Server Appliance Faces Competitive Market

Microsoft has finally released its long-delayed software for server appliances and Intel has shipped the first such appliance. These are low-maintenance devices targeted at small businesses that want to grow beyond the Windows 9x platform but don’t want to hire or train staff to manage Windows 2000 servers. However, the server appliance has had a cool reception from computer makers. The vision of millions of tiny Microsoft-powered servers humming away unattended in the backrooms of Small Business U.S.A. is also threatened by competition from more powerful machines. And even if these appliances were to succeed in this market, it might be at Microsoft’s own expense, cannibalizing sales of full Windows 2000 servers.

The Server Appliance

The server appliance is a closed box that runs a preinstalled and preconfigured Microsoft build of the Windows NT Embedded operating system, called Windows for Express Networks (WEN). The name helps distinguish the product from the rest of the NT Embedded line, which is primarily used to build dedicated computers that control manufacturing systems, telecommunications devices, and health-care equipment.