Aberdeen Group Reveals Total-Cost-of-Ownership Advantage for Microsoft Windows 2000 Server Operating Environments.

Business/Technology Editors

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 4, 2002

In two studies released today, Aberdeen Group, a leading Information Technology (IT) market analysis and positioning services firm, states that Microsoft Windows 2000 Server operating environments can deliver as much as a 48% total-cost-of-ownership advantage compared to other solutions. In these case studies, Aberdeen examined six major cost categories: server hardware and operating system acquisition, initial server deployment, administrative support resources, ongoing internal staff training, periodic operating system update deployments, and annual operating system support fees over a three-year period.

"Return on investment has become an increasingly important factor in a business' IT purchasing decision and now ranks third among most IT buyers' priority lists," says Tom Manter, Research Director. "Therefore, businesses are inclined to focus more on understanding the cost of owning an IT solution over time, as compared to the cost of simply acquiring that technology."

The first case study, "Windows 2000 Server Cost-of-Ownership Study: SMB Market Segment," which focused on the small and medium business (SMB) segment of IT users, notes that these businesses are seeing an immediate cost savings of 38% after upgrading to Windows 2000 from Windows NT 4.0. The second case study, "Windows 2000 Server Cost-of-Ownership Study: MLE Business Segment," Aberdeen presents its findings from interviews with medium and large enterprises (MLEs), where Unix/RISC holds a commanding presence. In this study, the Windows-based Intel server platform showed a clear cost advantage over proprietary UNIX platforms -- particularly within the cost categories of server platform acquisition and ongoing administrative support.

For more information about these studies visit www.aberdeen.com. Contact author Tom Manter at [e-mail] or phone [phone].

About Aberdeen

Aberdeen Group is a leading market analysis and positioning services firm that helps Information Technology vendors establish leadership in emerging markets. Steeped in technology and armed with end-user field research, Aberdeen answers clients' critical business and technology questions in the context of the Internet economy and across the product life cycle. Founded in 1988, Aberdeen is headquartered in Boston, MA, and has research divisions in Fort Collins, CO; Palo Alto, CA; and Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Aberdeen is accessible via the Web at www.aberdeen.com.