ompaq's AlphaServer unit, in its first public move since
Compaq finished its acquisition of Digital Equipment, will
cut prices and introduce new server configurations next
Monday.
The price cuts, made possible by Compaq's financial strength
and economies of scale, will help push the AlphaServer
machines out in broader volume, the company claims. While
the Alpha-powered machines are generally known for high
performance, customers leery of Digital's future have
steered clear of investing in the Digital platform.
"Now that financial stability is pretty much not a question
anymore, we're going to be aggressive in the market to grow
the AlphaServer to volume," says Margaret-Ann Bolton,
director of AlphaServer product marketing.
The company will cut its entry-level AlphaServer 800 5/333
to $6,900 from $7,950. In the midrange, the AlphaServer 1200
5/533 will fall to $28,800 from $34,400, and the AlphaServer
4100 5/600 will drop to $66,700 from $82,000. The high-end
AlphaServer 8200 will drop to $129,000 from $175,000, and
the AlphaServer 8400 will fall to $344,000 from $430,000.
Also slated for introduction are M-Series AlphaServers that
are preinstalled in rack mountings. The AlphaServer unit
will also offer its Ready To Go Unix Clusters with RAID
storage as an option, in addition to its original shared-
disk storage.