HP Celebrates 15 Years of HP-UX

Boeblingen, Germany, Oct. 8, 1998

Hewlett-Packard Company today announced that this year marks the 15th anniversary of its HP-UX(1) operating environment and further emphasised its total commitment to UNIX system and Microsoft Windows NT platforms.

To celebrate the anniversary, HP will hold a series of European events to say thank you to its customers and channel partners, and to demonstrate its firm commitment to the UNIX system platform.

HP has had an impressive track record in UNIX system computers during the last 15 years, including the following highlights:

• pioneered the UNIX system market in 1983 and continues to lead the industry as the No.1 UNIX system vendor in worldwide revenues;
• leads the high-end UNIX system server market (according to International Data Corporation's [IDC] first and second calendar quarter 1998 data);
• holds key alliances with Hitachi, NEC and Stratus and continues to build its portfolio of world-class partners;
• holds the world's fastest TPC-C benchmark on the HP V2250, consistently outpacing the competition (more than 52,000 transactions per minute);
• has been a key driver in the development of 64-bit computing and was one of the first major vendors to offer and market a 64-bit OS;
• has achieved more than 3,500 successful MFA (mainframe alternative) installations and more than 15,000 MC/ServiceGuard high-availability solution installations; and
• has sold twice as many servers (V-Class) in the last nine months as its closest competitor has (SUN UE10000) in the last 18 months.

"Based on our analysis of data provided by IDC, HP has gained in market share of commercial UNIX system server revenues every year since 1988, and we've held the No. 1 market-share position in commercial UNIX system platforms since 1993," said Bill Russell, HP vice president and general manager of the Enterprise Systems Group. "The total number of HP-UX systems sold by HP worldwide since 1987 now exceeds 1.4 million units. We generate more than $10 billion (U.S.) in UNIX system-related revenues annually, when you take into account sales of our UNIX system servers, workstations, consulting, integration and support services."

The recent alliance announcement with NEC continues HP's commitment to HP-UX. HP is leveraging NEC's industry-leading expertise in mainframe computers and high-end systems to optimise HP-UX and effectively deliver industry-leading performance and availability on IA-64.

"HP will ensure the longevity and success of HP-UX as the UNIX system market begins to consolidate operating environments once IA-64 is available," said Janice Chaffin, general manager for HP's High Performance Systems Division.

About HP

HP is a leading global provider of computing, Internet and intranet solutions, services, communications products and measurement solutions, all of which are recognised for excellence in quality and support. It is the second-largest computer supplier in the world, with computer-related revenue in excess of $35.4 billion in its 1997 fiscal year. HP has 127,200 employees and had revenue of $42.9 billion in its 1997 fiscal year.

Information about HP and its products can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.hp.com.

Editorial Contacts:

Melanie Felderhof
+ 49 7031 14 2059
melanie_felderhof@hp.com

1. HP-UX Release 10.20 and later and HP-UX Release 11.00 and later (in both 32 and 64-bit configurations) on all HP 9000 computers are Open Group UNIX 95 branded products.

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