MAI Will Shift Its Focus Away From Computers

Eight months after failing to take over much larger Prime Computer, MAI Basic Four said Friday that it is exiting the minicomputer manufacturing business and instead will focus on systems integration and computer reselling.

The change means MAI will write software for other manufacturers’ standard products instead of producing its own proprietary computers. As a value-added reseller it will repackage the computers for use in specific industries by adding its own hardware and software applications.

“We are no longer a computer manufacturer,” said Fred Anderson, president and chief operating officer.

The Tustin-based company, which had $397 million in sales last year, will keep supporting its own business computer systems and will assemble computers made by other companies that can accommodate both MAI software and that made for other systems, he said.

Company officials said the shift in strategy should help MAI adapt more quickly to marketplace changes and escape the slump in the minicomputer industry. They said the firm, which lost $39.9 million last year, will return to profitability in fiscal 1990.