Sales of International Business Machines Corp. computers to community banks jumped substantially last year, at the expense of rival Unisys Corp., a consultant's study has concluded.
In all, IBM sold 297 midrange computers to community banks and thrifts with less than $250 million of assets, up from 174 in 1992.
Blue Bell, Pa.-based Unisys, by contrast, saw sales drop to 115 midrange computers, from 174 the previous year, according to the study by M. Arthur Gillis, of Computer Based Solutions Inc., New Orleans.
They were all used to run core deposit and loan accounting software.
Mr. Gillis attributed IBM's success to the success of vendors of software for IBM machines.
"It's no credit to IBM," Mr. Gillis said. "It's just the strength of the software firms."
Mr. Gillis compiled his data from sales reports supplied by 21 leading vendors of core software to community banks and thrifts.
Mr. Gillis said that 16 of these firms make software for IBM's AS/400 midrange computer and RS/6000 workstation, while only three make software for Unisys computers.
Among the IBM software vendors that reportedly did well was Jack Henry & Associates Inc., of Monett, Mo., which Mr. Gillis said sold 74 core software packages last year for AS/400 machines, up from 42 the previous year. The CBS unit of Fiserv Inc., of Milwaukee, sold 43 core banking packages for the AS/400 last year, up from 22 the previous year.
Leader's Sales Drop
On the other hand, Information Technology Inc. of Lincoln, Neb., the leading core software supplier for all community banks, with 16% of the market, saw sales drop to 80 packages in 1993, from 90 in 1992.
Information Technology's software runs on Unisys' A series midrange computers, Mr. Gillis said.
Another leading supplier of software for Unisys computers, Precision Computer Systems Inc., Sioux Falls, S.D., saw sales fall to 50 packages in 1993, from 84 the previous year.
Precision Computer also sells software for computers from IBM and American Telephone and Telegraph Co.'s Global Information Solutions unit in Dayton, Ohio.
Major Changes
AT&T Global Information was the third-largest supplier of computers to community banks, with 12% of the total of 487 machines sold. Hewlett-Packard Co., Palo Alto, Calif., and Digital Equipment 18 Corp., Maynard, Mass., each sold four machines, according to Mr. Gillis' survey.
Overall, Mr. Gillis said that 851 community banks and thrifts made major changes in their core systems. Fifty-seven percent of those that made changes purchased their own computers, while the rest signed service bureau contracts, for a slight increase in the share of banks running their own computers.
Robert O. Babcok, IBM's national manager of community banking sales in Atlanta, said that while he hadn't seen Mr. Gillis' study, he thought the determination that IBM's sales had risen was "reasonable."
He added that Mr. Gillis "is viewed by many people in the industry as having as good a set of numbers as anyone."
A Unisys spokeswoman said that the vendor's executive in charge of community banking also had not seen the study.
She added that the executive believed that Mr. Gillis conclusions were "not validated by any other studies."
