This white paper study from industry research firm Aberdeen Group* compares the cost of ownership of Intel® Architecture-based servers and UNIX/RISC-based servers in medium and large enterprises (MLE). According to the study, cost has recently become a priority concern for IT organizations. The focus is on cost of owning an IT solution over time, rather than on the upfront procurement outlay.

In its study, Aberdeen Group used suppliers' published prices and conducted interviews with MLE organizations, which have more then 500 but fewer than 10,000 employees. These organizations must have deployed more than 50 Microsoft* Windows* 2000* and/or UNIX/RISC-based servers at least six months prior to the time of the study. Among the findings:

• Average per-server cost for dual-processor Intel®-based servers was $6,000, while quad-processor servers averaged $25,000. By comparison, comparable UNIX/RISC-based servers cost $17,000 and $49,000 respectively.
• Overall, Intel® platform-based servers deliver a 46 percent overall cost advantage compared to a Unix/RISC platform alternative. Clear cost advantages were noted in procurement, deployment, administration, and training.
• Servers running the Microsoft Windows 2000 operating system show a significant cost advantage over those running Windows NT*. Improved reliability, performance, and scalability are behind these findings.

In its final recommendations, the Aberdeen study concludes that Intel Architecture-based servers running Windows 2000 can yield rapid ROI based on the savings in hardware and administrative costs alone. The white paper cites the current economic climate as a reason that midsize and large enterprise users should consider Intel platform-based, Windows 2000 servers.

Read the entire white paper [PDF, 245KB], "Windows Server Cost-of-Ownership Study: MLE Business Segment."