Alcatel Business Systems UK Ltd is to badge and sell the Intel Corp Fastpath communications processor, which links local IBM mainframes and DEC minis at channel speeds, as the 8930. The launch is the company’s first product announcement since it regrouped at the start of this year. The 8930 is the first member of a planned 8900 family and heralds further gateway products linking dissimilar environments , although Alcatel would not be drawn on dates for further announcements. Alcatel is licensed to sell the 8930 throughout Europe, where it envisages big sales. Market research has shown that 50% of IBM sites now have DEC VAXes as well, says Alcatel, which claims higher performance for the 8930 than existing SNA gateways offer, plus simultaneous terminal emulation and bi-directional data exchange. Up to now, Alcatel – formerly STC Data Systems, before that ITT, has been a 100% IBM-compatible communications equipment supplier. It now wants to offer universal networks.
