“In the second phase of a drastic turnaround strategy announced
18 months ago, Silicon Graphics Inc. last week said it will narrow
its focus by adopting Linux as its exclusive operating
system. It also will spin off its Windows NT workstation unit
and its Cray vector supercomputer division into separate businesses
that will be co-managed or sold.
The company hopes to save $300 million annually with the
reorganization, which will result in the elimination of about 1,500
jobs.”
“Some observers said planting a flag on Linux was one of the few
turnaround choices the company had. ‘They’ve tried NT, but the cost
vs. volume doesn’t work for them. The software development support
for Irix is slipping very seriously. So they go to Linux,’ said
Daniel Kunstler, an analyst at J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. in San
Francisco.”