NEW NEC SELECT SOLUTIONS; LEADING APPLICATION AND LAN SOFTWARE INTEGRATED AND OPTIMIZED ON NEC DESKTOP AND PORTABLE COMPUTERS Boxborough, Massachusetts, August 17, 1992--Signaling a major new direction for NEC Technologies, Inc., the company today unveiled the NEC Select Solutions program, becoming the first hardware vendor to offer a broad array of "solutions-ready" systems. Through strategic partnerships with Microsoft, Novell, Aldus, Autodesk, and other software vendors, NEC will integrate and optimize its hardware with leading software applications to deliver turnkey solutions for business/office, desktop publishing, presentation, CAD/CAM, and LAN applications. The NEC Select Solutions program was designed to complement the company's efforts to reach buyers whose needs are not being adequately addressed by current products. By delivering solutions-ready systems, NEC is alleviating the growing burden and complexity associated with buying, integrating, and supporting hardware, software, networks and peripherals. The NEC Select Solutions concept offers customers a myriad of time and cost saving benefits, including: delivery of complete Novell network-ready systems; application software installed and "ready-to-run" (requiring no technical expertise to configure); and, one-year on-site service and support. The joint development partnerships between NEC and the Select Solutions third-party software companies Promote ongoing peer-to-peer engineering collaboration, resulting in the production of optimized, fine-tuned computing platforms designed to deliver the best hardware/software performance available. "By focusing on users through an application perspective, we're looking beyond hardware needs to where users need the most help--integration. NEC Selection Solution systems remove the guesswork associated with proper PC configuration, and a significant percentage of the cost. The buyer doesn't have to be concerned with the amount of memory required for the application, the size of the hard drive, or the type of monitor to be used. The end result is a fine-tuned, optimized system solution," said James Berrett, chief operating executive at NEC Technologies, Inc. "NEC has an advantage in a marketplace that is experiencing an increasing need for integration, since we manufacture a wide range of components--CPUs, monitors, printers, CD-ROM readers, disk drives--typically used in PC system solutions. Since we manufacture all of the NEC Select Solution system hardware components, we are in the best position to deliver factory integrated solutions." "NEC Select Solution systems are indicative of the level of attention to customer needs that NEC Technologies must adhere to in the 1990's and beyond. We are producing systems designed for the way customers want to use them-- not the way manufacturers have traditionally sold them," added David Middleton, director of Desktop Systems Marketing at NEC Technologies, Inc. "Additionally, this focus enables NEC Select Solutions customers, especially those experiencing resource constraints, to save time and money by reducing support costs and complexity." According to Jeffrey Henning, an analyst at BIS Strategic Decisions, a Norwell, Massachusetts based industry research firm, "Corporations are spending anywhere from three to fourteen hours, at costs ranging from $140 to more than $1,000, to configure each PC." With factory integrated NEC Select Solution systems, delivered and ready for immediate use by the end user, we can reduce these costs by up to 90%," added Middleton. Product and Service Information All NEC Select Solution systems feature CPUs from the company's PowerMate Image and Express series of desktop systems, and UltraLite notebook computers. NEC Select Solution systems are equipped with NEC storage devices and MultiSync FG monitors, with application software, Windows 3.1, and MS-DOS optimized and pre-installed on the system. NEC Select Solution systems also feature selected third-party hardware such as network cards, scanners, and video boards that are fully tested and supported by NEC. NEC will provide one-year on-site service for NEC Select Solution systems at no charge to the customer. All requests for on-site service will be handled within eight business hours. In addition, customers will have unlimited access to the NEC technical support center--from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. EST. Distribution NEC has identified and qualified approximately 200 top resellers from its extensive distribution network who will participate in the NEC Select Solutions program. "NEC Select Solution systems represent a great opportunity for resellers who want to offer customers the value of integration, but don't want to be burdened with the implementation costs. NEC is able to play a greater role in enhancing the dealer's integration capability while reducing associated costs. With a direct relationship with the NEC factory, dealers now have a manufacturing organization behind them. This also benefits the dealer's relationship with end-users, since they can guarantee that NEC Select Solution systems are factory built and certified," added Middleton. For more information on NEC Select Solutions, counsel on matching a Solution with an application or to locate the nearest participating dealer, call 1-800-374-8000 after August 24th when product begins shipping. NEC Technologies, Inc. is a leading supplier of computers and peripherals for the North American market. Product lines include award-winning ProSpeed laptop computers, UltraLite notebook computers, MultiSync FG monitors, Silentwriter and Colormate printers, PowerMate Image and Express systems products, and InterSect CD-ROM hardware. NEC Technologies, Inc. is a subsidiary of NEC Corporation. NEC Technologies 1414 Massachusetts Ave, Boxborough, MA 01719 508-264-8000 +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | From the America Online - New Product Information Services | +===============================================================+ | This information was processed from data provided by the | | above mentioned company. 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