NEC, Veritas, Oracle Japan tie up on data storage

TOKYO: Japanese computer and chip maker NEC Corp said on Wednesday that it

had agreed to cooperate with Veritas Software Corp and Oracle Corp Japan to

develop and market new data storage systems. NEC said its storage area network

(SAN) product "iStorage" will be certified as compatible with Veritas

and Oracle products as it aims to boost its profile in the global market.

The market for data storage systems is growing rapidly by offering companies

sizable cost savings in managing large data bases. Electronics conglomerate

Hitachi Ltd, which announced a sales and service tie-up with Veritas in

February, has seen its storage systems division take off in recent months, with

145 percent sales growth in the January-March quarter.

That growth caught the attention of investors and helped to keep Hitachi's

shares buoyant while worries about the sluggish chip market weighed down other

big chip and electronics manufacturers in Japan. Hitachi ended Wednesday trade

unchanged at 1,257 yen, while NEC was off 3.39 percent at 1,740 yen, its third

consecutive drop and its lowest close in nearly three months.

Veritas a leading data management software vendor is bolstering its

operations in Japan, with plans to more than double its Japan-based staff to at

least 150 this year. "Asia is clearly positioned to emerge as the centre of

the global economy," Veritas Chief Executive Officer Gary Bloom said in a

speech on Wednesday.

(C) Reuters Limited 2001.