SGI Announces Key Sales Wins for Fourth Quarter
20th Anniversary Year Marks More Than 575 SGI Reality Center Facilities Installed, DARPA Contract for High-Productivity Computing, And Launch of Shared Storage Strategy
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Aug. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In its recently completed fourth quarter for fiscal year 2002, SGI (NYSE: SGI - News) posted several key sales wins, saw its government and defense sector grow to nearly a third of its total business, secured another DARPA contract, saw growth in its graphics business and launched its shared SAN filesystem solution.
This past quarter Silicon Graphics reached a significant milestone with more than 575 SGI® Reality Center(TM) installations worldwide. Since the opening of the world's first Reality Center facility in Reading, England, in 1994, SGI has pioneered the concept of an immersive, collaborative visualization environment. Today, these SGI Reality Center immersive visualization facilities deliver the highest quality performance and realism, enabling technical and creative professionals to engage in interactive, real-time engineering and design review, multidimensional data analysis, critical training, presentation and command-and-control operations. SGI Reality Center is also a key component in the company's Visual Area Networking (VAN) vision, which enables SGI customers to access and control these centralized supercomputers from remote locations over any device and to work collaboratively while doing so. Visual Area Networking puts high-performance, interactive visualization in the hands of surgeons, scientists, engineers and creative professionals, no matter where they are located. Sales of SGI's VAN solution gained momentum this quarter as well.
Joining the more than 575 SGI Reality Center facilities that have been installed worldwide:
-- DaimlerChrysler AG has chosen SGI as the lead contractor and system
integrator to completely update and expand its Virtual Reality Center
(VRC), located in Sindelfingen, Germany. The order is valued at
6.5 million euro ($6.4 million U.S.). The order was received in May
with an estimated project completion date of January 2003. SGI will be
responsible for all project activities for expanding the capacity and
functional capabilities of this key visualization technology that has
already proven productive for DaimlerChrysler AG. These latest
enhancements will ensure that the VRC holds an unequivocal top position
as the world's largest and most complex central facility for immersive
visualization used on a productive day-to-day basis. SGI(R) high-end
visualization systems, including InfiniteReality4(TM) graphics, are
included in the order. SGI Professional Services will deploy the
management software for the uniquely efficient steering of the center.
The VRC, located at the heart of the Mercedes Technology Center (MTC),
is used intensively by designers, engineers and project managers for
different automobile projects, allowing them to rapidly analyze and
understand their digital models and simulation results. The Mercedes
teams are also able to optimize and validate models and make the right
decisions at the earliest possible stage within an ideal environment
for multidisciplinary collaboration.
-- The Multimedia Development Corporation (MDC), a government-owned
corporation that was appointed to spearhead the development and
implementation of Malaysia's Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC), is
establishing the Creative Application Development Center (CADC), to be
powered by SGI technologies. The CADC comprises three
components -- Render Host, Reality Center and VAN. It is an
integrated rendering and visualization facility with full interactive
capabilities for VAN (either with other SGI Reality Center facilities
or with local centers). It can run and visualize content for industries
and users -- especially those in the energy, manufacturing, government
and defense, education and sciences, and media and entertainment
sectors -- based on immersive technologies as well as 2D/3D graphics
content. The CADC configuration includes a 16-processor SGI(R) Onyx(R)
3800 visualization system, two SGI(R) Total Performance 900 (TP900)
storage systems, and two Silicon Graphics Fuel(TM) visual workstations.
Its Reality Center features include a 12-foot-radius cylindrical screen
and three DLP(TM) projectors. The CADC, a collaboration between SGI and
MDC, aims to be a world-class high-performance computing and
visualization facility to boost the level of competitiveness and
competency of local as well as MSC-status companies in Malaysia. The
MSC is a part of Malaysia's Vision 2020, whose chief architect is
Malaysia's Prime Minister of 21 years, YAB Dato' Seri Dr. Mahathir
Mohamad. The Vision aims at Malaysia achieving leadership in the
Information Age and becoming a fully developed, matured and
knowledge-rich society by 2020.
-- TWR in England, has, for more than 25 years, provided the automotive
industry with fully integrated services in vehicle design, engineering,
and manufacturing. Since the installation of its first SGI Reality
Center facility in 1999, the company has been able to move
significantly beyond the limitations of CAD technologies when designing
and engineering automobiles, automobile components and systems for its
OEM customers. SGI has recently provided an upgrade to this facility,
which now uses an SGI(R) Onyx(R) 3400 system with three
InfiniteReality3(TM) graphics pipes to drive the Reality Center
environment. To support this upgrade, TWR also purchased an additional
20 Silicon Graphics Fuel(TM) visual workstations for running Dassault
Systemes CATIA(R) CAD/CAM software.
-- Superlab at Sci-Quest, the North Alabama Science Center selected the
SGI Reality Center environment, based on an SGI(R) Onyx(R) 300
visualization system, to generate rich three-dimensional graphics from
complex data sources and present the fastest and highest quality
graphics for learning about the physics of space, weather forecasting
and a myriad of other science applications. The SGI solution was
selected in part for its capacity to create the real-time
stereo-viewing experience necessary for an immersive visual
environment. By implementing the SGI Visual Area Networking solution
using OpenGL Vizserver(TM) 2.0 software, Sci-Quest will be able to
distribute content generated by Onyx 300 via the Internet to students
and teachers in classrooms all over Alabama and the region. SGI
Professional Services designed a cost-effective solution including
hardware, software, support and training that addressed Sci-Quest's
requests and, in fact, anticipated future needs, resulting in an
immersive learning environment that is well ahead of the state of the
art in science center applications. This state-of-the-art facility will
allow children and teachers from preschool through 12th grade, along
with visitors of all ages, to participate in experiential interactive
learning in a highly realistic, immersive visual environment that
Sci-Quest will use to promote science education.
-- SGI, along with partner, Mechdyne Corporation completed a cutting-edge
large-scale visualization system for the New Media Innovation Centre
(NewMIC) in Vancouver, British Columbia. A uniquely designed
visualization system developed and marketed by Mechdyne, the MD
Flex(TM) system is the world's first commercially available
reconfigurable large-scale visualization solution. NewMIC's MD Flex
features three 10x8-foot vertical panels and a floor projection surface
that can be quickly and easily configured as a fully immersive walk-in
environment, an angled, interactive theater, or a single, flat display
wall. An SGI(R) Onyx(R) 3200 visualization system with two
InfiniteReality3 graphics pipes generates high-fidelity 2D and 3D
images, which are projected onto the walls and floor by four CRT
projectors, immersing users in the virtual environment. The system will
provide a key platform for research in electronic gaming, networking,
and Web design and creation. NewMIC anticipates that the system will
also further strengthen British Columbia's commanding presence as the
home to world-leading companies and researchers in gaming and
entertainment applications of new media and in electronic commerce, the
Internet, wireless applications, and design.
As SGI celebrates its 20th anniversary of graphics leadership and innovation, it has been selected by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to conduct a concept study for a new vision of high-performance computing. The 12-month concept study is the first phase of a three-phase DARPA program designed to create a new generation of economically viable, scalable high-productivity computing systems for the national security and industrial user communities by 2010. Coincidentally, SGI was founded on a DARPA grant two decades ago. Among the wins in the government and defense sector were:
-- Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. purchased a wide range of SGI advanced
visualization and high-performance computing technologies as part of
its efforts to find the best ways to design, build and maintain the
Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). The latest multimillion-dollar purchase
orders booked in the March quarter and fourth quarter include SGI Onyx
family visualization systems and SGI(R) Origin(R) family servers, as
well as Silicon Graphics(R) 750 and Silicon Graphics(R) Octane2(TM)
visual workstations. Two SGI(R) Onyx(R) 3800 systems were also part of
a JSF order in the December quarter. SGI workstations run CATIA
engineering and design applications while SGI servers and visualization
systems power Lockheed Martin's JSF flight simulation laboratory in
Fort Worth, Texas.
-- Los Alamos National Laboratory purchased a 512-processor SGI(R)
Origin(R) 3000 series supercomputer for advanced climate modeling
studies.
The fourth quarter also marked the launch of unique storage products that solve the problem that has long frustrated technical professionals: how to store and manage very large sets of data without compromising performance. SGI announced the SGI SAN Server(TM) 1000, a new integrated storage solution that combines the performance and scalability of a storage area network (SAN), with the connectivity and file sharing of network attached storage. CXFS(TM), the high-performance shared file system from SGI, is a key component of this solution. During the quarter, SGI extended CXFS to multi-platform SANs with support for the Sun(TM) Solaris(TM) and Windows NT® operating systems. Customers planning to implement SGI shared storage solutions include:
-- The National Cancer Institute in Frederick, Maryland, purchased a
64-processor SGI Origin 3800 supercomputer, an SGI(R) TP9400 storage
system with 6TB of storage configured in a SAN with SGI CXFS and three
8-processor SGI Origin 300 systems, as well as CXFS for Solaris
clients, and two SGI(R) TP900 storage systems. This integrated SGI
high-performance computing and storage solution will be used for
bioinformatic and chemistry applications pertaining to AIDS, cancer and
Anthrax vaccine research. NCI-Frederick is located within the
Ft. Detrick U.S. Army base and is the Department of Health and Human
Service's only government-owned, contractor-operated facility. More
than 100 principal investigators located at NCI-Frederick direct
research aimed at exploring the causes of cancer, AIDS, and related
diseases.
-- TOTAL FINA ELF (TFE) is the fifth-largest oil and gas company
worldwide. TFE's Expert Center located in Pau, south-west of France,
provides technical expertise to 44 subsidiaries in seismic processing
and reservoir-simulation domains. In order to answer the constantly
growing needs of computing power, TFE, a long-time SGI customer,
decided to upgrade its site. The company purchased a new 64-processor
SGI Origin 3800 system with 256GB of memory. This new system is
connected to its first 64-processor SGI Origin 3800 system enabling TFE
to leverage the performance of this combined 128-processor SGI Origin
3800 system. It enables geophysicists and reservoir engineers to run
more jobs, using larger data sets in order to get more accurate
estimates of areas of exploration. In addition, the company has
upgraded its 32-processor SGI(R) 2000 server from 300MHz to 500MHz
MIPS(R) processors. Due to a sustained increase in TFE's data
production, the company also purchased 3TB of additional disks arrays
for its SGI TP9400 storage system. This provides a complete SAN
solution based on SGI CXFS shared SAN filesystem software that enables
complete data sharing and dramatically increases workflow and
production ratio. TFE has also implemented SGI(R) DMF (Data Migration
Facility) for moving data from disk to tape in its Expert Center.
-- Danish Broadcasting (DR) awarded the second phase of its new digital
newsroom project to SGI for the delivery of digital systems for its
second-generation management of television news and sports broadcasts.
The project, valued at $6.5 million (U.S.), has an estimated completion
date of December 2003. As it was in the first phase, SGI's
responsibilities include the design of the overall digital
architecture, the integration of the required multivendor technologies,
and a variety of professional services, project management, and
project-specific software development. This agreement represents a
major milestone for DR-it is necessary to go back to the shift from
film to video technology for DR's news broadcasts in the 1970s to find
a change as significant in broadcast technologies and workflows. For DR
personnel in the news and sports departments, the digital systems will
significantly change current workflows, resulting in more effective and
efficient production methods. DR staff will also have much faster
access to archived material, and will be able to share video and sound
material across the company's TV, radio and online operations. Included
in the purchase are eight SGI Media Server(TM) for broadcast systems, a
24-processor SGI Origin 3000 series system, a 12-processor SGI Origin
300 system, two SGI TP9400 storage systems with 3.4TB of storage, and
SGI DMF for moving data from disk to tape that will serve as the
foundation for archiving material. Broadcast Integration Service which
is an XML-based API developed by SGI Professional Services, provides
interfaces to all the different client software and systems including
the Web front end developed by DR. This combination makes it into the
most sophisticated and flexible asset management system in the
broadcast industry.
-- Design organization Volke Mlada Bolesaw, based in Germany with
established offices in the Czech Republic since 1993 (as Volke
Entwicklungsrings GmbH) and 120 employees pushing the envelope in
motor-car development, construction, technical designs and
documentation, purchased 11 Silicon Graphics Fuel visual workstations
with 600 MHz MIPS RISC processors and 1 GB memory, and an SGI(R) File
Server system based on the SGI Origin 300 server and SGI Total
Performance storage system. Volke is a long-time SGI customer with an
installed base of more than 90 SGI systems.
Other significant sales in the fourth quarter include:
-- The National Supercomputer Centre (NSC), located at University of
Linkoping, has expanded its SGI Origin 3800 supercomputing system to
128 500Mhz R14000(TM) processors and 128GB of memory. NSC provides
supercomputing services to government organizations, academic
institutions and industrial corporations across the country.
Applications include military and commercial aircraft research and
design, weather forecasts, and biochemistry research, the largest
single academic use of the system, along with physics, geoscience,
astronomy and engineering applications.
-- Infraconcepts, a Holland-based company, selected a VOD solution from
SGI and Thirdspace to launch SmarTV, Sweden's first broadband
video-on-demand (VOD) network. In the initial phase, SmarTV will be
delivered to 1,500 households outside Stockholm, in Sollentuna. The
solution from SGI and Thirdspace will allow SmarTV to cost-effectively
scale up to support the whole community of 22,000 households. The VOD
solution is based on the SGI Origin 300 server platform and
Thirdspace(TM) OVS video server software as well as the Thirdspace
Application Layer, known as OVA, which handles all business logic in
the system. The three components form the most scalable interactive TV
platform available.
This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding financial and contractual commitments that are subject to risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in such statements. The reader is cautioned not to rely unduly on these forward-looking statements, which are not a guarantee of future or current performance. Such risks and uncertainties include long-term program commitments, the performance of third parties, the sustained performance of current and future products, financing risks, the ability to integrate and support a complex technology solution involving multiple providers and users, and other risks detailed from time to time in the company's most recent SEC reports, including its reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. |
