The Hindu Business Line : Demand seen for 64-bit servers

Basically 64-bit computing brings improved performance and addressability to PC users, said Mr Ananda Rao Ladi, General Manager, R&D Services, MindTree Consulting, a product firm with a 64-bit competency centre. "Applications such as video & audio editing, gaming, security applications and online transaction processing need to harness 64-bit's superior speed," he added.

Yet, the current rate of adoption of 64-bit computing is sluggish. The industry is waiting for Microsoft's 64-bit operating system - Vista - to be launched, said Ms Sharmila Saha, Technology Evangelist, MindTree Consulting.

Vista, scheduled to arrive in the second half of this year, will signal the move by millions of desktop users to 64-bit systems. Desktops will open up a whole array of applications that can benefit from faster processing and will trigger widespread adoption of 64-bit computing, she said.

Tools to accelerate the hitherto sluggish adoption of 64-bit computing are now cropping up.

Saves time

One such is MindTree's CodeMigrate, a porting tool that saves 60 per cent of productivity time. This tool helps companies migrate long codes written in 32-bit to 64-bit. The tool is automatic and suggests changes in lines of complex server code. The tool runs on Windows and Linux, and will be ported to Solaris, Unix and other operating systems, said Mr Ladi. The company is expanding the 15-member team to be 45-50 members by year-end.

The company is using the tool to introduce its other services to clients in storage, communication, high-end consumer and computing spaces. The tool would bring in $2-3 million of services business in 2006-07, said Mr Vinod P. Deshmukh, Executive Vice-President and Chief Technology Officer, R&D services, MindTree Consulting.