JEIDA Survey Shows 35% of Japanese Users Ready for Y2K

A survey by Jeida (Japan Electronic Industry Development Association) showed that by the end of March 98, 35% of Japanese corporate computer users had finished fixing their Y2K problems. Fifty-eight percent have switched to new software and the other 42% have altered their existing software.

The figures were compiled from 24.7% of 445 questionnaire respondents, who are mostly dealers responsible for sales and maintenance of mid-ranged computers. The same survey conducted in October 1997 showed that 20% of the respondents were prepared for Y2K, meaning that the number of compliant users has had a small increase. However, things are not all bad, and 55% of the remaining users are expected to complete Y2K programs by the end of December 1998.

Among those dealers who anticipate a shortage of experts to deal with the Y2K problem, 70% of all respondents say that a 13% increase in system engineers will be needed to handle the situation. At present, many computer users are aware of the manpower problem, but have yet to determine what kind of measures they should take, says Hitoshi Nomura, the chair of JEIDA's regulatory committee.

Fujitsu Finishes First in Corporate PC Poll

Fujitsu came first in the volume of PCs purchased by corporations in Japan in fiscal 1997, with a market share of 32.7 percent. NEC ranked second with 21.7 percent, followed by IBM's 17.9 percent. The PC corporate users' survey for 1998 was based on questionnaires answered by 580 companies, for a response rate of 28 percent, out of 2,074 major companies.

The survey also showed that 28.7 percent of all PCs in use at companies were bought during fiscal 1997, and 16.1 percent of respondents replied that they were interested in purchasing PCs but have yet to decide on the maker. Large companies with 1,000 or more units are reducing purchases to 40 percent of fiscal 1997. It is unlikely that corporate PC demand for fiscal 1998 will grow during the current recession, according to Nikkei Market Access.

Java Consortium: Established and Growing

Ibm japan, nihon sun microsystems and fuji soft ABC announced that they have established the Java Consortium, an organization that will promote Java. The director of the consortium is Keikichi Honda, the chairman of Nihon Sun Microsystems.

The Java Consortium aims to promote Java application development and system construction in networks. Their activities will include hosting technical seminars and supporting 100% Pure Java events, opening an electronic mall on the Web, testing and monitoring Java related products developed by members, supplying the latest technological information, and promoting products on the consortium's homepage. As of May 24, there were 24 companies on the board of trustees and 134 members. The Java Consortium expects to sign up 250 members by the end of the year.

Java Consortium: 03-5600-5915

Compaq's Merger With DEC

Compaq and dec (digital equipment corporation) in the USA have announced a plan on how they will merge by the end of 1998. In June 1997, Compaq merged with Tandem Computers, and this new merger will involve all three, to give Compaq a reinforced line of products.

The involvement with DEC will strengthen Compaq's range of strategic products in 64-bit environments, such as Digital Unix, OpenVMS, and Alpha. The new look Compaq will sell everything from handheld PCs to super parallel servers and mainframes, and will have 25,000 service/support personnel worldwide to provide a total solution business. The proposed merger will result in the possible worldwide layoff of 2,000 employees from Compaq and 30,000 from DEC, according to representatives from both companies.

In the deal, Compaq will issue approximately $4.5 billion in cash and 141 million shares of Compaq stock, which is $30 in cash and .945 shares of Compaq stock for each DEC common share. On June 11, Digital common stock stopped trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

"Digital [DEC] shareholders recognize the significant value of this acquisition," said Eckhard Pfeiffer, Compaq's President and Chief Executive Officer. "The acquisition of Digital reinforces Compaq's global leadership in enterprise computing. Compaq is committed to delivering high customer value through standards-based enterprise computing with world class service and support."

Details on merger plans in Japan have yet to be revealed, but Compaq Computer KK has said that existing president Hajime Takayanagi will head up the new organization.

Compaq Computer KK is also putting more effort into e-Commerce. In recent years government institutions, credit companies, computer firms, distribution and retail industries have been experimenting with e-Commerce on the Internet. Compaq is planning to join the domestic e-Commerce system market during the third quarter of this year to start a solutions business, offering SET (Secure Electronic Transaction) related data encryption, firewall products, system architecture consulting services and system operation/management support services. These services are based on iTP (Internet Transaction Processing) payments a software supporting safe e-Commerce on the net.

Head of Packard Bell Resigns

Benny Alagem, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Packard Bell NEC, one of the world's biggest PC manufacturers, resigned early this month. As a reason for his resignation, Alagem referred to fundamental differences with Japan's NEC Corp and France's Groupe Bull, the group shareholders.

Well-known as the founder of Packard Bell NEC and largely responsible for its growth, he resigned abruptly from the company and put out an independent press release unbeknownst to his colleagues.

NEC executives and its shareholders, taken by surprise, asked Alagem to remain chairman, but to no avail. At the time of reporting NEC had no comment on the matter.

According to Alagem, it is time for a change. "Seven months ago we began looking for a senior executive who could come in as COO (chief operating officer) and eventually take over as CEO (chief executive officer)," Alagem said. "I actively participated in the search process. The shareholders have now reached a decision, so the time is right for me to find a new challenge."

With shipments of 1,002,000 units, Packard Bell NEC was number five in the global PC manufacturer ranks for the first quarter of this year, with 4.7 percent share, according to Gartner Group. The company held the number three ranking in the North American market, with 698,000 units shipped, for an 8.9 percent share.


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