BW1168  FEB 13,1997       8:28  PACIFIC      11:28  EASTERN


(BW)(COMPUTER-ASSC/MK-GROUP-4)(CA) MK Group announces strategic
partnership with Silicomp


   Business Editors/Computer & Electronic Writers


   ISLANDIA, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 13, 1997--

The MK Group, an independent business unit of Computer Associates International, Inc., today introduced full factory floor management capabilities for MK Enterprise through the integration of Silicomp's APPLI-BUS product. This offering adds to the complete end-to-end enterprise management capabilities provided by MK Enterprise.

The new management abilities originate from a development partnership with Silicomp, whose APPLI-BUS product, which is based on Object Oriented technology, enables manufacturing objects such as Programmable Logic Controllers, Numeric Controllers and Robotic Controllers or programs residing on those devices to be monitored from one central location.
With this joint development effort, Silicomp's APPLI-BUS is integrated with MK Enterprise and gives users information from factory floor devices as never before possible. Users are able to view actual factory floor devices as on screen 3-dimensional visuals using the Unicenter Real World Interface. When a particular device is operating incorrectly, this fault failure is trapped and rendered as a visual alert so that it can be repaired. In addition to displaying the faulting device, MK Enterprise allows you to predefine the appropriate response to the fault and initiate a response.
"Silicomp is pleased to enter into a strategic partnership with the MK Group. With the addition of our APPLI-BUS product, MK Group customers now have total end-to-end enterprise communication from the factory floor to the desktop," states Bob Britter, Director of Sales for Silicomp.

MK Enterprise is a full-cycle business solution for manufacturers that features tightly integrated client/server enterprise management capabilities provided by Computer Associates' system management and agent technology. MK Enterprise utilizes Real World Interface to help its clients proactively manage many of the complexities of their business and technical environment.
"The integration of APPLI-BUS into MK Enterprise will save
customers considerable time and money by quickly identifying and
resolving problems in the event a factory floor device may not be operating properly," states Kurt Seibert, General Manager of the MK Group.

The MK Group, an independent Business Unit of Computer Associates International, Inc., provides complete manufacturing and distribution solutions that are in place and helping over 4,000 manufacturers meet their business goals. These sites range from regional companies to divisions of large international companies who require global enterprise solutions. The MK Group provides software for these enterprises on Windows NT and the UNIX platforms from Hewlett-Packard, Digital, IBM and Sun Microsystems in a variety of relational database environments. The MK Group also offers solutions in the Hewlett-Packard MPE/iX and Digital OpenVMS environments. The MK Group is global in scope and offers full support in business consulting, implementation services and custom programming services.

Group Silicomp, headquartered in Grenoble France, was founded in 1983, and today employs more than 175 people. The strategic business focus and expertise for the company lies in the following areas: one, system integration and consulting for a diverse range of projects; two, a family of Multimedia ATM Video Codec products; and three, a standards based software product based on Object Oriented technology for the manufacturing market place. Typical Groupe Silicomp customers include Hewlett Packard, Digital, Schneider, Mercedes Benz and BMW.

The MK Group logo, MK Enterprise are Real World Interface are trademarks, and Unicenter is a registered trademark of Computer Associates International, Inc. All other product and company names are trademarks of their respective companies.

CONTACT: MK Group
Mike Finnegan, 516/342-4493


CONTACT: Silicomp Ing�nierie
Patrick JANDARD +33 4 76 41 66 66



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