Don:
Ampex is starting to ship the 6.4 terabyte DST 810. Also, AXC
finally disclosed the roadmap for the double density tape project
that Red Chip first reported last year. I've cut-and-pasted the relevant excerpts from the 10Q below.
I'm beginning to think that the double density project may be the
sleeper product here considering how it increases the capacity of
AXC's current cartridges (from 25 GB to 50GB, 75 GB to 150 GB,
165 GB to 330 GB). Compare this with StorageTek's Redwood
50GB cartridge or with Sony's DTF 43 GB cartridge and one gets a
sense of an expanding window of opportunity for Ampex to increase
the installed base of its DST products.
Hmmm....let's see, a keepered bunt here, a DST 810 double there,
and a Mitsubishi single to load the bases with the double density
tape on deck to bring the runners home. That ain't too bad at all.
Regards,
Gus
Excerpt from AXC 3rd quarter 10Q 1996:
As indicated in the 1995 Form 10-K, in order for DST product
sales to increase significantly, the Company believes that it will be necessary for the products to gain broader acceptance in commercial markets, in addition to the specialized technical markets from which most of the Company's revenue from 19 millimeter products is currently derived. In this regard, the Company currently expects that its DST 810, a large robotic library system with a storage capacity of up to 6.4 terabytes of data, will be available for shipment
during the fourth quarter of 1996. Late in the third quarter of 1996, the Company shipped a beta version of its DST 810 robotic library system. The Company has also announced that its DST product line is now supported by Legato Systems' NetWorker 4.2.5, a UNIX based data transfer module, in addition to certain other software products previously announced. However, while all of
these software products currently support the DST 310 tape drive and the DST 410 library, it is anticipated that they will not support the DST 810 library until 1997. The integration of these software products with the DST 810 library system is not within the Company's control, and if delayed could adversely affect DST product sales for the next several quarters. In addition, the third-party software currently runs on only a limited number of UNIX workstations. There may be technical or other difficulties, some of which will
be outside of Ampex's control, in expanding support to other DST products and computer platforms. Accordingly, the Company cannot predict the extent to which the integration of such software with DST products might result in increased sales of those products, or the timing of such increases, if any.
The Company's DST products are subject to competition from disk and tape based storage systems that are manufactured by larger companies with greater financial and technological resources. Recently, IBM Corporation announced the general availability of its new high capacity, high speed tapestorage product, "Magstar". Also, Sony Corporation has developed its DTF tape drive, which is tailored for the mass data storage industry.
Allthough Ampex believes that its DST products are generally competitive with these and other offerings, competition from such companies could adversely impact Ampex's future sales levels and profitability.
In the fourth quarter of 1996, the Company expects to announce a new version of its 19 millimeter mass data storage products that will double the amount of data that can be stored on a single cartridge. Although the availability of this new version is intended to enhance the Company's competitive position, it could cause a decline in sales of the Company's existing 19 millimeter products. As with any new product, there could also be delays in delivering this new version. |
