Is Mac OS X ready for business?

By Joe Wilcox

Apple has launched an assualt on a server operating system market dominated by Microsoft with the launch of Mac OS X 10.2 aimed squarely at businesses.

With Mac OS X 10.2 Server - also known as Jaguar - Apple has turned its focus on the business market in a way it hasn't done for years, say analysts and company executives.

The Unix-based server operating system gives Apple an opportunity to expand its presence with existing customers and gain a foothold among businesses experimenting with Linux or using Unix.

+ss+"We want to fit into the enterprise infrastructure," Tom Goguen, Apple's director of worldwide server product marketing, said on Friday.

"There is this community out there that is seeking alternatives to Microsoft," said Technology Business Research analyst Bob Sutherland. "It could be Mac OS X or Linux, or both."

Apple is also hoping to woo cash-strapped technology managers looking to cut their client-computing costs, particularly in the face of Microsoft's Licensing 6 programme, which, according to market researcher Gartner raises upgrade fees anywhere from 33 per cent to 107 per cent.

And many businesses are confronted by ongoing challenges as Microsoft rolls out its .Net web services strategy and potentially increases the number of client-access licences companies must pay for. Under the Microsoft model, companies pay for the desktop and server operating systems and an additional fee for each desktop connecting to the server.

Apple hopes to attract more customers by, among other things, making good technology available at more affordable prices. Mac OS X 10.2 Server is available in a 10-user version for $500 and an unlimited-user version for $1,000. Windows 2000 Server with 25 clients costs an average $1,600 or more and an additional $1,900 or more for unlimited access when used as a Web server. No additional fees are required for using Jaguar as a Web server.

Mac OS X now supports LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) 3 for managing network policies, users and computer resources. Workgroup Manager is technology that managers use to administer and assign resources to users, groups or computers.

"With a few tweaks, it works with Active Directory," Goguen said, referring to Windows 2000 Server's software tool for managing users and computers attached to a network.

Jaguar Server also includes Samba, software that allows for file-sharing with Windows computers. And the Mac software supports the Network File System (NFS) used by Unix and Linux systems. Apple sees this as crucial to expanding Mac OS X 10.2 Server's penetration in existing markets and to gaining ground among companies testing Linux.

"Companies are finding Mac OS X delivers on many of the features of Linux, such as low cost, but with more robust features," Goguen said.

Sutherland shared Goguen's optimism, but with a touch of caution. "It will be interesting to see if they get traction from the Linux crowd," he said. "I do think the Apple faithful will buy into the Apple server."

Joe Wilcox writes for News.com