INFORMATION WORLD Fast-growing Digital warns off small fry

Press, 3 February 1987, Page 22

INFORMATION WORLD Fast-growing Digital warns off small fry

The Digital Equipment Corporation, one of the minority of computer makers to thrive in 1986, is taking a much more competitive approach. It is putting pressure on firms which live in relationship to a major-computer maker as pilot fish do to sharks. Origi-nal-equipment manufacturers (OEMs) take a manufacturer’s product and tailor it for a market niche.

Digital is sending signals to OEMs and makers of Digital-compatible peripherals (subsidiary equipment) to keep out of the big fish’s primary business. Digital has taken legal proceedings against about half a dozen of the pilot-fish firms.

Two “IBM busters” have been launched by Digital. These are its most powerful computers yet, the VAX 8978, selling for SUS4.BM in America and running about 50 million instructions per second. Observers say this machine will compete strongly with IBM’s most powerful computer, the SUS7.9M 3090 model 400. The second new machine is the VAX 8974, selling for SUS2.6M, and running at 25 MIPS. This will compete with IBM’s 3090 model 200, priced bout SUS4.IM. Software Latest quarter results have been coming out for the big American companies, and throw some interesting light on the computer industry. Ashton-Tate Corporation, the world’s third largest microcomputer software firm (after Lotus Development Corporation and Microsoft Corporation) may have trouble ahead with the development of machines based on the 80386 microprocessor. Ashton-Tate’s main product is dßase, and this will not be sufficient for the 80386 world, in which managers of various departments may want to access the same file simultaneously. Software firms at present in the minicomputer market will be strongly placed to compete for 80386 business. However, Ashton-Tate reports that dßase sales for 1986 were 30 per cent up on 1985 sales, and it believes there is still a large market to be filled. Microsoft has reported for its latest quarter a profit 80 per cent up on the corresponding quarter of the previous year at SUS9.7M, and sales 62 per cent up at SUSBIM. Much of its success has come from its successful gamble in adapting software for the Apple Macintosh. Hardware — micros. Commodore is making a financial comeback. After five quarters of losses, it last year returned to the black, and in its quarter ended December 31 made a profit of SUS22.3M, compared with a loss of $53.2M in the corresponding quarter of 1985.

The company has trimmed costs, and the Amiga is selling steadily about 150,000 machines a year. Apple, in the quarter to December 31, reports revenue of 558.5 M, 3 per cent up on the corresponding 1985 period and revenue 24 per cent up at 5U5533.9M. Record sales of the Macintosh and a good reception for the lIGS have made Apple’s outlook rosy. Tandy, a co-pioneer with Apple in microcomputers, also had a good quarter. Net profit was up 19 per cent at 5103.8 M, on sales of $1.2 billion. Microcomputers are only a portion of this corporation’s business, but Tandy says they are of increasing significance. Texas Instruments, which is also a diversified manufacturer, and which has burned its hands with some microcomputer models, made a quarter profit of $26.6M, compared with a loss of 541.2 M in the corresponding 1985 quarter. Sales of all products were up 21 per cent. Others

Cray Research Inc., the maker of huge number crunchers, nearly doubled its fourth-quarter income (on the 1985 amount to 523.3 M, on revenue up 63 per cent at $138.2M. For the year it installed. 35 computers, compared with 29 in 1986. Amdahl Corporation lifts its net profit 31 per cent to $29.6M, but this included a tax loss carried forward of $2.5M. Sales were $336.8M, compared with 5257.2 M the previous corresponding quarter. Data General Corporation net income for the quarter ended December 27 was $3.3M, and this was after a tax credit of S3M. Sales were up 6.7 per cent at $313.3M. Wang reports a loss for the quarter ended December 31 of $78.6M, which includes S37M related to inventory writedown. Sales were down 2 per cent at 5668.9 M.

Sales projections Computer industry sales projections for 1987 continue to be debated in the United States. Sectors likely to increase in sales, analysts say, include: supercomputers, minisupercomputers, superinicomputers, systems that drive transmission networks (such as Tandem), 32bit microcomputer systems (some analysts are picking sales of 240,000 to 500,000 of IBM clones for this system — with the IBM original still six to nine months away). On price, analysts are saying IBM PC clones will fall about 50 per cent to SUSSOO (under SNZIOOO at current exchange rates).

Desktop publishing The release of the Ventura package for PCs on the New Zealand market is

likely towards the end of this month. The new boards from Hewlett-Packard that wil beef up its Laser jet printers will be announced in March or April. With lower prices for the Laser jet, a board and printer together will be comparable in price to an Apple Laser Writer. Features the HP package will have include caching, so that letterheads and page designs can be' stored, saving time in printing. A number of page make-up packages are becoming available in the United. States, and some have more power than Page Maker or Ventura, but are less suited to the novice user, not having full WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) graphics. User groups A number of Macintosh users want to set up a group. If you are interested phone John Day at 584-049 during the day. For those who are still interested in shares after the big slide remember the talk on using PCs for share information at IBM user group on Thursday. For details contact the club secretary (see user group list).

Unisys year Unisys has confirmed speculation of a poor year in profits in 1987 because of the costs of merging Burroughs and Sperry. Mr Michael Blumenthal, the chairman of Unisys Corporation, says a net loss is expected for this year because of write-down costs arising from the merger. However, Unisys’s backlog of orders for Burroughs equipment at the beginning of January was the biggest yet, and that benefits of the merger after this year may be greater than expected, as 10,000 people will be shed from the merged payroll by the year’s end. New Aussat Australia will launch its replacement satellites for domestic communication in 1991 and 1992 to ensure continuity of service, the Australian Minister for Communications, Mr Michael Duffy, has announced. He said Australia’s national satellite system (Aussat) could go ahead with planning to replace the present series of satellites which would begin to reach the end of their operational lives in 1993. “Aussat will hold a briefing for industry in February to outline the replacement satellite design,” he said. Aussat will submit details of the system design and financial arrangements for government approval before calling tenders for the two new satellites and associated ground equipment’ in July. NEILL BIRSS