Hi Paul, Two Articles...IBM, last major Unix holdout, makes Intel chip plan......SCO, IBM & Intel Form Broad Unix Strategic Alliance...
October 27, 1998
NEW YORK, Reuters [WS] : IBM unveiled on Monday a broad set of alliances to allow its version of Unix, the high-powered business software system, to run on new and upcoming Intel computer chips, a move that fortifies the fractured Unix market against inroads by Microsoft Corp.'s rival Windows NT system.
IBM (IBM.N) said it had agreed to strategic pacts with Santa Cruz Operation Inc. (SCOC.O), the largest supplier of Unix software operating on Intel-based computers, and Sequent (SQNT.O), a supplier of technology that allows computers to be strung together to give them supercomputer-like performance.
The three partners agreed to develop a single software operating system that will control computers running both Intel Corp. (INTC.O) computer chips and IBM's own non-Intel based microprocessors.
In addition, the partners said a variety of other computer makers will use the new Unix system in their own machines, including Unisys (UIS.N), Groupe Bull (BULP.PA), Thomson-CSF (TCFP.PA), Acer (2306.TW) and Fujitsu's (6702.T) ICL unit.
Casey Powell, Sequent's chairman and chief executive, said in an interview that IBM, SCO and Sequent each bring specific benefits to the alliance.
''SCO is providing large volumes of customers, (Sequent) is providing technology at very high end, and IBM is providing the middleware'' that interconnects the complex software system together, Powell said.
Santa Cruz Operation, or SCO, has roughly 80 perecent of the market for Unix software on Intel-based computers. Its software is used to run the central computer systems for many small- and medium-sized businesses and retail chain outlets.
IBM and Intel's backing should help attract a wider range of independent software suppliers to write Unix-based programmes. This might include automation and database software that links together key business operations in various parts of a company, like manufacturing, sales, and payroll, an SCO spokesman said.
The first product to result from the alliance will be a new version of SCO's UnixWare software that adds features from IBM and Sequent software. The new UnixWare, designed to run on Intel's current line of Xeon high-speed computer chips, is due out in the second half of 1999.
The partners then plan to introduce a common version of the operating system designed to work on Merced-based computers as that chip becomes available in 2000, the companies said.
The alliance's Unix products also will run on IBM computers running its own PowerPC and RS/6000 microprocessors as well as IBM NetFinity servers that are based on Intel chips.
SCO and Sequent also will continue to offer their own computers running the integrated Unix system, they added.
An Intel spokesman said IBM was the last major hold-out among major computer suppliers to pledge to make their Unix-based computer systems run on Intel-based computers.
The Armonk, N.Y.-based computer giant joins rival Sun Microsystems Inc. (SUNW.O), Hewlett-Packard Co. (HWP.N), and Compaq Computer Corp.'s (CPQ.N) Digital business, which have struck similar deals with Intel in the past year.
Traditionally, these computer rivals developed their own separate flavors of Unix, which ran only on the company's own computer hardware, preventing Unix from developing a broader audience.
Unix software, while long considered a reliable system for high-volume business activities such as retail order processing, has suffered due to the computer industry's unwillingness to agree on common standards.
But the promise of a new generation of low-cost, high-power Intel computer chips, code-named Merced and due to ship sometime in the Year 2000, has enticed computer makers to refocus development efforts on software based on Intel chips.
By running on Intel chips, Unix-based computers will be able to compete more effectively on price versus Windows NT, Microsoft's fast-growing business software system, which relies on Intel chips to run powerful computer systems at low cost.
By mid-afternoon Monday, IBM stock gained $2.125 to $143.69, just off a record high it set earlier in the day, in composite New York Stock Exchange trading. SCO had gained 62.5 cents to $4.75 and Sequent was also up 62.5 cents to $10.125, both on Nasdaq.
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SCO, IBM & Intel Form Broad Unix Strategic Alliance
October 27, 1998
SANTA CRUZ, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., Newsbytes : SCO [NASDAQ:SCOC] has hopped into bed with IBM [NYSE:IBM],inviting Intel [NASDAQ:INTC] and Sequent [NASDAQ:SQNT] to the bedside, to further the development of Intel-based Unix servers.
The move sticks a rather large spike in the side of Microsoft, which has been reeling over the last few days owing to the much-publicized Department of Justice court action concerning Windows and Internet Explorer.
When viewed against the backdrop of the resurgence in interest in Unix over the last few years, and the distinct possibility that the mighty Microsoft empire may be dismantled by the US courts, the move to encourage interest in Unix on the latest generation Intel microprocessors is very timely, Newsbytes notes.
One of the biggest problems facing would-be users of Unix on the Intel platform, however, has always been the variety of Unix flavors that different vendors have released. IBM's AIX, for example, is recognized as a powerful Unix variant, but it is platform-specific, in this case to Big Blue's RS/6000 series.
Implementing Unix on a PC platform, however, has been kept alive by the availability of the Linux freeware. Several vendors have, over the last year, released or committed to, Linux versions of their server applications, a move which was capped recently by Intel's decision to invest in Linux distributor, Red Hat Software,
The plan now is for SCO and IBM, in collaboration with Intel, Sequent, and others, to aggressively accelerate worldwide growth of Intel processor-based Unix servers for the enterprise. There are also plans to deliver a single Unix product line for today's Intel IA-32 systems and future IA-64 systems.
The result, officials say, will be a single product line that will run on IA- 32, IA-64, and IBM microprocessor systems that range from entry- level servers to large enterprise environments.
Under the new agreement, Big Blue will make SCO's UnixWare 7 its 32- bit Unix operating system for the high-volume Intel-architecture enterprise market. IBM says that it will apply substantial resources to promote and sell the UnixWare 7 operating system worldwide, and will offer it as a member of its new Unix product line.
In addition, Big Blue says it will contribute AIX technology to SCO's UnixWare to enhance its scalability and enterprise capability. This, the computer giant says, will complement the data-center engineering collaboration by SCO's OEM (original equipment manufacturer) partners (Compaq, Data General, ICL, and Unisys) to integrate extensive data- center capabilities into the UnixWare platform.
IBM says that it is also allocating engineering resources to ensure the availability of IBM and AIX middleware on the UnixWare platform.
Over time, SCO and IBM plan to increase compatibility between UnixWare and AIX, providing ISVs (independent software vendors) access to a single platform to port to for Unix systems on Intel and Power processors, while giving enterprise users greater choice and opportunity in using key applications.
Both companies are also ramping up for the development of a 64-bit Unix operating system that will be backwards compatible with existing 32-bit Unix versions. The masterplan calls on the industry to initially run 64-bit Unix on an IA-64 architecture.
Doug Michels, SCO's president, said that the firm was very pleased that Big Blue has made such a strong commitment to SCO.
"Since applications are the key to the success of both a platform and its users, SCO is especially excited to be working with IBM and Intel to make it easy and attractive for ISVs to create software for a single target Unix system environment that covers the entire range of enterprise computing," he said.
Dr. John Kelley, vice president of server development with IBM, meanwhile, said that combining UnixWare, AIX and SCO's market share leadership will create a high-volume platform for Intel-based servers.
"With Intel's support, this platform will become the leading Unix operating system for Intel-architecture based servers," he said. |
