Annex Newsflash 2005-11                                  April 6, 2005

JAPANESE COMPANIES in GLOBAL MARKET

Analysis of New Fujitsu "Wintel" Servers  

New Hat in Linux Ring

Prime Time for New PRIMEQUEST Servers

PHOENIX, Apr 6 – The largest Japanese computer maker has just tossed its hat into the Linux ring with its new "Wintel" server announcement.  And Fujitsu did it in collaboration with Red Hat (a software company) that also partners with IBM (see "IBM Servers to Grow Again," Feb 2005).  So the little Linux penguin keeps on growing by leaps and bounds every quarter.

Unlike IBM, however, whose "Chiphopper" announcement was meant to siphon off the Linux demand from the "Wintel" platform, Fujitsu's will actually add to it.  Under the Global Alliance Partnership, Fujitsu is working closely, not just with Red Hat, but also with Microsoft to develop "mission critical" server features and optimize them for performance benchmarks.

Dubbed PRIMEQUEST™, Fujitsu's new server line "combines mainframe-class fault immunity and high system scalability for industry standard environments running Linux and Windows Server 2003 for Itanium-based systems," the company said in a release.  The new line supplements the PRIMEPOWER™ servers based on the SPARC64^® V processor running the (Sun Microsystems) Solaris™ operating system and PRIMERGY^® industry standard servers. 

The new PRIMEQUEST server architecture provides a high degree of platform fault immunity with up to 8 highly available, independent and hardware isolated partitions - each one being a fully independent 'server' within the system, Fujitsu said.

"PRIMEQUEST servers allow our customers to obtain mission-critical computing on both Linux and Windows Server," said Toshio Morohoshi, president and chief executive officer, Fujitsu Computer Systems (America). "Backed by our mainframe heritage, Fujitsu offers unparalleled reliability on industry-standard operating systems. The PRIMEQUEST server line is poised to deliver the high availability and low total cost of ownership that customers demand."

The advanced chipset on the PRIMEQUEST server delivers two key Fujitsu technologies that provide the highest possible availability in a single system: System Mirror and Flexible I/O (FIO).  So the new servers are not just an Intel technology play.

The PRIMEQUEST server line is also a part of Fujitsu's TRIOLE strategy for optimized IT, which "unites servers, storage, networks and middleware to provide a dynamic and flexible customer IT environment." Fujitsu will introduce TRIOLE templates that will include PRIMEQUEST servers, enabling customers to introduce 64-bit mission-critical Linux and Windows technology into the data center.

In conjunction with marketing the  new servers, Morohoshi told the Forbes magazine that Fujitsu's strategy is to partner with services companies like EDS, storage vendors such as EMC, and software developers like Microsoft, Red Hat and Oracle.  

"With only good hardware, we can't survive [or] compete with IBM everywhere," he said, noting that the 400-strong field service staff Fujitsu picked up from its acquisition of the money-losing mainframe maker Amdahl gives it a plausible base to attack the high-end computing market (see "Amdahl Boosts Fujitsu," Aug 1998).

So it's prime time now for the PRIMEQUEST servers, Fujitsu's latest weapon in its continuing computer wars with IBM.  The more, the merrier... at least from a customer viewpoint.

Happy bargain hunting!

Bob Djurdjevic

For additional Annex Research reports, check out... 

2005 IT:  Fujitsu Unveils New Servers (Mar 2005); EDS Executive Suite; HP's New CEO (Mar 2005);  An iSeries Revival (Mar 2005);  EDS Booster Club Fees Rise (Mar 2005);  An Upside-Down View (Mar 2005);   The Worst of Both Worlds (Mar 2005);   Octathlon 2005: Accenture Wins (Mar 2005);  IBM Global Services: Smaller, Shorter - Better? (Mar 2005);  IBM 5-yr Forecast: Quality over Quantity (Mar 2005); Rumor Lifts EDS', Fujitsu's Shares (Mar 2005); Capgemini: Turning the Corner (Feb 2005);  IBM Servers to Grow Again (Feb 2005);  Carly's Fickle Fans (Feb 2005);  CSC: Gearing Down on Purpose (Feb 2005);  EDS: Grossly Overpriced Stock (Feb 2005);  IBM Historical Update: 2004 Shot in the Arm (Feb 2005); New HeadTurners Series #1 (Feb 2005); IBM: A Crescendo Finale! (Jan 2005); Accenture: Strong Finish, Better Start (Jan 2005); Annex Coverage 2004: IT Services Dominate (Jan 2005)

2004 IT: EDS: The Titanium Stock (and other Wall Street tales) (Dec 2004); IBM PC: Good Riddance (Dec 2004); Fujitsu: Recovery Continues (Nov 2004);  IBM Server Renaissance (Nov 2004);  HP Hits Home Run (Nov 2004); Capgemini: Revenue, Stock Soars (Nov 2004); EDS: Jordan's Swan Song? (Nov 2004);  To Russia with Love and $ (Oct 2004); IBM: Slow Quarter No Longer (Oct 2004); Accenture: Revenues, Profits Up, Stock Down (Oct 2004); Capgemini: A Takeover Target? (Oct 2004); Sellout of America (Oct 2004); Spy Wars (Sep 2004); Outsourcing Boomerang (Sep 2004); EDS to Cut Up to 20,000 More Jobs (Sep 2004); Capgemini Stock Plummets on Unexpected Loss (Sep 2004); HP Savaged by Wall Street (Aug 2004); Moody's Lowers the Boon on EDS (July 2004); HP: Delivering Value Horizontally (June 2004); Accenture: Revving Up a Notch (June 2004); Beware Your CFO! (May 2004); IBM: Changing of the Guard (May 2004); Capgemini: Texas-size Home Run (May 2004); Following the Money (May 2004);  EDS: On a Wink and a Prayer (Apr 2004); HPS Wins by a Nose! (Octathlon 2004); Accenture: Burning the Track (Mar 2004);  IGS: "Crown Jewel" Restored? (Mar 2004); HP: Still No Cigar (Feb 2004); Cap Gemini: Another, Smaller Loss (Feb 2004); CSC: Good Quarter Gets Boos (Feb 2004); EDS: "Hot Air Jordan" Flaunts Flop as Feat (Feb 2004); IT Industry: Whither Goeth It? (Jan 2004); Cronyism Is Alive and Well at EDS" (Jan 2004)

Home | Headlines | Annex Bulletins | Index 2005 | About Founder | Search | Feedback | Clips | Activism | Client quotes | Workshop | Columns | Subscribe