SGI Unveils New Org Structure and New Digs

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sgi_newSGI!? Don’t you mean Rackable Systems!?  No, I mean SGI.  As you recall, Rackable successfully completed a bid process to acquire the assets of Silicon Graphics/SGI.  The new organization has been named, you guessed it, “SGI.”  They have a new look and a new logo, so who’s running the show these days?  Well, Rackable decided to keep a select number of executive managers from the acquisition.  As expected, Mark Barrenechea will lead the new organization as CEO.  Tony Carrozza will take over sales and marketing duties, so no Doug Britt.  Rackable’s original CTO and co-founder, Giovanni Coglitore, will now be their Chief of Products and Senior VP.  Dr. Eng Lim Goh has been retained as CTO.  Diane Gibson will head operations coming over from the old Silicon Graphics organization.  The only other executive retained from the previous organization is Bob Pette, as VP of Visualization.

Now that you know the new faces, what about products?  There are a lot of speculation surrounding the product overlap between the two organizations.  How did things shake out?  According to an email sent out by CEO Mark Barrenechea, SGI’s x86 cluster line [formerly called the XE series] will now be branded with Rackable x86 server technology.  No surprises here, this was Rackable’s core competency.  They’ve merged the product lines of ICE Cube [data center container], Altix, Infinite Storage, CloudRack, MicroSlice, Origin and VUE to comprise the full product line.  Essentially, the only major changes are centered upon traditional x86 server technology.

According to Mark’s email, Rackable [SGI] will also take a new focus on becoming a “technology solutions” provider, rather than a server manufacturer.  This is a huge step for the folks at Rackable.  From the release:

Third, SGI is in a stronger position to be your trusted technology partner given the announcement today. On day one, the SGI product portfolio addresses:

·       Large-scale data center needs of reduced cost, greater density and lower power;

·       Large-scale cluster computing problems whether they be processor, memory or network constrained;

·       The ability to solve large-scale data problems through a combination of hardware, storage and software solutions;

·       Visualization, and

·       Large-scale HPC environments and the software tools necessary to increase performance and reduce complexity.
[Mark Barrenechea]

For those looking for more information regarding the new organization, the original SGI website now points to Rackable’s.  Rackable has replaced their original logo with the new SGI logo, but otherwise haven’t changed the product briefs to reflect all the new gear.  For more specific info on the new switch, read the full release here.

Trackbacks

  1. […] #2: John Leidel at InsideHPC has more details, including details on what SGI resources are being shut down and the nuggets that Bob Pette, who we […]

  2. […] click on the Silicon Graphics brand you’ll end up back on a page on the original SGI website! Confused ? You will be.. SGI!? Don’t you mean Rackable Systems!? No, I mean SGI. As you recall, Rackable successfully […]

Comments

  1. I still think the logical name for the company would have been the combination of Sgi and rACKABLE… wait for it…

    S-ACKABLE

  2. I wonder if they continue their IA64 systems?

  3. That’s what the Altix ones are (well, asides from the Altix XE’s which will become Rackable brands instead of Altix).

  4. Just for pedantry’s sake: the new logo is *not* the old SGI logo, other than they are both constructed from the lowercase letters “s”, “g” and “i”.

    The old SGI logo is in a funky font where the “g” looks notoriously like Homer Simpson in profile ( http://www.arke.de/TC/homer/homer_sgilogo.jpg ) and the “i” has a right-sweeping descender. Basic black.

    The new logo is in a much more straightforward font, done up in Rackable’s blue and green.

  5. John West says

    Larry – I assume you are just pointing out the differences, because I don’t see anything in the story or comment thread that says the new logo isn’t, well, new. But it’s really early, so I may have missed it.

    Now that you bring it up though, you seem to like the new one. I don’t love it. I recognize that those are Rackable’s colors and all, and I certainly wasn’t a fan of the old purple logo, but the new SGI logo just looks too much like something you’d see in a 10 year old girls room. Colors plus typeface equals almost cute.

  6. John Leidel says

    I often question ‘custom’ typefaces. Why all the hassle?

  7. John West says

    Everyone has to be “special.” I personally like good ‘ol Helvetica (but a pox on Arial).

  8. outside observer says

    Diane Gibson submitted her resignation last week.

  9. John West says

    outside – Diane was SGI’s CIO from the old SGI, right? Do you know why she left?

  10. Sorry, a little late on the reply here…

    I think I was mixing up articles. It was The Register, not here, where TPM said the “new” logo was the old SGI logo done up in Rackable colors.

    No, I’m not particularly fond of either of the lowercase sgi logos.