Counting on a Linux push
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| Linux may be the catalyst that boosts sales of blade servers in India.
| As vendors such as IBM, Sun Microsystems, Hewlett-Packard and Dell grapple
| with new strategies to sell the sleek and expensive blade servers, the
| Linux operating system (OS) is the trump card they play to win over
| cost-conscious Indian IT buyers.
|
| Preference for Linux is growing, especially in high-performance
| computing, digital content creation, animation and video segments,
| say sellers of blade servers. The trend is a gradual shift towards Linux.
| The share of Windows and Linux OSs on the blades is currently almost
| equal. Microsoft's OS is more popular for the traditional commercial uses
| (such as exchange and Web site hosting), while Linux is gaining in
| the segments that demand higher processing power, says Viswanath
| Ramaswamy, Country Manager, SystemX, IBM India. IBM India is selling
| blade servers to the retail, banking and insurance as well as
| high-performance computing segments.
|
| Dell, the new entrant, also agrees that the Linux OS is helping
| sales.
|
| "A significant chunk of blade servers we sell is Linux-based,"
| says Rajan Anandan, Vice-President and General Manager, Dell India.
|
| [...]
|
| The L factor
|
| Vendors selling the blade concept to IT buyers are now arm-wrestling
| their way to win over buyers in this high-value, low-volume market.
|
| Hewlett-Packard, with 250 customers, is using the `L' factor to win
| over Sun Microsystem's Unix customers. "Red Hat and Novell have created
| a discipline in the server OS market. Consolidation on Linux is now
| being viewed as a credible option. Buyers of Sun's machines are
| potential customers for conversion," says Dhar.
|
| HP is targeting the telecom and banking sectors for Linux-based blade
| servers. "We see a huge opportunity in Linux replacing Unix machines,"
| says Pallab Talukdar, Director-Enterprise Marketing & Alliances,
| Technology Solutions Group, HP India Sales.
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http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/ew/2006/06/12/stories/2006061200150300.htm
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