Fujitsu Ltd has announced that it was bringing its mid-range computers, both proprietary office computers and Sparc-based DS/90 7000 series of Unix servers under a common new name of Business Servers. Tools for application development for both series of machines will be brought together in a common set, including Cobol and C languages and proprietary languages. The office computer K-series has been enhanced with a 64-bit RISC-based CMOS processor providing up to three times the speed of current models, up to 100 MIPS. The K-series line-up will include two A4-sized notebooks, the K-1500NX, and a low-cost business workstation, the K-1300, with over 60% better price-performance than the previous generation. The Accell applications generator is now supported, along with NetWare-based software and software for Windows 3.1. For the DS/90 7000 series of Sparc-based servers, a 60MHz high performance server model, the DS/90 7864/62/60A, and a small footprint desktop model, the DS/90 7550, which was developed jointly with ICL Plc, was announced. A version of a best-seller package to date sold only on the K-series was announced for the DS/90 series. Super Capsel Joyful provides sales, accounting and salary management functions for medium-sized and small businesses. On the DS/90 series, a Common Open Software Environment-compliant Common Desktop Environment was announced. Over the next two years, Fujitsu expects to sell around 12,000 units of the DS/90 7000 series and 151,000 units of the K-series office processor. The projected figures indicate the still-strong standing of the proprietary office processor in the Japanese market, but international experience suggests that demand for proprietary systems can vanish almost overnight once the market does turn.
