TECHNOLOGY - July 14, 1992

DMI Sales Top $1 Million: DMI Inc., a start-up company in Irvine that makes computerized archive systems, said it has shipped more than $1 million worth of orders for its first product.

The company said its archival retrieval system uses a combination of computers and compact-disc technology to replace microfiche archive systems. DMI, a publicly held company, began selling the systems in April.

Al Rose, chief executive, said the personal-computer-based retrieval system has now been adapted to work on the Unix operating system, which is widely used in multiple-user networks such as major corporations.

The Unix-based system will be aimed at storing old data in the legal, insurance, banking, health-care and other businesses where files are kept for many years.

DMI’s technology is similar to that used in document storage and processing systems made by FileNet Corp. in Costa Mesa. DMI’s system was designed primarily by President Duncan MacDonald, who spent 20 years at minicomputer maker Unisys Corp. and holds 26 patents.

Ted Smith, chief executive of FileNet, said the two companies are going after different segments of the document-storage market, with FileNet concentrating on the higher end.

DMI’s machine sells for about $20,000, compared with about $500,000 for FileNet’s low-end systems. Rose expects about $4 million in sales during 1992.