InformationWeek

Unisys, AT&T Seek Greater PC Presence

Both vendors plan to expand in crowded PC server field

By Brian Gillooly
Issue date: June 19, 1995

Information systems managers who have dealt with Unisys and AT&T for enterprise systems are about to see their partners in a new light. Both companies are set to announce this month an expansion of their presence in the PC arena, particularly with PC-based servers.

These announcements mean IS managers will have more choices in the rapidly crowding market for low-cost, Intel-based departmental or workgroup servers--an area th at Compaq has long dominated.

More choices are good for information technology buyers, says John Miller, data communications specialist with HealthCare Compare, a health-care cost-management company in Downers Grove, Ill., that uses Compaq PC servers. "We're always reviewing our server options," he says. "Compaq changes its systems often and may not have what we're looking for next time, so we'd give the new guys a shot."

On June 14, AT&T Global Information Solutions will unveil the single-processor Globalyst S10 and four-processor Globalyst S40 servers. Prices start at $3,650 for a 60-MHz S10 Pentium with 16 Mbytes of RAM, a 1-Gbyte hard drive, a 600-Mbyte CD-ROM drive, and communications software. A 75-MHz Pentium for $5,225 and a 90-MHz Pentium for $6,925 also will be introduced.

AT&T's symmetrical multiprocessing S40 servers start at $9,175 for a 100-MHz Pentium with 32 Mbytes of RAM. A dual-processor with 64 Mbytes of memory and an 8-Gbyte hard drive has a list price of $21,545; a four- chip unit with 128 Mbytes of RAM and 12-Gbytes of storage goes for $37,455.

Unisys is expanding its PC server line on June 20 with two rackmount models in its PW2 Advantage series that store as many as three servers using four 90-MHz, 100-MHz, or 120-MHz Pentium processors, each in one cabinet. They support up to 1 Gbyte of RAM and 72 Gbytes of storage and include Windows NT, SCO Open Server, and NetWare or OS/2 with Unisys' VisiNet network management software.

Unisys is boosting its Pentium servers with new 100-MHz, 120-MHz, and 133-MHz options.

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