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Technology Stocks : Ampex Corporation (AEXCA) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ed Perry who wrote (3875)	11/22/1998 5:52:00 PM
From: Hal Campbell	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 17679

One of AXC's most alert and creative shareholders pointed this site out to me. Must have been there awhile ....hadn't noticed it before. ampex.com Of course the long abandoned TV after market biz still provides around 10 million a year. Just a note that explosive growth in the RAID arena is possible.EMC, for just one example, has demonstrated that at various times in their corporate history With the right products and with the right timing and sales force. So if the new MicroNet product is as good as trumpeted. it becomes strictly a selling job. We shall see how they do. Good things are at least possible. Quite possible.

To: Ed Perry who wrote (3875)	11/23/1998 8:59:00 AM
From: flickerful	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 17679

Data storage business growing Steve Robblee November 23, 1998 RALEIGH -- After five years of steady growth, Ken Strickland is searching for ways to create the type of breakout growth his company is ready for. Strickland's company, Storage Management Solutions, helps companies manage electronic data. After spending five years developing a way to automate Storage Management's service, the software is finally ready for wide release. Yet Strickland does not have the sales or marketing background needed to distribute it. Strickland has spent more than 20 years in the data management business, getting his first training in the U.S. Army National Guard. After several years managing the information system at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Research Triangle Park and working for a consulting company, Strickland set out to help other companies copy data systems and recover lost data. His client list has been limited because of major projects with the EPA and General Electric. Storage Management's revenues have more than doubled during each of the past three years. A white Mercedes 300SE with the license plate "SMS, INC" is a testament to his success. Demand for his services appears to be increasing because of fears that date-specific data may be corrupted in the year 2000. "In many cases, companies haven't even started Y2K testing," Strickland said. But in other cases, companies have downplayed the need for backup and recovery because they believe their systems have been engineered to be Y2K compliant, Strickland said. Storage Management's software is not the only program of its kind to automate the data storage and backup process. But it is the only software that enables individuals -- rather than a company's data specialist -- to use it, Strickland said. Now, Strickland is looking for a partner to help him go national. "Because we're a small company, there is not enough capital to roll it out," he said. Though he is operating in new territory, Strickland has ideas about what will and will not work for him. "I can't put on paper exactly what the next step is," Strickland said. He has approached data storage leaders about marketing the product and has received some interest. Finding venture capital is another possibility, though Strickland already rejected one offer because he would have lost too much control over SMS. Strickland often works at client sites, but otherwise operates from the basement in his north Raleigh home. He moved the headquarters there a couple of years ago, when he realized he did not use a central office enough to justify the rent. But he still keeps "Suite 100" as part of the company mailing address, suggesting to clients that SMS is in a business park. Strickland stays disciplined, resisting the temptation to work all night on a project. "I close the office at 5 or 6 o'clock and come back down in the morning." Meanwhile, the business is growing in other directions, as well. Strickland recently hired his first full-time employee. He also has four contractors who work as needed. He has turned down "five or six" contracts this year, and recently became certified as an independent contractor with the state to consult on data management projects. Once he adds staff and if he can get the software product off the ground, Strickland expects revenues to leap by a factor of 10. He declined to give current revenues. Despite the changes, Strickland isn't planning to step back into a strictly management role. He needs to stay abreast of the data storage industry's evolution to maintain viable products. "I want to continue to do consulting because as the technology changes, the software changes," he said. amcity.com