A s the dust from Appleis Xserve announcement begins to settle, industry watcher arenit waiting to offer their opinions about Xserve, Appleis latest foray into the cipher-locked chambers that are corporate IT server rooms. The biggest question on most peopleis minds is whether Apple can really make a dent as a server vendor. eWeekis Henry Baltazar thinks Apple has a shot and says as much in an article titled "Apple Takes Several Advantages Into the Server Market." From the article:
Although it would seem like suicide to enter the rough-and-tumble server market, where margins are relatively slim and price wars are commonplace, Apple does have a few things going for it.
He believes Appleis nimbleness gives it an advantage, and its ability to use trend setting technologies may keep it at least on par with the competition. Still, for every ying thereis a yang, and Mr. Baltazar believes that Apple has some sizeable yangs. From the article:
The success of a platform is ultimately determined by the application support it gets.
[...]
Service and support will be another major issue for Apple to tackle. The company is ready to launch with four-hour onsite support and 24-by-7 phone and e-mail support, but claiming and delivering this level of support are two very different things. When security vulnerability and bugs are discovered, Apple must be able to create and deliver patches to its clients in a timely manner.
Stop by eWeek and read the full article.