Tandem Computers Inc is caught between a rock and a hard place at the moment. It is already warning in no uncertain terms that its first quarter is going to be weak, which is largely down to the new product cycle which kicks in this week with the introduction of new ServerNet-based Himalaya and NT systems. It’s also because its third and fourth quarters included significant amounts of upgrade business which is going to paint the first quarter in an even worse light. In addition it is trying to remake itself as an NT/Intel shop; the ‘New Tandem.’ Its NonStop-based Himalaya S7000 and S70000 parallel systems (Whitney) will be introduced alongside four Intel-based Windows NT boxes fitted with ServerNet, which are apparently already shipping. NT clustering and ServerWare software will link the new Himalayas and NT boxes as well as the S4000 Unix-based ServerNets (Puma) which are already shipping. There’s also expected to be a slew of internet-oriented configurations. All of the new products ship this quarter with the exception of the high-end S70000 system. The NT boxes are Tandem designed and manufactured elsewhere.
