Hitachi and Prism Join Forces in Data Warehouse Solution ACTION ITEMS

Hitachi, Ltd. and Prism Solutions, Inc., a leading supplier in the data warehouse market, have announced a major partnership in the area of data warehouse products for the Japanese market. Under the partnership, Hitachi aims to achieve leadership in the Japanese market by integrating Prism's products.

The data warehouse market is growing rapidly in Japan. It has been estimated that the Japanese market size will grow to 190 billion yen by 2000*.

Hitachi has been providing data warehouse solutions in Japan since 1996 with database management systems, OLAP and data mining products. Prism has been providing tools, methodology, training and consulting for building data warehouses in the U.S and other countries since 1991. Hitachi can enhance its data warehouse solutions with Prism. Prism's sophisticated products and Hitachi's advanced system integration skills will provide a complete end-to-end data warehousing solution in the Japanese market. Hitachi will adapt Prism products to the Japanese market, including localization and support for Hitachi operating systems and database management systems on Hitachi mainframes and Unix and Windows platforms. Prism products will be marketed from '98/3Q in Japan.

The data warehousing market has huge potential as Japanese enterprises -- amongst the largest in the world -- seek to unlock the power of information from both inside and outside their organizations.

Prism has complete enterprise-class product range as well as expertise in handling data migration and conversion initiatives. In addition, Prism has been highly investing on research and development and has proven experience of delivering working systems to 300 of the world's largest corporations.

Mitsuhiko Kodaira, general manager of Hitachi's Software Development Center, said, "Prism is a pioneer and has a large market share in the data warehouse field. We believe that we will achieve market leadership in Japan by combining Hitachi's system integration and large-scale data processing skill with Prism's technology and know-how acquired through extensive data warehousing experiences."

Don Taylor, vice president of Prism Solutions' international region, said, "This agreement represents a major breakthrough for Prism. The fact that Hitachi has made this alliance is inarguable proof that data warehousing has a bright future with Prism as its leader. We look forward to a long and profitable partnership with Hitachi."

Hitachi, Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is one of the world's leading global electronics companies, with fiscal 1996 (ending March 31, 1997) consolidated sales of 8,523 billion yen ($68.7 billion). The company manufactures and markets a wide range of products, including computers, semiconductors, consumer products and power and industrial equipment. For more information on Hitachi, Ltd., visit Hitachi's Web site at http://www.hitachi.co.jp

Founded in 1991, Prism Solutions pioneered the data warehouse market to help companies understand, manage and use business information effectively. Today Prism provides scaleable data warehousing solutions tailored to the needs of data mart, department, enterprise or conversion initiatives. Prism's framework of software, methodology, training and consulting enables customers to effectively implement and maintain an information solution that supports strategic business analysis. More information about Prism Solutions may be found by visiting the company's Web site at http://www.prismsolutions.com