Advanced Desktops And Workstations
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On the strength of its consistent channel strategy and programs, IBM dominated the 2006
CRN
Channel Champions ratings in the advanced desktops and workstations category.
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IBM swept each of the channel program criteria, taking an impressive 4.6-point lead over runner-up Hewlett-Packard in channel program satisfaction.
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IBM's channel support structure makes selling its IntelliStation line of workstations attractive, said Lonn Black, xSeries product manager at Sirius Computer Solutions, an IBM Premier business partner in San Antonio, Texas, which uses IntelliStations for medical imaging and data center applications.
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"One of the major benefits of doing business with IBM is that when something is needed, there are a variety of resources all the way up to the branch manager that are available to meet your needs," Black said.
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While the race in technical areas was much closer, IBM racked up either a win or tie for first place in all but one criteria: HP bested IBM in workstation thermal management by 1.4 points. But IBM came out on top in overall technical satisfaction, scoring a 4.3-point lead in the area of platform longevity and a 2.8-point lead in product reliability.
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IBM, which sold its PC business to Lenovo last year, continues to produce its IntelliStation Pro and Power engineering workstations for handling 3-D modeling and graphics applications. The IntelliStation Pro line features both Microsoft Windows and Linux operating systems, while the Power line runs AIX Unix.
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"We use IntelliStations for monitoring workstations within data centers as well as for medical imaging," Black said. "I've had an opportunity to compete against the other boxes on the market, and there is such a variety of capabilities in the IntelliStation line that it's really easy to show the customer the value."
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IBM's overall Channel Champions rating of 76.5 was 3 points ahead of runner-up HP, with 73.5. Lenovo was third with 68.5, Sun Microsystems fourth with 67.7 and Gateway fifth with 61.6.
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