BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : JUNE 19, 2000 ISSUE
COVER STORY The Age of Specialty Forget refrigerator-size computers that do everything from serving up Web pages to calculating payrolls. Now, single-function server appliances are the rage. Here are some of the jobs these machines tackle: STORAGE SERVER APPLIANCES For every dollar spent on server computers, 75 cents will go toward storage devices by 2004. And much of that will be spent on appliances that manage storage machines hooked to a network. MARKET SIZE: $601 million last year; $6.5 billion by 2004. THE PLAYERS: Network Appliance and EMC. Within a year look for machines from major computer makers including Dell, Compaq, and Sun. WEB SERVER APPLIANCES With more than a billion pages now on the Web, there's huge demand for machines that do nothing but dish up sites to surfers. Web-serving appliances can accomplish this for as little as one-third the cost of traditional servers. MARKET SIZE: $21 million last year; $1.4 billion by 2004. THE PLAYERS: Upstart Cobalt Networks is the leader, but IBM and Dell are coming on strong. CACHING SERVER APPLIANCES These devices keep often-requested Web pages in close proximity to Web servers, which can cut the time it takes to get information by 80%. MARKET SIZE: $34.5 million last year; $1.4 billion by 2004. THE PLAYERS: CacheFlow and Network Appliance lead, with Compaq and Dell close on their heels. FIREWALL SERVER APPLIANCES With viruses on the upswing, companies now use software called a firewall to keep intruders out of their Web systems. Running this program on a dedicated computer frees up traditional servers--and strengthens Net security. MARKET SIZE: $100 million last year; $1.1 billion by 2004. THE PLAYERS: Cisco Systems is leading, but IBM and Dell plan to roll out firewall machines soon. DATA: IDC; BW ESTIMATES _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP					RELATED ITEMS Do One Thing, and Do It Well TABLE: The Age of Specialty INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online

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