Amdahl Corp has rushed to embrace Network Computers, settling on the halfway house of the machines offered by Wyse Technology Inc, which were in the Wyse plan before Larry Ellison started talking about Network Computers and were hastily tweaked to come close to the spec. The Sunnyvale company announced its ThinClient Initiative as part of what it calls its Total Cost of Ownership approach into large distributed enterprises. The aim is to provide IBMers thoroughly confused and disaffected by the chaotic modern world to return to something they feel comfortable with – a move back to centralized control and security of the computing environment. It is also intended to offer rapid deployment of business-critical applications, and extend investment in existing desktop systems, and underlines Amdahl’s intent to deliver its Total Cost of Ownership approach across heterogeneous environments combining MVS, Unix and Windows NT. The Amdahl Thin- Client Initiative includes hardware, software, storage, services and support. The Amdahl EnVista thin-client architecture provides end users with a personal computer equivalent on their desktops while the applications run on an enterprise server. The first thin-client offering is designed to support on-line business applications such as help desk, order entry, and customer service. As well as Wyse, with its Winterm 2000 units, contributors to the product suite include Citrix Systems Inc and Microsoft Corp. It can support 50 to over 500 users. No indications of any prices were given.
