IBM, Intel and Microsoft Advance Intel-based Servers for the Data Center

Business Wire, Oct 3, 2002

Business & Technology Editors

ARMONK, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 3, 2002

Firms Work with Customers, Software Vendors and Systems

Integrators to Deliver Highly Scalable Intel Xeon Processor

Mp-Based Solutions for the Enterprise

Building on its increasing momentum in high-end Intel processor-based servers, IBM today announced an initiative with support from Intel Corporation and Microsoft to accelerate the development of powerful, Intel(R) Xeon(TM) processor MP and Microsoft(R) Windows(R)-based solutions for enterprise customers.

The firms are working with leading systems integrators and independent software vendors, including J.D. Edwards, SAP AG and SAS, to provide customers a portfolio of highly scalable application solutions running on the IBM eServer xSeries 440 system -- which supports from four to 16 processors -- that are tested to handle demanding e-business workloads.

The primary objective is to bring a comprehensive, solutions-based approach to high-end Intel processor-based servers that will allow customers to select server hardware, operating systems, software applications and middleware--such as IBM DB2(R) database software and Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition--with systems integration, marketing and sales support.

The move comes as IBM continues to make strong gains in eight-way Intel processor-based servers, largely on the popularity of the x440 and its modular, "pay-as-you-grow" approach. According to industry analyst International Data Corporation's Quarterly Server Tracker, IBM gained 17.3 points in eight-processor Intel-based servers year-to-year, comparing the second quarter of 2002 with the second quarter of 2001 (1).

"Customers have responded very positively to the IBM x440 as they look to reduce cost and complexity in their data centers by deploying mission-critical workloads on powerful, Intel-based systems," said Susan Whitney, general manager, IBM eServer xSeries. "Our goal is to accelerate the development of scalable, integrated solutions that take full advantage of the x440's Enterprise X-Architecture technology and address the requirements of enterprise customers on Windows."

"Microsoft has enjoyed great momentum in high-end, business-critical server environments with Windows 2000 Advanced and Datacenter Server products in the past year," said Bill Veghte, vice president of Windows Server Product Management Group, Microsoft Corp. "Microsoft continues to work closely with key industry companies such as IBM, as well as ISVs and integrators, to make sure we consistently provide enterprise customers an extraordinary price/performance value in highly reliable, scalable solutions built around Windows Server-based systems."

As part of today's announcement, IBM unveiled a new Customer Solutions Lab to help customers and software vendors optimize their applications to take advantage of the outstanding performance and scalability made possible by running Windows Server products on the IBM x440 system. Located near Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Wash., the lab gives customers, ISVs and systems integrators access to IBM and Microsoft products and technical leaders, as well as providing a range of migration, application scaling, benchmarking, performance validation, and marketing and sales support.

"Intel continues to deliver increasingly powerful and reliable microprocessors for servers and workstations," said John Davies, vice president and director of Intel's Solutions Market Development Group. "By engaging in activities such as the new Customer Solutions Lab with IBM and Microsoft, we are helping customers and developers optimize applications for faster deployment, greater uptime and improved reliability in high-end systems."

Introduced earlier this year, the IBM x440 is a game-changing Intel-based server designed to help meet the performance, reliability and scalability requirements of corporate data center customers. Powered by IBM Enterprise X-Architecture technology, the x440 offers a "building block" approach that allows customers to pay for computing power incrementally as they need it, with support for up to 16 Intel Xeon processors MP.

The x440 supports Microsoft Windows 2000 Server, Advanced Server and Datacenter Server, and will support the upcoming Windows .NET Server family.

"As a leading provider of e-business software solutions, we are very pleased to be working with IBM, Intel and Microsoft, three of our most strategic relationships, to deliver a consolidated and scalable infrastructure for mySAP.com(R) solutions," said Stephan Rossius, senior vice president of global partner management, SAP AG. "SAP customers can now experience the dynamic flexibility of using IBM Enterprise X-Architecture technology with a powerful system, the x440, together with Microsoft's enterprise-ready platforms. On this single, comprehensive infrastructure, customers will be able to run our powerful mission-critical solutions, such as mySAP(TM) Supply Chain Management, or even multiple SAP(R) solutions, such as mySAP Customer Relationship Management, integrated with SAP Enterprise Resource Planning."