Intel offers trial use program to Global 500 companies

Intel offers trial use program to Global 500 companies

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) – Intel Corp., the world’s largest chip maker, offered Monday Global 500 corporate customers a 90 day free trial period of its Itanium 2 processor based computers, in a bid to lure them into buying the products.

Called “The Intel Itanium 2 Solution Challenge,” Intel said the worldwide “try-and-buy” program kicks off this week and targets Global 500 corporate customers who are current users of RISC-based computers. Qualified customers will have access to Itanium 2-based systems and services for up to 90 days to evaluate the results.

Itanium 2 processor has record-setting performance and runs on several operating systems and boasts the availability of 1,000 applications, Intel claimed.

The chip maker said it is working on the program with a number of original equipment manufacturers, including HP, IBM, Lang Chao, Lenovo, NEC, Samsung, SGI, and Unisys, as well as regional system builders.

It will also work with a number of companies which supply software for Itanium 2, such as BEA, i2, Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, and SAS, as well as such system integrators as Avanade and Unisys.

“We are bullish on the Itanium 2 processor’s performance and price advantage versus proprietary offerings,” said Lisa Graff, director of Intel’s Itanium Group. “Intel, along with our industry partners, wants CIOs to experience the difference an Itanium 2 architecture-based server can make.”

Currently, 14 of the top 25 Global 500 companies have deployed or are evaluating the architecture, according to Intel.