REAL To Feature New IBM S/390 Multiprise 3000 Servers; Leading Business Partner to Highlight Significant Price/Performance Improvement.

WOODLAND HILLS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 6, 1999--

REAL Applications Ltd., an IBM Premier Business Partner and a leading IBM S/390 enterprise system solution provider, has begun marketing and supporting the recently announced IBM S/390 Multiprise server family.

This new product series is an extension to REAL's successful S/390 practice and is considered key to helping medium-sized customers and prospects reduce their cost of doing business, while still growing existing applications and adding new workloads. The Multiprise 3000 servers, announced by IBM on Sept. 20, 1999, represent a distinct price/performance improvement over the Multiprise 2000 family.

David A. Wolff, chief operating officer of El Camino Solutions, REAL's parent holding company, observed that the timing of the Multiprise 3000 introduction was especially significant.

"Literally thousands of information technology users have been reluctant to make investments in new systems, given the amount of money they have already invested in assuring Y2K compliance throughout their business. The Multiprise 3000 series should have a strong appeal to these companies, particularly if they have had the opportunity to take advantage of the robust OS/390 operating system, which provides an excellent base for such growth initiatives as Web enablement," said Wolff.

An All-in-One Cost Efficient Solution

The Multiprise 3000 is available in three compact desk-side models -- the H30, H50 and H70 -- that provide an excellent growth path for users of small and midsize machines. Each member of the Multiprise 3000 family combines the S/390 server platform's industry leading strengths of availability and security with new hardware and software pricing. More than any other S/390, the Multiprise 3000 provides an all-in-one solution, with hardware and software combined into a unified, economical package.

Instead of charges based on static demand, IBM offers users of Multiprise 3000 systems a unique software pricing arrangement, the Growth Opportunity License Charge (GOLC), which encourages the use of capacity beyond that required to support legacy workloads for the development and production use of new applications.

GOLC fees are lower than software license charges for other S/390 processors with equivalent throughput. Other incentives are available to help customers move ahead while preserving their existing environment, including some very attractive terms for users with VSE or VM who want to move to OS/390.

Compact and Pre-Configured

Multiprise 3000 servers can occupy about a square meter of floor space at desk side. They are offered preconfigured and preloaded with the latest OS/390 Version 2 Release 6 operating system, as well as VM and VSE operating systems and optional applications, including new e-business and business intelligence offerings. Server highlights include:

-- Microprocessors (also used in the S/390 Parallel Enterprise Server) that are Generation 5, operating at 2.4 nanoseconds cycle time and three times faster than the Multiprise 2000;

-- Optional S/390 Crytographic Coprocessor for industry-leading security;

-- One to 4 gigabytes main memory, depending on model;

-- Internal disk storage up to 792 GB;

-- An easy upgrade path. The entry H30 model can be upgraded to an H50 server, offering about twice the performance. The H50 is upgradeable to the H70, which offers more than three times the capacity of the H30.

-- Up to two expansion frames that can be added to the base server frame for direct access storage devices (DASD) and channels.

"The Multiprise 3000 family of servers has been developed with today's cost, capacity and performance-conscious business user in mind," Wolff continued.

"But it is important to have professional advice about which of the three servers is right for any given business. Unlike other S/390 systems, the three models in the Multiprise 3000 group are not rated in terms of MIPS or MSU. Instead, IBM has created a new way of measuring and defining system capacity and performance. REAL account representatives are prepared to offer system guidance to assure the greatest benefits and maximum cost efficiency."

About REAL

REAL Applications is the highly successful IBM midrange and S/390 enterprise systems subsidiary of El Camino Resources Ltd., one of the largest privately held information technology provider/lessors in the world. REAL is an IBM Premier Business Partner, a systems integrator and software developer.

A total Solution Provider, REAL is responsible for more than 6,000 S/390, AS/400 and RS/6000 installations nationwide. For the past five years, REAL has been among the top revenue-producing IBM midrange remarketers. REAL has received the IBM National Distinction Award as leading reseller of S/390 mainframe products.

Other IBM awards include Outstanding Solution Provider, and the Year-to-Year Growth award for achievement in the promotion and sale of IBM Storage Systems Solutions. The company has headquarters in Woodland Hills, and can be reached by phone at 800/359-3475. The REAL Web site is located at http://www.realapps.com.