IBM, MSFT in server deal
Companies team to launch low-cost appliance servers for Web sites
March 29, 2000: 11:24 a.m. ET
NEW YORK (Reuters) - International Business Machines Inc. and software maker Microsoft Corp. said Wednesday they will sell a lower-cost computer, known as an appliance server, to be based on Windows 2000 and used for managing Web sites.
The product launch marks Microsoft's entry in the appliance market for computers operating Web sites. This market is expected to generate revenue of over $30 billion through the end of 2004, according to International Data Corp.
Shares of Microsoft, the world's biggest software maker, rose 2 to 106-5/16, while IBM (IBM: Research, Estimates), the world's biggest computer maker, was off 1-1/8 at 121-3/8 in early morning trading on the Nasdaq.
The new appliance server, the IBM Netfinity A-100, uses an operating system based on Microsoft's (MSFT: Research, Estimates) Windows 2000, along with software developed by IBM that can boost the appliance's speed and deliver information more quickly to Internet users.
"It provides for a better client interaction with the Web," Jim Gargan, director of strategy and product marketing for Netfinity, said in an interview.
The Netfinity A-100 is targeted at large corporations that run their own Web sites, as well as companies providing Internet service or software through the Internet, Gargan said.
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