Better N.Z. position expected by Wang

Press, 3 December 1985, Page 34

Better N.Z. position expected by Wang

Wang Computer, Ltd, expects to be the second largest computer company, measured by revenue, in New Zealand next year, according to its general manager, Mr Adrian Foster. Mr Foster said that Wang, with sales of ?16.5 million dollars in its last quarter, is now number three in New Zealand. The level of sales was 80 per cent up on the same period the previous year. In the United States the parent company has returned to profit in its latest quarter following a loss in the previous quarter. Wang Laboratories, Inc., is about to make “a real breakthrough” in the integration of telephony and computer technology, Wang users were told at the recent annual users’ confer-

Speaking at the conference, Mr Peter McElroy, who is personal assistant to the chairman of Wang, Dr An Wang, said a “fourth generation” voice and departmental processor and switch was being developed. This would be used to provide information to all parts of an organisation and over time would create “a new heart for our office automation and departmental systems.”

Mr McElroy said joint development efforts in the United States would provide both telephony and computing solutions for companies using twisted pair wiring and sharing the same system.

He said an integrated voice and data terminal was “something we believe in.”

A jointly produced first generation product called Keystone was being manufactured in the United States.

According to Mr McElroy, Wang is working on an advanced indexing, storage and retrieval system. “We’ll use imaging work stations, laser discs and advanced microfilm technology. Our goal is to become an information provider as well as an information generator. We will provide a records management capability as significant to the market as word processing was 10 years ago.” In addition, he said, Wang would extend the range of workers it could serve to include two new types of professional — the design engineer and the software developer.