ITworld: Xserve Is Starting To Make A Dent In The Corporate Market

I Tworld.com has published an article that will be good news to some folks in Cupertino. According to the article, Appleis Xserve is starting to make a dent in the corporate market, pushed in part by resellers who are excited about it. Xserve is Appleis rackmount server that is 1U tall, meaning that it takes up one unitis slot in a rackmount. It comes with an unlimited client license for Mac OS X Server, something for which Microsoft and some Unix vendors charge many thousands of dollars. That helps make the hardware itself very attractive.

ITworld.com cites several PC vendors who cater to the server market who have very good things to say about both Xserve and the demand for Xserve. The entire piece practically gushes with positive comments. From the article:

After years of encouragement from Apple Computer Inc., people finally are switching to the companyis computers, but in an unexpected way.

Apple, best known for its flashy desktop and notebook computers, has attracted a new set of converts among hardware resellers with its Xserve rack server, released in May. Companies used to selling servers from hardware heavyweights such as Sun Microsystems Inc. and IBM Corp. have started to add the Xserve to their lineups, saying the system brings Appleis celebrated ease-of-use expertise to a powerful server. The combination of elegant software and a well-constructed system have the resellers convinced Apple can reach out beyond its loyal customer base and into the data center.

"It surprised us, because the demand for Xserve is better than we thought it would be," said Robert Wilkins, executive vice president of PC Connection Inc. a Merrimack, New Hampshire-based computer seller. "Our sales have more than quadrupled on the Xserve in the last month, and we have a good mix of new customers and existing customers upgrading to the new server."

Although analysts doubt Appleis ability to bite off a big chunk of the server market, they do say the company has come up with a system that could stir up healthy competition with its rivals. Appleis Unix-based Mac OS X Server operating system with an unlimited-client license, coupled with its competitively priced hardware, could be the keys to making the Xserve attractive to new customers. In addition, Apple has added several new management and security tools into Version 10.2 of Mac OS X Server, released last week, that could bolster the Xserveis appeal.

"The new Apple gear runs Unix as its foundation, so there is a real opportunity for people who like something graceful but also need all the normal network services and standard Unix/Linux kind of stuff," said Jonathan Eunice, an analyst at Illuminata Inc., in Nashua, New Hampshire. "That is a powerful dynamic."

There is literally a lot more where that quote came from, and we encourage you to read the full article for yourself.

Richard Burton assisted with this article.