Joey and Intel Investors - Silicon Graphics Introduces Pentium II & XEON Workstations.
Today is the day that SGI finally launches their WINTEL-based workstations - Pentium II and XEON based along with Windows NT for an OS.
Here's a press coverage of the event.
Paul
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dailynews.yahoo.com
Monday January 11 12:42 PM ET
Silicon Graphics Unveils Low-Priced Computers
By Andrea Orr
PALO ALTO, Calif. (Reuters) - Silicon Graphics Inc. (NYSE:SGI - news), often known as a BMW of the computer industry for its high-quality, high-priced workstations, Monday introduced dramatically cheaper machines in an effort to reclaim business from its bargain-minded competitors.
For the company, the new products are the first visible fruit of a yearlong effort to turn around its ailing business and shake its image as a computer maker for the exclusive few.
For its customers, Silicon Graphics promises to deliver state-of-the-art graphics and design capabilities in ordinary
desktop computers -- machines costing between $3,000 and $6,000 it says will perform many of the same functions previously reserved for its $25,000 models.
''We're going to spawn a whole new set of customers who will say, 'Wow, I didn't know I could do that','' explained Murali Dharan, vice president of marketing at Silicon Graphics' workstation division.
Along with offering lower prices, the company hopes to attract more customers by conforming for the first time to the industry standard. The new workstations will run on Intel Corp. (Nasdaq:INTC - news) chips and the Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT - news) Windows NT operating system.
''SGI's installed base of customers is foaming at the mouth for these things,'' said Jay Moore, an analyst for Aberdeen Group. ''It is a real coming-out party for Silicon Graphics. They've really faded into the background over the last few years.''
Years ago, the Silicon Graphics' name was synonymous with special effects and computer-generated visualization. Its workstations are still used by engineers, scientists and artists for all sorts of simulation such as automobile design and crash tests, urban planning, animation and other special effects.
Silicon Graphics' technology was used in such films as ''Jurassic Park'', ''Forrest Gump'', ''A Bug's Life'', ''Antz'', and
''Prince of Egypt''. But over the years, more computer makers like IBM and Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HWP - news) figured out ways to deliver many of the same functions in far more affordable boxes.
''Early this decade, Silicon Graphics machines did all the special-effects work in movies, and you saw special effects
mainly in high-budget movies,'' says IDC analyst Tom Copeland. ''Now there are special effects in everything, even a lot of television shows.''
As a result, Silicon Graphics fell into a position similar to that of Apple Computer before the iMac revival: it rigidly adhered to the highest quality standards but lost touch with much of its market. (Like Apple's iMac, Silicon Graphics' new workstations are blue.)
''I don't think they've ever had a beige box,'' says Copeland. ''Silicon Graphics has always appealed to the visual person rather than the corporate desktop type.''
The challenge now will be to expand that following by convincing more corporate customers its machines are not just comparable but superior to competitive models.
''They've done an amazing job taking the Intel architecture and tweaking it a bit to provide extra value and innovative features,'' says Aberdeen's Moore. ''It remains to be seen how well they market it. Sometimes tweaking scares off customers.''
Analysts also caution that even the best reception of the new workstations will not complete Silicon Graphics'
turnaround. The company, which has been through layoffs and major management shifts in the past year, still needs to
beef up its high-end server business, and demonstrate it can respond to market trends more swiftly than it has done in
the past.
''I see this as a first step. There are several problems that have gotten Silicon Graphics where they are today and no
one system is going to solve that,'' said Copeland.
Earlier Stories
Silicon Graphics To Unveil Low-Priced Computers (January 11) |
