Fujitsu Computer Products of America

Fujitsu To Seek No. 1 Position In Enterprise And Mobile Hard Drive Market Segments

New Strategic Focus Includes Phasing Out of 3.5" IDE Desktop Arena,Concentrated Efforts in Growth Areas and Emerging Markets

San Jose, CA, August 1, 2001 — Fujitsu Computer Products of America, Inc. (FCPA), one of the leading suppliers of hard drives and computer peripherals, today announced a new strategic focus for its hard disk drive (HDD) products group that includes a concerted push for market leadership in the fast-growing enterprise and mobile HDD markets, and a phased withdrawal from the 3.5" IDE desktop drive arena, including both 5400 and 7200 rpm products.

The new focus is intended to capitalize on exploding demand for enterprise HDD products for servers and storage devices, growth in the mobile HDD segment, and emerging markets for smaller hard drives in consumer-oriented household appliances, audio-visual products and other non-PC applications.  To accommodate the new push, Fujitsu will shift development, manufacturing and sales resources away from the 3.5" IDE desktop drive market that recorded negative growth in the first half of 2001.

"Fujitsu is excited to announce this new direction for its hard disk drive products group, as we feel it best leverages our expertise, innovation and resources, and will ultimately position Fujitsu as a market leader in some of the fastest growing hard drive segments to emerge in years," said Mr. Ogi, group president of Fujitsu Storage Products Group.

According to International Data Corporation (IDC), a leading market analyst firm, the market for enterprise-class hard disk drives will approach $7 billion by 2005. Additionally, IDC forecasts that the market for mobile-class hard disk drives is expected to grow from $3.2 billion in 1999 to nearly $7 billion in 2005, with much of this growth occurring as smaller 2.5" hard drives become widely adopted in desktop PCs and emerging applications.

Fujitsu's goals are to significantly increase its market share in the enterprise and mobile HDD markets, continue delivering award-winning products, and speed time-to-market.

"This shift in focus represents a proactive move for Fujitsu, as it targets market segments that offer the greatest potential for mid- to long-term growth," said Dave Reinsel, research manager at IDC.  "In an age where the 3.5" desktop hard drive market is marked by slowing growth and saturation, this move represents a strategic shift in resources designed to capitalize on more profitable segments of today's market, as well as to position the company for future growth."

The primary factors driving Fujitsu's new enterprise strategy include the exponential growth in data storage requirements and increased data sharing in a broadband internet era.  Fujitsu also believes that the traditional 3.5" desktop drive market will shrink as space and acoustic requirements precipitate a shift toward 2.5" drive technology.

Fujitsu will continue its strategy of vertical integration, and will continue the production and development of heads, media and other key hard drive components, leveraging Fujitsu's investment and expertise in these areas.  Additionally, Fujitsu plans to support the Serial ATA hard drive interface and small form factor hard drives less than 2.5".

As part of the new focus, Fujitsu will cease development of new 3.5" desktop hard drives, but will in the near-term continue the production and sales of its current products to meet customer demand.  Fujitsu anticipates that production of current desktop hard drive products will end later this year.

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About Fujitsu Limited

Fujitsu Limited is a leading provider of Internet-focused information technology solutions for the global marketplace. Its pace-setting technologies, best-in-class computing and telecommunications platforms, and worldwide corps of systems and services experts make it uniquely positioned to unleash the infinite possibilities of the Internet to help its customers succeed. Headquartered in Tokyo, Fujitsu Limited (TSE:6702) reported consolidated revenues of 5.48 trillion yen for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2001.
For more information, please see: http://www.fujitsu.com

About Fujitsu Computer Products of America, Inc.

Fujitsu Computer Products of America, Inc. (FCPA) conducts engineering and marketing activities in San Jose, CA and sales operations throughout the United States. FCPA's current product and service offerings include hard disk drives, tape drives, magneto-optical drives, scanners and scanner maintenance. FCPA is located at 2904 Orchard Parkway, San Jose, CA, 95134. For more information about Fujitsu products and services, call us at 800-626-4686 or 408-432-6333.
For more information, please see: http://www.fcpa.fujitsu.com

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Copyright 2001 Fujitsu Computer Products of America, Inc. All rights reserved. All statements herein are valid only in the U.S. for U.S. residents, are based on normal operating conditions, are provided for informational purposes only, and are not intended to create any express warranty or implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Fujitsu Computer Products of America, Inc. reserves the right to modify at any time without prior notice these statements.  Fujitsu and the Fujitsu logo are registered trademarks of Fujitsu Ltd. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.