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Windows a Mainframe Alternative -- No Duh!

In 1986 I covered microcomputing for ComputerWorld newspaper. At the time micros, from companies like Vector Graphics and Altos, along with rudimentary LANs, drove the downsizing movement where mainframe apps were moved to these cheaper systems.

Twenty-four years later IDC claims that high-end versions of Windows (with clustering, HPC, etc.) are taking on apps that used to run on mainframes. Where have they been for the last two and a half decades?

One area where Windows servers on x86 chips are making inroads is non-Intel architectures such as RISC, Power6 and Itanium-based servers, IDC says.

Posted on April 21, 2010


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