In one of the more dramatic examples of downsizing so far, Mead Corp’s big Mead Data Central Inc, operator of the world-famous public Lexis and Nexis databases, is replacing one of its IBM Corp mainframes used for administration with members of the Intel Corp iAPX-86-based Unix family from AT&T Co’s NCR Corp. Terms of the multi-million dollar contract were not disclosed. The first order of NCR System 3000 products included Model 3550 multiprocessors; 3450 deskside multiprocessors; 3445 departmental servers; and Co-operation software. All applications will be transferred onto the NCR 3450s and 3550s from the mainframe and will be accessible from all Mead Data Central field locations. Mead says that its mainframe was running at maximum capacity, but rather than upgrade, it searched for an alternative due to the rising costs of proprietary mainframe technology. NCR currently is helping Mead Data Central Information Systems to re-write core applications based on a pilot test that concluded recently in Dayton. Inventory, invoicing, order management and personnel tracking will be among the first applications modified. It seems likely that once the current project is complete, Mead will switch entirely to Unix systems.
