Quantcast
Subscribe to magazine

Dell Will Wait and See on Itanium 2

Company is delaying the launch of a server based on Intel's new chip until it sees more customer demand.

Laura Rohde, IDG News Service

  • 0 Yes
  • 0 No

Dell Computer has decided to take a wait-and-see approach to the second generation Intel 64-bit Itanium processor, Itanium 2, which will be officially launched on Monday.

"Dell has made a decision to delay the launch of a next generation IA-64 server until stronger customer demand materializes," Sinead Murphy, a spokesperson for Dell's U.K. and Ireland division, says in an e-mail response to questions on Friday.

Dell, based in Round Rock, Texas, will monitor the market and "when a higher volume customer demand exists, Dell will be ready with its next generation of Itanium-based products," Murphy says.

The company based its decision on a number of factors including the lack of "mature" 64-bit operating systems and applications for the processor, Murphy says.

"Itanium-based servers today are primarily used in software development activities and consequently there are specific segments and interests in serving the market today to meet their current needs," Murphy says.

Moving Slowly

While Hewlett-Packard has already announced a number of servers, workstations, and software based around Itanium 2, Dell and IBM have both been slow in announcing their plans for the processor. Some analysts were already forecasting that Dell would not initially be making major Itanium 2 announcements next week.

"Dell stuck its toe in the water with Itanium 1 and it was not overwhelmed with the response from consumers. It comes as no surprise that Dell is saying that it'll wait and see as its business model would require products with Itanium 2 to be a viable market proposition very quickly. I don't see that happening until the third or even fourth generation of Itanium," says Andrew Butler, a vice president at the U.K. division of Gartner.

Dell sees its current PowerEdge product line based on the Intel Xeon processor as continuing to provide the performance and value required by its customers, and the company's relationship with Intel remains strong, Murphy says.

Dell also has no plans exit the IA-64 market space, with the PowerEdge 7150 remaining in Dell's portfolio of PowerEdge servers, Murphy says.

According to Murphy, Dell has the flexibility to respond quickly if customer demand for products using Itanium 2 should change in the future.

  • Recommend this story?
  • 0 Yes
    0 No

Print 65% more pages than with refilled inks. Trust Original HP Inks. Hit Print Reliably.

Featured APC Accessories For Your System
10% Off Entire Cart at Online Store

  • APC Back-UPS ES Safeguards your equipment from damaging surges and spikes that travel along your utility & data lines.
  • APC SurgeArrest Performance Highest level of protection for your professional computers, electronics and connected devices, as well as provides surge protection.

People who read this also read:

  • 2007 Microsoft Office Suites Comparison This paper compares and contrasts four suites of the 2007 Microsoft Office system: Microsoft Office Standard 2007, Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2007, Microsoft Office Enterprise 2007 and Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007. This paper is intended to help organizations understand the applications and capabilities offered, and to identify the suite that best fits their needs.
  • Windows Vista Migration: The Business Proposition It's not so much a matter of "if" but "when" for most organizations regarding migration to Windows Vista. Laying the groundwork now for this migration can yield higher ROI than waiting until later. This Computerworld Technology Briefing explains it all.

PC World's Marketplace