The place of the 32-bit minis

Press, 26 October 1982, Page 33

The place of the 32-bit minis

By MICHAEL RICH, New Zealand sales manager for Prime Computer of NewZealand, Ltd. Prime Computer, which markets state-of-the-art 32bit super-minicomputers, is one of the fastest-growing computer companies in the industry. The super-minicom-puter was designed for today's interactive processing, and this is where its strength lies. The computer market can be broadly divided into four sectors — microcomputers, minicomputers, super-mini-computers. and mainframes. Minicomputers and mainframes are the more traditional machines. The microcomputer, as well as offering a lower entry-level computer, is now competing head-on with the traditional minicomputer. The super-minicomputer, on the other hand, is attacking the traditional mainframe market. Initially, super-minicom-puters were seen in specialist areas such as financial modelling, seismic analysis, computer graphics. and power load analysis. These applications were ideally suited to the 32-bit “number crunching" power of the new super-minicomputers. However, their appeal was soon recognised by the more conservative commercial market place. Today the keen interest from both “computational" and commercial users has seen the super-miniocomputer grow at a compounded rate of 30 to 40 per cent per annum, which is twice that of the

computer industry as a whole. A noted trend is the number of very large companies which have turned to superminicomputers for new, specialised areas of application. These new application areas are regarded by many as the most exciting and creative uses of computers to date — a far cry from the more traditional accounting role of the computer. Overseas examples of the use of Prime super-minicom-puters in such application areas include engineering graphics at Ford, BMW and General Motors, investment portfolio management at Wells Fargo and the Bank of America, and merchant banking operations at Citicorp. Rothschilds. and Chase Manhattan. What are the key appeals of super-minicomputers? Probably they can be summed up as price, power, functionality, and simplicity. Super-minicomputers offer computer power previously associated only with expensive mainframes at a radically lower price. Even items such as screens are cheaper than traditionally has been paid. A typical super-minicomputer screen is $2OOO-$3OOO. Users are also impressed by the power super-minicom-puters offer. Typically, an entry-level machine has a 0.5 MIPS (million instructions per second) rating with top models around the two MIPS mark. The third appeal of superminicomputers is their functionality. Superminicomputers are noted for the ease

with which a user can connect almost anything to them. The user can shop around to get the best screen. printer. plotter, graphics terminal, or point-of-sale device and is not forced into being able to connect only a particular manufacturer's terminal to the computer. The fourth appeal of super-minicomputers is their simplicity. The product tends to be almost like a Meccano set in that different models and configurations can be built from a series of standard sub-assemblies. This makes upgrading in the field very easy. Gone also are the layers of complex communications software seen on traditional mainframes. What is the likely future of the 32-bit super-minicom-puter? It is unrealistic to assume that the super-mini-computer will get smaller and start competing with microcomputers: the two machines aim at two completely different markets. In years to come larger microcomputers will no doubt come close in size to small super-minicomputers and compete accordingly. However, the real direction of the super-minicom-puter is upwards. Already super-minicomputers such as the Prime 850 are offering growth to 128 terminals. By networking two or more super-minicompters together very large terminal networks can be catered for. At this point the term superminicomputer becomes almost misleading and perhaps we should just cal! them the “new mainframes.”