TPM's fixation strikes again!
Only TPM could turn an article on ANY hp product into an attack on Itanium. First he implies hp held back the Nehalem EX kit so as not to overshadow the Itanium blades announcement, when hp has previously not given a hoot about coinciding Xeon and Itanium launches. This first supposition is blown out of the water by the fact that hp were happily announcing ProLiant G7 kit at the same time as launching the new Itaniums. Fact is, it just looks like hp needed more time to get their EX kit sorted, so Maclovin is right when he says hp are chasing Dell. I'd be much more interested in maybe some inside info on why hp were so slow to get the EX kit out the door rather than listening to more of TPM's Itanium-bashing, but then TPM's inside info seems very limited to IBM only, and I suppose he had to pad out his article somehow.
Then we get the bizarre idea that the whole ProLiant strategy is all about stopping Integrity customers defecting (in TPM's deleriums he probably dreams they are going to buy Power-AIX instead)! Didn't TPM get the news? The hp ProLiant range is the single biggest selling server range - period! It is not some after-thought to prop up Integrity customers. I know that TPM is steeped in the old IBM tradition of "everything props up mainframe", but trying to staple that model onto other vendors is just wishful sillyness. The new EX kit are about maintaining and expanding hp's lead in the x64 space, the fact that they share components with the Integrity range is just a bonus for the Integrity boys as the economies of scale reduce the cost of making the Integrity servers.
But the funniest line of all was where TPM implied hp sales might use the old IBM sales mantra of "try and sell a 'proprietary paltform' (mainframe) first, then try AIX or Linux on Power, then x64" - a quick chat with any hp salegrunt over the last ten-odd years would have told him that hp have always preached AGAINST such platform-driven selling, and have been very happy to tell us customers all about it as it has helped them dethrone IBM. One of the reasons hp have been more successful with us (and probably why they have won other accounts over) is because they want to know about our business and our requirements rather than just throw platforms at us. I have had projects where we have sat down with the vendors and mapped out the problem, then asked what they suggested to meet the requirement. With IBM it is just about always a Power push, with x64 as a grudging inclusion if we ask. With hp, I can ususally get as many options as I like - Windows or Linux on x64 or Integrity, or hp-ux, and all options are available right up to a proof of concept level if required.
If anything, it has been my experience that many hp resellers are quicker to back the Wintel option ratehr than NonStop or hp-ux, as they usually have more inhouse skills and experience if we require any services, whereas with hp-ux (and Linux and OpenVMS) we usually just do it ourselves. It also seems to be a faster sales cycle for them, with more ProLiant kit actually here in the UK rather than having to be pulled from Germany as our Integrity kit seems to be. It was similar when I did work in the States, and I'm assuming the efficiency drives of Fiorina and Hurd won't have added an extra layer of hp distribution to change that. Maybe TPM should get out and speak to a few customers?
/SP&L
Biting the hand that feeds IT
