Sales of Hitachi Ltd’s new MP5800 mainframe computer – the one known as Skyline by Hitachi Data Systems – are going far better than the company expected – suggesting that, as forecast, IBM Corp is going to lose significant business by not offering a new monolithic mainframe. IBM is also adamant that it won’t take the Hitachi machine OEM to satisfy customers that don’t reckon a parallel Sysplex will meet their requirements. Hitachi says sales of the machine have risen to 300 since the model was introduced in April, and credits heavier than expected demand from customers in the US and Europe. The sales figures, based on expectations derived from negotiations, are so far running well ahead of Hitachi’s original estimate of selling 500 computers a year over a fo ur-period, he said, and about 70% to 8-% of the orders are coming from overseas financial institutions and large corporations. Hitachi admits that the MP5800 is the last of the line for bipolar mainframes and that developments in the next two or three years will enable CMOS chips to compete with bipolar, but says that some users need the speed and power now despite its higher cost.
