Press/Microsoft WinNT Running on DIGITAL WS Offers 39% Lower Total Cost
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Digital Equipment Corporation
Maynard, Massachusetts 01754-2571
Editorial contact:
Steve Milmore
Digital Equipment Corporation
(508) 493-2969
Phil Holden
Microsoft Corporation
(206) 703-2074
Mary Haigis
Deloitte & Touche Consulting Group
(404) 220-1453
Microsoft Windows NT Running on DIGITAL Workstations Offers 39% Lower
Total Cost of Ownership Compared to UNIX Workstations
Independently Conducted Test Suite Results Prove
Performance Leadership for Digital Alpha Architecture Running
on Windows NT Workstation
MAYNARD, Mass., and REDMOND, Wash., April 14, 1997 - Two independent
studies show Digital Personal Workstations running Microsoft(r)
Windows NT(r) Workstation offer a lower cost of ownership and
dramatically outperform competitors' UNIX offerings.
A Deloitte & Touche Consulting Group study of 113 organizations
concluded that the average three-year total cost of ownership for
Digital Personal Workstations running Microsoft's Windows NT
Workstation was $63,000 versus $104,000 for comparable UNIX
machines: a savings of 39 percent.
The detailed study considered acquisition and maintenance costs
of hardware and software, technical support costs, and user
self-support costs related to workstations. The results suggest
that for a group of 25 workstations, savings in a three-year total
cost of ownership can amount to more than one million dollars.
Separately, Pro/E: The Magazine, reported that the Digital
Personal Workstation 500a running Windows NT Workstation 4.0 offered
the fastest performance of all workstations tested, regardless of
CPU architecture or operating system. In the study, six of the ten
fastest systems were running Windows NT Workstation.
In a technical workstation environment lead by traditional UNIX
machines, Windows NT Workstation now provides similar functionality,
fast performance, a lower initial purchase price, and significantly
lower cost of ownership.
This is a major finding of the Deloitte & Touche Consulting
Group study entitled, "Technical Workstation Total Cost of Ownership
Study, A Cost Comparison of Microsoft Windows NT Workstation and
UNIX." These cost savings hold true for all the major application
areas covered in the study: Mechanical Design Automation, Geographic
Information Systems, and Digital Content Creation.
"The study for the first time validates what many people
already suspected to be true," said Will Robinson from Deloitte &
Touche Consulting Group. "It also provides a means for IT managers
to quantify costs and understand return on investment before
embarking on a UNIX-to-Windows(r) migration."
Providing The Best Value to Customers
The study presents a total cost of ownership (TCO) model for
technical workstations developed by Deloitte & Touche Consulting
Group and underwritten by Digital Equipment Corporation and
Microsoft Corporation. The cost components of the TCO model
included hardware and software acquisition, support and maintenance
and opportunity costs.
"The question is no longer whether or not to migrate to Windows
NT. The question is - how soon can I do it and how can I maximize my
competitive advantage," said Philippe Ribeyre, vice president of
Digital's Workstation Business Segment. "Digital and Microsoft offer
the products, the services and the know-how to help customers
achieve those objectives today, better than any other vendor or any
combination of vendors," Ribeyre said.
"The Deloitte & Touche study confirms that Windows NT
Workstation offers a compelling, cost-effective alternative to
expensive and proprietary Sun and other UNIX workstations," said Jim
Allchin, senior vice president of the Personal and Business Systems
Group at Microsoft. "Microsoft and Digital are committed to reducing
cost of ownership, while continuing to provide innovation and value
in the Windows platform with the Zero Administration for Windows
Initiative."
The study also reveals that maintenance and support costs are
considerably higher for UNIX workstations than for Windows NT
workstations. The cost differential over three years for just one
workstation is more than $8,000. In addition, the study concludes
that with Windows NT workstations, many organizations may be able to
reduce or eliminate dedicated support staffs for technical
departments, relying instead on established PC support organizations.
Performance Leadership from Digital and Microsoft
In applications benchmarks conducted by Pro/E: The Magazine,
Digital Personal Workstation 500a running Windows NT Workstation
outperformed a similarly priced Sun Ultra 1-40E by 171 percent and
outperformed a 49 percent more expensive Sun Ultra 1-200E by 98
percent.
Pro/E: The Magazine's used "Bench97," a benchmark based on
typical daily tasks performed by an engineer using Pro/Engineer
software. The Digital Personal Workstation 500a outperformed 22
workstations in the Bench97 test. It outperformed a similarly
priced Sun Ultra 1-140E by 171 percent and beat the twice as
expensive, two-processor Sun Ultra 2-2300 by 37 percent.
Digital's Personal Workstations are a key part of Digital's
continuing strategy of providing the best performance and value for
Windows NT solutions across corporate and technical computing
environments. The Digital Microsoft Alliance for Enterprise
Computing, formed in August 1995, combines Microsoft client/server
products with Digital's leadership in enterprise systems, service,
support and systems integration. Customers can deploy business
solutions on the Microsoft Windows and Windows NT operating systems
with assurance of integration into the most complex business
environments.
For more information on the Alliance and to obtain a copy of
the Deloitte & Touche Consulting Group study, refer to
http://www.alliance.digital.com/microsoft. For more information on
Digital Personal Workstations, see http://www.workstation.digital.
com. For more information on Windows NT Workstation, see
http://www.microsoft.com/ntworkstation. For more information on
Pro/E: The Magazine workstation benchmark scores, see http://www.
proe.com/.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ "MSFT") is the worldwide
leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a
wide range of products and services for business and personal use,
each designed with the mission of making it easier and more
enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal
computing every day.
Digital Equipment Corporation is a world leader in open client/
server solutions from personal computing to integrated worldwide
information systems. Digital's scalable Alpha and Intel platforms,
storage, networking, software and services, together with industry-
focused solutions from business partners, help organizations compete
and win in today's global marketplace.
####
Note to Editors: Digital and the Digital logo are trademarks of
Digital Equipment Corporation. Microsoft, Windows
and Windows NT are either registered trademarks or
trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United
States and/or other countries. UNIX is a
registered trademark in the United States and
other countries licensed exclusively through
X/Open Company Ltd. Other product and company
names herein may be trademarks of their respective
owners.
CORP/97/590
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