There's a David and Goliath confrontation looming in the UK micro business as the British Micro Manufacturers Group (BMMG) takes on IBM.

"In a year or two's time, in the absence of co-operation in our industry, we could end up with IBM writing the rule book," said BMMG director general David Broad. The style of business systems available could be determined by the giant US-based multinational, with disastrous effects not only on independent UK micro makers but also on the choice on offer to users.

The BMMG is asking for Government funding to the tune of about £250,000 to develop a local area network standard (for different types of equipment to be connected) independent of the commercial influence of IBM.

The Group might find an ally in Digital Research, which is trying to undermine IBM's domination of personal computing with its plans for Concurrent DOS-286. This Operating System (issue 96) aims to open up the business by making IBM applications software available to any system based on the 80286.

Broad commented: "There is a growing realisation that independent manufacturers have to co-operate, and users are also increasingly well aware of the issues. We're willing to embark on discussions with anyone."

Any interconnection standard would have to take notice of the International Standards Organisation's work on networks in general, known as Open Systems Interconnection. This has support around the world from governments and procurement agencies.