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                                                        The Florida SunFlash
 	       Sun Enters Hospitality Industry In Asia
   
SunFLASH Vol 29 #1					            May 1991 
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Singapore -- April 26, 1991 -- Sun Microsystems has made its debut in
the Asian hospitality industry, signing a multi-site network contract
with the Hotel Grand Central Chain. The project, also involving Focus
Infotech and CSA Group's Automated Systems Limited (ASL), has
reinforced Sun's leadership in the commercial market where, based on
workstation and server revenues, it holds a 38.2 per cent unit share
(IDC 1990).

The installation of three SPARCserver(TM) 330 systems connected to
multiple users is the first phase in a major two-part computerization
program for the Hotel Grand Central Chain. The chain includes the Hotel
Grand Central in Singapore, Hotel Grand Continental in Kuala Lumpur,
and the Hotel Grand Continental in Penang, which is due to open in June
of this year.  The hotels have more than 300 rooms each.

The Sun system will be used for reservation, registration, cashiering,
night audit, accounting, reporting and interfacing with POS and CALL
accounting.  According to Hotel Grand Central's  EDP manager, H. P.
Tan, the Sun system met the needs of connectivity, open systems
applications support and upgrading options that the chain required.

Flexible and Easy to Use

"The chain employs a lot of people to perform different tasks, which
means a lot of users. So ease of use and connectivity in a multi-user
environment were important factors in choosing the right system,"  Tan
explained.

"We studied a number of systems, including PC-based solutions, but
couldn't find anything to match the features of the CHARMS package on a
RISC platform for the best price/performance ratio."

Hospitality Industry a Key Segment

Sun's general manager for Asean/India, Lionel Lim, predicts the
hospitality industry will become a key segment in Sun's commercial
market growth.

"As the tourist industry grows, so too will the demands of its related
sectors," he said. "Operators within the hospitality industry, like the
Hotel Grand Central chain, are recognizing the strengths of the
RISC/UNIX(R) SPARC(R) platform in gaining a competitive edge."

The hotel chain is the first in Asia to use the software package CHARMS
(Computerised Hospitality and Resort Management System), enhanced to
suit the operational requirements of Asian hotels.

CHARMS was originally designed to streamline the frontline operations
of a hotel and was successfully implemented at six hotels in
Australia.

Scalability and Compatibility

"The advanced capabilities of the RISC workstation enables us to
package the most cost effective solution for the hotels," explained
Focus Infotech's general manager, Andrew Tan. "Grand Central was quick
to realize the scalability and compatibility that the platform
offered."

According to Automated Systems Limited General Manager Francis Lim,
utilizing the SPARC-based platform and working with VARs like Focus
Infotech ensures that the needs of specific sectors of the commercial
market, such as the hotel industry, can be effectively addressed.

"SPARC has 66 per cent of the market and will continue to dominate as
sectors of the commercial market become more aware that it is the
solution of the 1990s," Lim said.

As a supplier to around-the-clock service industries like hotels, ASL
provides hardware servicing and technical support 24 hours a day, seven
days a week. It employs more than 100 staff members in Singapore
including 15 UNIX engineers and software specialists.

Ching Wu (Hong Kong) 852-865-1688

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