IBM CHRISTENS SERVERS WITH NEW NAMES -- MIDRANGE-L

     
WEB FEATURE: IBM CHRISTENS SERVERS WITH NEW NAMES 
http://www.as400network.com/nwn/story.cfm?ID=8465
IBM whipped out the champagne today and smashed a bottle over each 
of its servers, rechristening them with new names and dubbing the 
fleet "IBM eservers." Among them, newer AS/400 models become iSeries 
400.
     
The goal of the rebranding is to increase sales. "Together, IBM 
servers can make more of an impact on the market than individually," 
says Ian Jarman, AS/400 product marketing manager. "We're proud of 
our individual servers, but we have to act together on a new level 
to bring the full power of IBM into the market. When we deliver the 
full power of IBM -- our marketing, our development, our technology 
-- that's where we lead the industry."
     
To demonstrate togetherness, IBM gave all the servers the family 
name, IBM eserver. The "e" refers to IBM's cherry-red "e mark" logo 
and is meant to draw attention to the servers' strengths for e- 
business. Each server line then received an individual name 
consisting of a letter to denote its strength, the word "Series," 
and a number that refers to the server's old identity. The new names 
are:
  * iSeries 400 (AS/400) - "i" is for integration, innovation,
    and independence.
  * pSeries (RS/6000) - "p" is for performance.
  * zSeries (System/390) - "z" is for near-zero downtime. 
  * xSeries (Netfinity) - "x" is for X-architecture.
     
In the AS/400 line, only the 270 and 8xx models introduced last May 
featuring the High-Speed Link and copper processors bear the new 
name, and IBM refers to them individually as, for example, iSeries 
400 Model 840. (The RS/6000 and S/390 lines announce new technology 
enhancements today to accompany the name change, but the naming 
strategy wasn't ready when Rochester announced its latest, greatest 
hardware.) The iSeries boxes sport a new copper strip to signify the 
new processor inside. (Customers who've already purchased a 270 or 
8xx can ask IBM to mail them a copper strip to tack onto their box.) 
All the other boxes will maintain their AS/400 identity. IBM intends 
to keep those older 7xx models on the market at least until the end 
of 2001, which it committed to when it launched the 8xx models. The 
name of the iSeries operating system will remain OS/400.
     
The "i" makes sense, says Tom Bittman, Gartner Group vice president 
and research director, because the application server market, which 
lends the "AS" to AS/400, is no longer dominated solely by the 
AS/400. "The AS/400 is an integrated system," he says. "It's IBM's 
only integrated system. It's actually the only true integrated 
system on the market."
     
If all goes according to IBM's plans, the iSeries will walk away 
with more new customers than the AS/400 ever did. "We have to 
attract new customers to the AS/400 by setting out a new image for 
the AS/400," Jarman says. "iSeries is about taking the AS/400 into 
new markets, building new strengths such as B2B, and incorporating 
Linux."
-- Rita-Lyn Sanders, NEWS/400 Industry Reporter
     
* This story has been adapted from its original version on the Web. 
See http://www.as400network.com/nwn/story.cfm?ID=8465 the full 
story.
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