Strengthening its grip on the open system market for fault tolerance, Stratus Computer Inc now has two products to enhance data communications between diverse computers, software applications, and proprietary and industry-standard networks. The first, Network Express, helps link dissimilar proprietary hardware, software, and networking platforms; the second, OSI Server, establishes a platform for the development of applications that comply with the International Standards Organisation’s OSI model. Scientific Software Inc of Atlanta used to market Network Express for Stratus, but under a new OEM agreement, it will now be marketed exclusively by Stratus. Network Express has been developed to address the absence of a single industry data communications programming standard by providing a single online transaction processing environment. Under the new deal, the product’s local area and wide area networking capabilities will be extended and it will be enhanced to support Stratus’ OSI Server product, enabling businesses to link their proprietary networks with industry-standard OSI networks. Network Express is available immediately and supports a variety of local area and wide area networks and its price, which varies per XA2000 model, begins at $6,800. Release 2.0 of the OSI Server software product, available in the first quarter of 1991, enables application developers to write OSI-compliant applications for both local area and wide area networked computers. Release 1.0 only catered for wide area networks. Prices start at $2,200. Meanwhile, ICL IT Services, whose Carrier 400 product targets telecommunications service providers; Incotel Inc, New York, which provides store-and-forward message switching systems; Marben, Paris, which specialises in messaging products for including international finance, and Danet GmbH of Darmstadt, Germany, a developer of messaging systems are all developing on-line transaction processing applications for Stratus processors.
