New players for U.S. servers

Several large Japanese computer makers are targeting the American market for personal computer servers, challenging the traditional strongholds of U.S. vendors such as Compaq and IBM.

Fujitsu will introduce servers in the fall, while Hitachi will enter the market within the year, according to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Japan's largest business daily.

Both will market the new servers through U.S. subsidiaries, the report said.

A spokesperson for Fujitsu said that the company has a "strong intention to enter in to the [U.S.] server market," but that plan is not fixed yet. Details about which segment of the market the company will target haven't been set, and the introduction of the products might not occur until early 1997, according to the spokesperson. Officials at Hitachi could not be reached for comment.

The paper also quotes industry sources that say NEC will manufacture servers with its Packard Bell-NEC affiliate in the United States and intensify marketing efforts of servers.

The three companies are reportedly setting sales targets of 10,000 servers a year.