Toshiba drags feet over server launch

Hardware Servers postponed as vendor sharpens desktop focus.

Toshiba has admitted that it has been forced to postpone the launch of its servers in the UK until next year, in order to concentrate on desktop sales.

One reseller said: 'I was told privately by Toshiba that the launch date for servers in the UK has been pushed back again, from April to the end of the year or the beginning of 1999.' He claimed the manufacturer was unable to give a clear reason for the delay.

Toshiba product marketing manager Murray McKurlie admitted the postponed date was 'later than I personally thought', but denied the delay was due to poor customer response to the vendor's desktops.

He said: 'We thought servers would be launched sometime in 1998, but the date will now probably be pushed into next year.'

McKurlie maintained that Toshiba's customer plan for desktops had met expectations after making its debut in the UK market on 2 June last year.

He conceded: 'We need to have a firm desktop market in the UK before we launch servers here.'

Toshiba indicated at last year's launch of the Equium line of desktops that servers would follow this year (PC Dealer, 4 June 1997).

McKurlie admitted that Toshiba did not yet have the necessary in-house expertise to back up a server launch, but said he was working on it. 'Our main concern is to have the main support infrastructure in place at Toshiba.' He refused to go into detail, but added: 'At the moment, we are putting a budget together to recruit a head count to go ahead with these plans.'

Toshiba US will go ahead with its server launch in the summer, as previously planned.