News Release

June 24, 2004

For information contact Press Relations: 650·390·0700 x260

Welcome to the Revolution:
Disruptive Technologies and 64-bit Computing

The Sageza Group releases its latest Competitive Review of the 64-bit Computing Marketplace

Union City, California (BUSINESS WIRE) Most people regard enterprise computing as a landscape of robust 64-bit computing products such as IBM’s POWER-based eServers, Sun’s UltraSPARC, and HP’s PA-RISC and Alpha, as well as solutions based on Intel’s Itanium. However, during the past two years enterprise IT has experienced tectonic shifts, some expected and others driven by the unexpected success of hybrid 64-bit technologies such as AMD’s Opteron. In sharp contrast to conventional wisdom, the most truly disruptive enterprise IT trends are occurring not in high-end solutions, but rather in the low and middle ground, sparked by processors that can natively support mixed 32- and 64-bit applications and processes. What does this revolution in 64-bit computing mean for IT organizations, their users, and the vendors competing for supremacy in this marketplace?

Welcome to the Revolution: Disruptive Technologies and 64-bit Computing, the latest report in Sageza’s Competitive Review series, examines the 64-bit computing market and analyzes the many issues that are driving these solutions into businesses and organizations. While powering high performance applications continues to lead traditional 64-bit deployments, the compelling price/performance of 64-bit extensions technologies combined with the need to access and manipulate ever increasing amounts of data across a variety of general purpose business computing needs are creating a host of opportunities for IT vendors and customers alike.

Opteron provides businesses IT capabilities once available only with dedicated 64-bit solutions. AMD’s decision to deliver unique IT innovations to entirely new classes of customers may qualify as the largest disruption of all,” states Charles King, Research Director for The Sageza Group. “Despite the efforts of some vendors to pigeonhole 64-bit extensions technologies as appropriate for only limited applications, the success of these platforms will depend more on the needs and imaginations of end users than on IT vendor strategizing,” adds King.

The report finds that while each vendor seeks to maximize its unique customer value in order to bolster its own competitive advantage, there are three basic camps of market positioning:

      those who envision enterprise-class computing solely as a 64-bit affair,

      those who envision 32-bit /64-bit hybrid solutions as a limited and therefore niche market play, and 

      those who envision general-purpose 32-bit and 64-bit solutions operating side by side for a long time to come.

“These 64-bit technologies represent a new opportunity for vendors to drive their strategic visions into the market. The question remains how processor, systems, and software vendors will leverage their 64-bit experience in order to gain maximum benefit from new technologies without damaging the sales or reputations of their traditional 64-bit solutions,” states King. “Obviously, some vendors have finer lines to walk than others. However, if 64-bit extensions-based solutions continue to deliver breakthrough performance over time, they are likely, with the help of eager ISVs and willing customers, to break these technologies out of the box in which some vendors would prefer they stay.”

 

Welcome to the Revolution: Disruptive Technologies and 64-bit Computing analyzes the opportunities and challenges in the growing movement towards 64-bit computing in the IT community. The report discusses the competitive positioning and strategies of several processor, platform/software, and system vendors. It is available immediately from The Sageza Group, Inc. and may be purchased at http://www.sageza.com or through third party distributors including Global Information, Inc.; Mindbranch, Inc., Marketresearch.com, and Amazon.com

 

Members of the press/media wishing to speak with one of our analysts are encouraged to contact press_relations@sageza.com or phone 650·390·0700 x260. The Sageza Group provides forward-looking market analysis of business technology and has offices in Silicon Valley, London, and Milan.

 

The Sageza Group, Inc.

32108 Alvarado Blvd #354

Union City, CA 94587

650·390·0700   fax 650·649·2302

London +44 (0) 20·7900·2819

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