Also from *ntel News Network,
Edit: oops, Paul and Scot already posted this:^)
yahoo.cnet.com
AMD teams up with Computer Associates on business push
By Michael Kanellos
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
February 8, 2000, 11:00 a.m. PT
The ambitions of Advanced Micro Devices to get into the working world took another step forward
today when it announced a collaboration with Computer Associates on software for managing
AMD-based computers in corporate environments.
Under the pact, the two will release on March 1 a version of CA's desktop management software,
called Unicenter TNG Desktop Edition, for computers using AMD processors. With Unicenter,
business IT (information technology) managers can monitor the health of desktops and take
corrective measures, such as scan for viruses, speed up internal fans or shut down desktops entirely,
from remote locations.
"We realized there was a real need for a solution that would
demystify how PCs communicate problems and alerts," said Mark
Sokol, senior vice president for global marketing at CA.
While software like this has been around for a few years, most of it
has been designed to run Intel processors, which sit at the center of
the vast majority of business PCs. AMD, however, hopes to change
that with Athlon, the company's touted performance processor
released last Summer.
Although still largely found in consumer PCs, Athlon has been
getting increased interest from the workstation and business PC
divisions of major manufacturers, according to AMD executives and
analysts. Yesterday, IBM executives said that they would include
AMD processors in discount "Stardust" PCs for business, coming in the second quarter.
The company also demonstrated a 1.1-GHz Athlon processor at the International Solid-State
Circuits Conference in San Francisco.
The business market is far larger than the consumer market but much more conservative, thus it is
more reluctant to experiment with new technology. AMD's goal is to achieve 30 percent market
share and the company will "never get there without substantial penetration into the commercial
market," AMD chief executive W.J. "Jerry" Sanders said last month. Therefore, support from IBM and
CA will likely help build momentum for AMD.
CA's software will manage a gamut of functions, according to Sokol. IT managers will be able to use
it to scan for viruses, keep an inventory on internal components and component changes, deliver
software, detect chassis intrusion and monitor the internal temperature of the PC, among other
tasks.
The software will be free and available on the web sites of both companies.
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