Bull announces its Data Warehouse Initiative.

BILLERICA, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 6, 1996--

Scalable portfolio of products and services from

multiple vendors helps customer organizations to secure

their "information goldmines"

Bull announced today its Warehouse Initiative -- a comprehensive set of hardware, software and service solutions -- for the intelligent, secure management of business-critical data throughout the enterprise.

The Bull Warehouse Initiative is key to helping business units, departments, or entire enterprises build data warehouses in order to exploit valuable business intelligence across the organization. Initial market targets in the United States include managed care applications at the state and local government levels and in the private sector. Bull and the State of Michigan already have implemented a major managed care project and have recently started work on a state-wide decision support system. The two projects, valued at more than $22 million, are thought to be the nation's largest, most comprehensive data warehouse efforts underway at the state government level.

"Whatever the size of the organization or its previous investments, Bull and its partners offer secure, fully integrated data warehousing solutions with rapid return on investment," said Jack Ginsburg, Bull vice president responsible for new business development. "Bull is conscious of the fact that enterprises do not just `buy' data warehouses but `build' them. This is why the Bull has developed a very deep and diverse system integration and services capabilitiy to complement our scalable portfolio of products a network of partners."

System Integration and Services

Bull leverages the strong pedigree of Integris, its systems integration and services and systems operations business, in building and integrating information systems for managing business-critical data. Integris works with customers to integrate warehousing solutions within their current information systems, applying Bull expertise in hardware, middleware, databases and security management.

Integris applies proven major management methodology -- MOSIC(TM) -- to help ensure that the data warehouse project is delivered to schedule and to customer satisfaction. A full complement of services is available, tailor-made to each customer's specific requirements (project management, business consulting, data modeling, database design, code generation, application development, prototyping, installation, deployment, maintenance, support and training).

A Scalable Portfolio of Products

-- Integrated security and management: Given the paramount importance of security and management in a distributed environment, the Warehouse Initiative incorporates Bull's award-winning ISM/OpenMaster suite of system, network and security management software. The entire process of warehouse creation, administration and access is under the supervision of ISM/OpenMaster.

-- Openness, flexibility and ease of use: Bull's Distributed Data Warehouse middleware provides an open infrastructure for the integration of essential components such as data bases, desktop tools, warehouse design and extraction tools. Customers have with freedom to choose the preferred product for any specific data warehouse task.

-- Performance, scalability and reliability: The offering includes a complete set of scalable, robust warehouse solutions directly addressing the requirements of the enterprise: for data marts (mono-functional warehouses), multi-functional warehouses (for groups of departments) or enterprise warehouses, with cascaded data marts. To support these solutions, Bull can deploy its entire range of compatible PowerPC-based open systems servers, from EstrellaTM through EscalaTM and Escala PowerclusterTM. For heavy-duty warehouses, Bull offers its SagisterTM UNIX multiframeTM and the Bull Relational DBC series, built on the NCR 5100 Teradata platform.

A Network of Partners

-- Various technology partnerships are in place to bring together best-of-breed technologies, pre-integrated to facilitate the implementation of data warehouses. Partners include Oracle, Informix, Sybase, Business Objects, SLP-Infoware, Transtar, IBI, ETI, EMC and Data General (CLARiiON).

-- Business partnerships, working together with Bull and its customers, help ensure the completeness of skills brought to a project. Bull brings the experience of selecting and working with specialist consultants and other partners who provide additional sector-specific skills to analyze customer processes (in areas such as customer loyalty and market segmentation for the banking sector).

-- Joint competency centers have been established to provide the best levels of support for a given project to customers of both Bull and its selected partner. These centers operate on a worldwide basis in fields such as product demonstration, porting, tuning and optimization.

Bull and the Data Warehouse Initiative

"Bull's credentials in the data warehouse market are built on our extensive experience in enterprise computing, systems integration and management, and proven success in forming partnerships with best-of-breed vendors," Ginsburg said. "Our strategy is to be a one-stop data warehouse solution provider, integrating hardware and software with the services necessary to address specific customer needs. Bull's Data Warehouse Operation, with sales and technical support locations nationwide, provides a dedicated sales, marketing and support resource to meet client's specific requirements in the fast growing U.S. data warehouse marketplace."

Availability and Pricing

The products, solutions and services associated with the Bull Warehouse Initiative are available for immediate use. Prices for an entry-level product package (with UNIX server, relational database management system, four Business Objects licenses and the data warehouse software needed for automated data replication and transformation) start at approximately $50,000.

About Bull

With a presence in more than 85 countries, more than 24,000 employees and combined revenue of $5.3 billion in 1995, Bull offers a wide range of systems, infrastructure software and IT services through focused innovation, alliances with the best partners and its own integration expertise. Based in France, the company's North/South American headquarters are in Billerica, Mass., with significant R&D, marketing and customer support services in Phoenix.

Bull is recognised for innovative products such as Escala servers, Sagister multiframes, CP8 smart cards, plus infrastructure software such as ISM/OpenMaster for the management of systems and networks. The company's Web address is: http://www.bull.com. -0-

Estrella, Escala, Powercluster, Sagister and multiframe are registered trademarks of Bull SA. PowerPC and AIX are trademarks of IBM Corp. and are being used under license. UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other countries, licensed exclusively through X/Open Company Limited. All trademarks, service marks and company names are the property of their respective owners.

NOTE TO EDITORS: A companion document provides quotes from these Bull Warehouse Initiative Partners: Oracle, Informix, EMC, Clariion/DG, Business Objects, ETI and SLP InfoWare.

CONTACT: Bull HN Information Systems Inc.

Bill Bradley

508/294-5812

[e-mail]