to
consider another platform - albeit one that runs on a BSD Unix backbone.
Haddad also cites XServe''s low price, particularly in relation to comparable IBM
servers, which can be double the $3,000 price tag. The unlimited OS X Server license
also seems to be a major drawcard in this age of Windows rental.
Charles thinks Apple''s biggest market may be in schools, away from the
corporate-dominated Windows field. But we think perhaps Haddad misses the importance
of the Linux equation.
Many IT managers - whether through personal prejudice or personal preference - opt for
Linux over Windows, convincingly citing the easily-violated security of Windows
networks, a problem Microsoft has been unable or unwilling to satisfactorily resolve
since the first editions of NT came out.
Unix, while not free of security vices either, is inexpensive to run quickly and
efficiently on cheap x86 hardware. IBM, and some other PC manufacturers in the server
game, have recognized the wide market potential for Linux as a Unix-based alternative
to Windows-based servers, and IBM has been the most conspicuously-successful firm to
do this. Simultaneously, IBM has managed to both distinguish itself from its
competitors in the market, such as Sun, as well as distance itself from its earlier
dependence upon Microsoft.
Apple isn''t in the same position, but it is poised to become one of the biggest
distributors of Unix. On the desktop, it probably already is. But XServe and OS X
server, as well as the hardware they run on, will need to be highly-impressive - and
not just cheaper - in order to lure Linux admins in corporate environments to OS X
Server.
But, assuming Apple succeed in making XServe more than a niche player in the server
market, who will get hurt by this? Microsoft? Unlikely. Linux? Probably. Even devoted
Linux users have admitted that the OS X GUI shames other attempts at Unix with a human
face into the corner with embarrassment.
But this is the (mulit-billion dollar) question:
- Whose market ahare is Apple after?
- Who will get hurt?
- Who will lose?
[If you''re a sys admin or involved in IT purchasing for a corporation or school,
we''d welcome your feedback, by the way. Tell us what you think].
Clearly, Apple thinks it has a winner. "The Xserve does address a vacuum in our
market," says Phil Schiller, Apple''s senior vice-president for worldwide product
marketing. "Customers have been begging us for something like this." Indeed, Apple
designed the Xserve after conducting extensive market research that included asking
customers to describe their dream server.
HEADACHE CURED.� Schiller sees the Xserve as a triple marketing play. First, it takes
away a reason for all-Mac shops to leave the platform. Their networks are now built
out of desktop Macs running OS X Server software. That solution works, but it''s both
expensive and inefficient. Nor can desktop Macs be stacked in racked columns for
combined processing power. The Xserve can.
Second, Schiller sees Xserve shoring up the gray market of Mac users within PC
organizations. The Xserve gives these schools and businesses less incentive to dump
their Macs, as they''ve been doing in growing numbers in recent years. In hybrid
networks, IT managers could employ the Xserve for its Mac users, because it can talk
easily to its Linux and Windows counterparts. This was a major headache in the past.
And lastly, Schiller believes the Xserve will tempt some PC shops to switch to the
Mac, especially those who''ve already jettisoned Windows for Linux. Winning over new
adherents won''t be easy or quick, Schiller readily concedes, but it''s doable.
FIVE-YEAR WAIT.� Wishful thinking? Certainly many Mac renegades in PC-dominated IT
departments are salivating at the prospect of a strong Apple server product to pitch
to their bosses. But I''m afraid that, no matter how good the Xserve, it will be an
uphill sell in most businesses.
For one thing, Apple has been out of the server business for five years. And before
that, it went in and out of the market, which eroded confidence in the company''s
ability -- and staying power.
Today, there''s little institutional support for Apple. Most IT managers have been
trained on Windows machines. And Microsoft has done a good job of persuading IT
managers that the Mac OS isn''t serious business. Ironically, OS X''s stunning
interface only reinforces that impression. To IT managers, OS X''s eye candy consumes
precious processing power that could be better used speeding the network as a whole.
CLASS ACT.� I think the Xserve''s biggest potential market is schools. This is one
area where the Mac still dominates, although it''s fast losing the lead. A server
product would greatly help to shore up Apple''s position.
Schools are becoming increasingly dependent on computers, using them for everything
from posting homework assignments online to letting kids do research on the Net. But
schools struggle with how to join all their new machines together. The powerful,
relatively inexpensive, and easy-to-use Xserve could be the glue they''re looking for
-- and it might be just what Apple needs to persuade administrators to stick with the
Mac.
Post your comments at:
http://www.insanely-great.com/news.php?id=483
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Copyright (c) 2002 Insanely Great Mac. All rights reserved. This article
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