We at SCS are sending our last Sun server to the recycler. The Bee Group Newspapers of Amherst, NY, a Layout-8000™ user for many years, will be getting its next Layout-8000 upgrade on modern Intel NUCs running Linux. Trey Measer, Bee Group publisher, was somewhat surprised to learn that SCS kept a Sun server just to support his newspaper. Our Sun needed to be sent to a better place. When running, it put off nearly 3000 BTU of heat per hour. An extra ton of expensive A/C cooling equipment was needed just for it. Our secondary backup A/C system was failing and taking care of our Sun could cost $12,000 in new cooling equipment. The Sun consumed much electrical power and delivered not much computing power, at least not in current terms. Our Sun 3500 Enterprise Server had two 400 MHz processors and about 100 GB of disk space. Prices for bare-bones Sun servers started at over $4,000. The three year total cost of ownership of such a fully configured Sun server was estimated to be $88,000.
And now - what was that device sitting on top of the Sun?
Support revenue has always been very important to SCS. We want to keep customers much longer than their hardware is likely to last. It is not just Suns that have become obsolete. Many versions of Windows and the computers they ran on have reached end of life. Long before Windows appeared on the scene, SCS software ran on DEC and HP computers. And, of course, it runs on the Sun.
Each new generation of technology brings new challenges. We expect specific computers and operating systems to become obsolete. SCS guards against being negatively impacted by this by investing in keeping our software platform independent and using either commodity or open source operating systems with no third party layered products. This distinguishing difference makes adopting next generation platforms easier while reducing the total cost of ownership of SCS's systems. As Bee publisher Trey Measer learned first-hand, SCS supplies enduring customer support. Comments are closed.
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SCS Team
Articles in the SCS Blog are written by SCS employees and associated news outlets. Archives
June 2021
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