Irvine, California-based Opus Systems Inc has signed southern California start-up, an offshoot of the 200-man $80m-a-year Everex Systems personal computer distributor Tech Power Inc, to sell its new low-end Sparcsystems to end-users. Technix came into existance a year and a half ago, chartered to get Tech Power into the Unix business – a protective measure the company adopted against the day such a business actually materialises. Technix started peddling Unix-based 80386-80486 systems of its own and others’ making to resellers, but persistently courted Opus – even to taking on its slow-moving 88000 line – to be first in line to pick up the LSI/Opus kit when it became available a couple of months ago. In the last six weeks or so, Technix says it’s moved up to 50 Opus systems, some of them still on evaluation, into Fortune 100 accounts. Although originally intended to be a Unix wholesaler, Technix says it had no choice but to go direct. Moses Sun, the aptly named Chinese American running the operation, has found the only qualified buyers for his Sparcettes among the very top-rung US corporations – largely because of their built-in technical know-how and the kinds of applications available for the machines. His sell is purely on price, he says, Sun Microsystems having done a remarkable job in packaging the technology, (a cloner) can’t enhance performance. Sun Microsystems isn’t making it particularly easy for its clone offspring to cell on price either – having always had a reputation for sizeable discounts. Sun the executive says he reckons a company can get 32% to 35% off from Sun Microsystems, which is now also qualifying some large companies as research institutions, so they can get a 50% discount. Opus isn’t making it too easy for Mr Sun either. He says that Opus, whose list prices are the equal of Sun Microsystems, is trying to keep its margins as high as it can, forcing him to negotiate his price with Opus every time he goes to cut a deal. Opus would like to keep its discounts in the 25% to 30% range, which Mr Sun says just isn’t enough. Technix finds its prospects through its parent’s direct contacts with corporate personal computer buyers. In six months to a year he guesses demand will fan out from the Fortune 100 to embrace the Fortune 500, but it will be another three to five years before regular users start buying RISC boxes.
