Server Pipeline: Everywhere I go I hear that this it the year for Linux. How does Linux fit into Apple's strategy this year?
Brooks: It's interesting. Against Linux we offer really the same open source platform that a Linux does. We're based on an open source technology platform, we run many of the same server services (Apache, SAMBA) that they do. Our value, from a software perspective, is that Apple does the integration for you. We call it open-source made easy. One click install gives you the same open source services; for the command line intensive people, you can get in and modify the configuration files the same way you would on Linux, but what people don't want to do is integrate all the latest pieces and parts. So Apple does that work for you. We have world-class management tools that layer on top of it to make it reall easy to manage one or hundreds of servers. We integrate it for security and performance and reliability.
Server Pipeline: It's as though it's open-source for the non-technical person.
Brooks: True, although it's interesting because even the technical people who have the capabilities to deal with a Linux platform really respond to what we deliver, because it lets them focus on the value add that they can bring and not the latest kernel patch this week.
Server Pipeline: Typically, Apple gear has been a bit more expensive than Windows based machinery. Talk about the total cost of ownership benefits to running on Apple.
Brooks: I will challenge that statement from the standpoint of our server products. If you do a price comparison for feature-by-feature equivalence [you'll see Apple stacks up on top]. Other vendors will tout a $499 1U server; well, that's great, but as soon as you configure it with anything meaningful, the price goes right up to where we are. And pound per pound, feature for feature (and I've never talked to a customer who's said they have enough storage), we are equal or less expensive than competitors. And that's not even figuring in the client licensing fees you would need, say, for a Windows operating system. Even Linux these days is not free. We continue to have tremendously leading price per gigabyte advantage. We're $3 per GB, for Xserve RAID, for a capacity up to 3.5 terabytes. We're roughly 1/2 to 1/3 the cost there of our competitors.
Server Pipeline: So you're saying your value proposition is better than the competitors'?
Brooks: Mac OS X's value proposition from a management standpoint is very significant. Our management tools are world-class, it's what Apple's known for, the hardware software integration. Even savvy users who are used to the command line really love the value we bring. We offer ease of management to clusters as well: In 20 minutes a cluster can be fully configured.
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