New Digital Computer to Be Compatible With Rival Units

Digital Equipment Corp. is breaking with tradition and offering a minicomputer that will be compatible with hundreds of other systems.

The shift to so-called open systems is a shrewd attempt to target small and medium-sized businesses, analysts said Monday.

“This has the potential to really push Digital into the small-business market in a big way,” said William Bluestin of Forrester Research Inc. in Cambridge. “So it’s significant they’re aggressively targeting a market they never really looked at before.”

Gary Eichhorn, Digital’s vice president for general systems business, described smaller companies as the “last major frontier for computing.”

The Maynard-based firm plans to unveil the DEC 433 application today. It is based on Intel Corp.’s powerful 486 processor.

The new machines are competitively priced--about $17,000 for a stripped-down version.