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To: Mohan Marette who wrote (90197)	1/20/1999 11:13:00 AM
From: Kayaker	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 176387

FRAMINGHAM, Mass., Jan. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- International Data Corporation (IDC) predicts that customer demands for constant, consistent and reliable server uptime will sustain the spending increases in mission-critical support services through 2002. Market drivers include the increasing integration of IT into all business processes and parts of the organization; the increasing pervasiveness of the Internet; the globalization of markets and businesses; and, greater customer leverage in demanding service-level performance. IDC estimates U.S. hardware and software mission-critical server support spending growth of 16.9%, 1997 through 2002, creating a $2.6 billion market by 2002. IDC defines mission-critical or high-availability services as those designed to insure maximum uptime for a customer's server and server environment, often extending into the network infrastructure. They typically include planning, implementation, operational and support services, as well as training for IS personnel. This level of service is typically sold to a customer running an application or applications that need to be available on a 24 x 7 basis, and whose failure results in measurable financial loss for the customer. "Customer demand for uptime is increasing, and service providers have a clear opportunity to fulfill that need," says Doug Chandler, Senior Analyst in IDC's System Support Services program. "Organizations with distributed computing environments in particular need help in ensuring application and data availability." When considering the current field of U.S.-based mission-critical server services providers, the competitors split out into two main categories: market-leader OEMs and secondary OEMs. This new IDC report, Mission-Critical Service and Support: A Competitive Analysis of Leading Providers in the High-Availability Marketplace (IDC #P17808), examines current demand-side and supply-side trends regarding mission-critical (or high-availability) IT services. The study focuses in depth on the mission-critical service and support portfolios of four leading server vendors: Compaq Computer Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co., IBM Corp., and Sun Microsystems Inc. The focus is on distributed (e.g., sub-mainframe) systems and environments. The strengths and weaknesses of current provider offerings in this space are discussed along with forecasts and recommendations regarding the future growth and development of the mission-critical services marketplace. This report is available for purchase by contacting Cheryl Toffel at 508-935-4389 or at ctoffel@idc.com.