Ripe Opportunity for Apple Servers

While the world focuses on Apple’s iPhone launch, The VAR Guy is keeping a close eye on Apple’s server business–which should benefit from two small but significant announcements that few other pundits have noticed.

First up, Parallels on June 14 will demonstrate Parallels Server for Mac, a virtualization solution that allows Windows, Linux and Mac OS X to run on Apple servers. The alpha code will be shown at The Westin San Francisco. The VAR Guy broke the original story about Parallels Server for Mac back in March.

Meanwhile, Tech Data plans to distribute rack-mount enclosure cabinets for Apple Xserve servers from GizMac Accessories. The cabinets reduce noise by as much as 80 percent compared to standard server and storage racks, GizMac claims. Normally, The VAR Guy doesn’t write much about infrastructure like this. But this is Tech Data’s second major Apple-related move in recent weeks. The distributor in May disclosed plans to sell selected Macintoshes with Windows XP preinstalled.

The VAR Guy isn’t suggesting that Apple can dominate servers or desktops. But the trends are clear: Apple continues to gain momentum — on desktops and servers — among VARs that are seeking reliable, intuitive alternatives to traditional Windows- and Linux-based systems.