Leveraging SGI’s expertise in high-performance computing and Microsoft Corp.’s strategy of making HPC more accessible to a broader marketplace, SGI (NASDAQ: SGIC) and Microsoft today announced that SGI will offer Microsoft® Windows® Compute Cluster Server 2003 on SGI® Altix® XE cluster systems based on quad-core and dual-core Intel® Xeon® processors. SGI Altix XE cluster systems with Windows Compute Cluster Server will be available beginning in March 2007.

“Customers are dealing with the complexity of working with different operating systems throughout their workflow. SGI now provides solutions that bridge that interoperability gap,” said Dennis McKenna, CEO of SGI. “The Windows platform, which is core to many of these workflows, combined with our HPC expertise further expands our reach into these markets. By adding SGI Altix XE solutions with Intel Xeon and Windows Compute Cluster Server to our existing portfolio, our aim is to provide solutions that are transparent across mixed workflows and make HPC accessible to a much broader market at a lower cost of ownership.”

The OEM agreement supports SGI’s growth strategy in the enterprise, specifically targeting media data management; industrial design such as automotive and aerospace; healthcare; and government and academic markets where customers are often faced with mixed workflow infrastructures.