A year or so ago, Sun Microsystems Inc, Apollo Computer and Hewlett-Packard Co each decided that the financial services market promised above-average prospects as a major new growth outlet for their Unix workstations, and it begins to look as if they were pushing at an open door, because companies specialising in the field are coming […]
A year or so ago, Sun Microsystems Inc, Apollo Computer and Hewlett-Packard Co each decided that the financial services market promised above-average prospects as a major new growth outlet for their Unix workstations, and it begins to look as if they were pushing at an open door, because companies specialising in the field are coming to the same conclusion. Sun Microsystems has boosted its financial business by an estimated $5m over the next year with an OEM deal from trading systems supplier Micrognosis Inc, of Danbury, Connecticut. A wholly-owned subsidiary of Control Data Corp, Micrognosis has ported its Trade information distribution software, which previously ran on DEC hardware under VMS, over to the Unix environment. The company says that its new Intelligent Workstation System will use Sun 386i, Sun-3 and Sun-4 workstations to enable dealers to access the various sources of digital financial information supplied by the likes of Telerate and Reuters via the Sun’s single 19 high resolution screen. Multiple screens for video-based information will also be integrated to work from a single keyboard and mouse – although Micrognosis marketing manager Janet Wood estimated that all sources would be digital within the next two years. The first Intelligent Workstation System system is set to go live in November, and Micrognosis says it expects substantial business from the video switching replacement market. The company has 22 offices in the major trading centres of 17 countries, and in the UK – where up until last year it traded under the name of Control Data Financial Information Services – it currently boasts 15 customers in the City.
