Advantage/3000: Buy your integration now, and pay less



The chief charm of investing in open systems is the cost savings . Freedom to move about in the marketplace is supposed to give you price protection. The ability to choose from several vendors means your company is more likely to get a better value.

But the value of integration often falls outside of the cost comparisons when you consider buying Unix-based systems. Much of what your company comes to rely upon as standard computing features aren't included with a Unix-based system. What's more, those that are available as add-ons often aren't tested together.

Given the scope of products in the Unix marketplace, it's nearly impossible for the product suppliers to ensure integration between key components like print spoolers and transaction management software. This task of integration often falls to the company which is buying the Unix-based products. It can be expensive duty for your company to pull, coordinating the technical support and installation advice of many differing suppliers. Paying for this integration is certainly more expensive after the Unix computer purchase than at the time you buy an HP 3000.

You see, fundamental computing tools like spoolers and transacti on managers are included in HP 3000 systems. When HP supplies a new software tool like its ODBC database connectivity for the 3000, it's tested with the rest of the fundamental tools which HP supplies. This integration happens before the system is released for sale, meaning your company doesn't have to devote staff time to it in order to get your computers functioning.

In computing, you can buy your integration before the sale, or b uy it afterward by performing it yourself. Making a commitment to integration as part of your purchase is responsible computing. It's also a big reason why the HP 3000 is making a renaissance after a few years of Unix system shipments. Customers are discovering there's a lot more to making all the pieces of Unix-based systems work reliably with each other. Since most companies are trying to do more with less resource in their IS departments, taking on these new integration duties doesn't make much business sense - especially if there's an alternative. There is, already running in your shop: fully integrated HP 3000 systems, complete with links to open systems standards that have been tested for your environment.