“Ausmelt is a $13 million outfit that supplies smelting technology services around the clock to huge global enterprises such as Alcoa, Mitsui, Korea Zinc and Rio Tinto… there’s not a Mac in sight among its 40-odd Windows XP and 2000 desktop computers – but there is a dual-processor Apple Xserve network server at the centre of this hub of industry,” David Frith reports for Australian IT.
“The Xserve has replaced an older Windows NT server felt to be too expensive – given Microsoft’s hefty site licensing fees – and no longer up to the job,” Frith reports. “The Apple machine was installed in less than two hours, cost about half the price of a Windows server upgrade, and has significantly better performance, Ausmelt says. The Xserve is a tiny thing, just 4cm high. But, now powered by IBM’s 64-bit G4 PowerPC processors, it packs a mighty wallop
I also see the Ausmelt deal as being significant to Apple because Ausmelt was a sole PC user with PC work stations and servers prior to considering Xserve, which i understand they did solely on a cost factor. Xserve worked out to be cheaper than HP, Dell, IBM. I undestand that the Xserve cost the company in the region of $19,000 AUS which no other supplier could match. if it hadnt been for the Xserve being the cheapest they would have stayed with a regular PC server supplier.
The fact that Ausmelt has gone with Apple also provides a usefull case study for other companies who are entirely PC workstation/server based to show them that they can happily run Xserve soley as a PC server where prior to OSX this would not have been possible or at least not feasible.
It is not the quantity that matters. It is the mind share. The more companies shows that Mac OS X is an industrial strength OS and that Apple and their hardwares are enterprise-worthy, the more IT people and/or upper management trust that they too can use Apple regardless the original mindset (Apple is for graphic design, Apple is beleguered, Apple==vendor lock-in, etc.) or at least notice and consider how Apple can fit into their organization. Lots of articles showed that some IT people are pleasantly surprised at how well Apple hardwares are built and how well they play in their network. Once Apple wins the mind share, it is not inconceivable that companies will start to put Apple computers on the desktops.
Viridian, what are the parameters for this challenge?
“Mar 29, 04 | 1:30 pm
If only Apple could build desktop computers that had better performance for half the price…
That’s an unreasonable demand. Name a computer with even similar performance as any of Apple’s machines for half the price, not to mention the bundled software.”
Other than, of course, NOT mentioning the bundled software?