Rejecting IT manager claims that 64-bit computing is still in the hype phase, both AMD and Intel last week said the technology has arrived with organizations already making the transition from 32-bit processor technology.
John Robinson, manager of AMD Australia and New Zealand, said companies should be assessing whether they are 64-bit ready as the transition can take time.
Those not making plans, he said, are not considering their organization's future.
“Most IT managers are savvy enough to consider ‘what is this machine going to be required to do in the next four to five years’? And if they’re not, then they are doing themselves a disservice,” Robinson said.
He was responding to an article titled, IT managers sound hype alert on 64-bit computing.
Many IT managers said they will continue to use 32-bit computing for a few years yet, pointing out that it is dependent on an organization's operating system and application support.
Robinson said the transition from 16- to 32-bit was over a three-year period, but was well discussed beforehand.
“Today, everyone has 32-bit technology and takes it for granted, and in the future 64-bit will be taken for granted - it will be seamless," he said. Intel Asia Pacific solutions group district manager, Brett Hannath stressed that 64-bit computing is already here – but only in certain niche markets.
“64-bit computing has been around for some time, but it’s been used for very specific tasks. At the moment we don’t see any real demand for 64-bit computing outside of niche markets,” Hannath said.
“There’s certainly a bit of hype around 64-bit computing, but to say it applies to everyone everywhere is incorrect.”
Hannath predicts the technology will hit the mainstream in around 12 to 18 months, with most of Intel’s hardware servers having 64-bit capability by default by the end of this year.
“I don’t think it’s too early to be considering 64-bit computing. But in order for people to cross over to this technology you need your mainstream servers to have 64-bit capability,” Hannath said.
“And the 64-bit products have been around for some time now, so there’s no risk in that sense.”