Conference noted::polycenter

848.0. "Communication on CA's recent announcement of TNG for OpenVMS" by ZEKE::BURTON (Jim Burton, DTN 381-6470) Mon Jun 02 1997 17:19

[This message is from Jack Westermeyer, CA Alliance Manager]

June 2, 1997


On Monday May 19th, Computer Associates announced that it has fully
integrated selected OpenVMS POLYCENTER functionality into Unicenter TNG.  To
encourage OpenVMS POLYCENTER users to make this move, CA is offering a free
upgrade to Unicenter TNG for users of POLYCENTER Console Manager, System
Watchdog, Scheduler or Performance Advisor.  For those of you who have not
read the announcement, it is attached to this mail message.

The future of other POLYCENTER and AssetWORKS products has not been
finalized, but will be completed and communicated within 30 days.

We recognize that this announcement impacts your business.  It is the intent
of this document to communicate all the information that we currently know
and to attempt to address any questions that you may have regarding this
announcement.  This is an evolving document that will be regularly updated
as information becomes available and decisions are made.

If after reading this document you have additional questions or issues that
have not been addressed, please refer them to the following individuals, as
appropriate:

	
						           		 
    DTN
CA Program Office		Jack Westermeyer 	 	223-8203 
Technology Director		Scott Davis		 	223-8207
W/W Sales and Marketing		Judy Orava			297-9194
Americas			Daryl Rice		 	471-5180
Europe				Frank McGowan			858-2704
A/P				Jim Porter			675-2907
Product Management (Product related questions)  
POLYCENTER		 	Jim Burton			381-6470
Unicenter TNG			Steve Cuipa			381-1561
Order Process			Dolores Drewniak		297-3842
Europe				Marie-Pierre Dimanche		821-4650
Digital Services Division	John Sykes			264-4007
OMS	Services		Heather MacDonald		264-2179
NSIS	Services		Daniel Holland			276-5182
MCS	Services		John Sykes			264-4007

Jack Westermeyer
[email protected]

==============================================================================


I.   Overview of CA's announcement of TNG on DIGITAL OpenVMS:

     On Monday May 19th, CA announced that it has fully integrate selected
     OpenVMS POLYCENTER functionality into Unicenter TNG.  To encourage
     OpenVMS POLYCENTER users to make this move, CA is offering a free
     upgrade to Unicenter TNG for users of POLYCENTER Console Manager,
     System Watchdog, Scheduler or Performance Advisor.  The announcement is
     attached for your reading.


II.  This announcement impacts POLYCENTER customers in a number of different
     ways.  Below we have detailed the primary scenarios:

A. Options available until July 1, 1997 ( through Q4FY97)
 
 1.  Existing POLYCENTER customers who purchase new OpenVMS 7.x systems in Q4.
 
     Customers can still buy new point POLYCENTER products in Q4 (through
     July 1, 1997) and they can continue to use these products on OpenVMS
     v6.2 - v7.1 systems.  If they desire to move to Unicenter TNG, they
     will receive a free upgrade from DIGITAL, which includes an NT server
     license for Unicenter TNG and an unlimited number of OpenVMS agent
     licenses.  Customers must purchase a year of support for the Unicenter
     server licenses for US$15,000 per server (offer is good any place in
     the world).
   
     Maintenance contracts can be sold by DIGITAL and support for Unicenter
     can be provided by DIGITAL.
 
 2.  Customer purchases OpenVMS systems for the first time in Q4.  
 
     In order to take advantage of CA's offer for free migration to TNG,
     customers must purchase sufficient point POLYCENTER products to manage
     their environment.  They then have until March 31, 1998 to take
     advantage of the free upgrade.  They can also continue to use the point
     products as long as they never go beyond OpenVMS v7.1.
 
B.   Options after Q4FY97 (after July 1, 1997).

1.   Existing VMS customer with POLYCENTER purchases additional Alpha
     systems:
 
     After July 1,1997 this customer will not be able to purchase additional
     point POLYCENTER licenses.  As a result they should strongly consider
     the free Unicenter offer to manage their existing systems.  If the
     customer is managing a heterogeneous environment, there will be
     additional TNG components that must be purchased.
 
2.   Customer purchases OpenVMS systems for the first time.
 
     This customer should consider purchasing Unicenter TNG for their system
     management needs.
 
3.   UNIX and VMS customers: The mixed environment.

     The free upgrade only applies to POLYCENTER on OpenVMS environments.
     This customer must decide whether to continue managing the environment
     with POLYCENTER point products, or take advantage of the free upgrade
     to Unicenter for the OpenVMS environment and continue to manage the
     DIGITAL UNIX environment with point POLYCENTER products.  DIGITAL
     expects an announcement regarding Unicenter support for DIGITAL UNIX
     environments by August 1st, 1997.

C.   What happens to customers who elect to continue with POLYCENTER?  

     All DIGITAL customers who have purchased Layered Products Support for
     POLYCENTER Console Manager, System Watchdog, Scheduler and Performance
     Advisor will receive new versions of the individual products that
     support OpenVMS v7.1.  After June 30, 1997, no future releases of these
     point products are planned.  DIGITAL will continue to provide telephone
     support, receiving technical backup support from Computer Associates as
     long as DIGITAL is contractually obligated to provide support services. 


III. DIGITAL Services impact

     The business opportunity for DIGITAL Services has changed from a focus
     on high level solutions, consisting of Unicenter license and services,
     to include migration Solution Sets built around DIGITAL offering the
     free upgrade. These services range from assisting customers in making
     the transition from POLYCENTER to Unicenter with PDIM services offered
     by NSIS, to providing telephone support with new version updates from
     MCS, to providing Operations Management by OMS. It is estimated that
     there may be fewer solutions sold with Unicenter licenses, there could
     be a greater number of migration engagements delivered.  While the
     magnitude of these Solution Sets is being quantified, DIGITAL Services
     is working with the Alliance Program Office and the Worldwide Sales and
     Marketing organization to create an aggressive program based on these
     solutions.

     In the interim, customers can continue to obtain telephone support for
     all POLYCENTER products from MCS, including the latest versions
     released by CA.  CA will continue to provide MCS with technical backup
     support.  Starting July 1, 1998, MCS will implement new pricing for
     POLYCENTER Console Manager, System Watchdog, Scheduler and Performance
     Advisor POLYCENTER support reflecting telephone support only.

     Currently, OMS maintains a substantial number of engagements that
     utilize POLYCENTER point products as part of the engagement tool set.
     Preliminary conversations from CA indicate that OMS will also be able
     to take advantage of the free upgrade to TNG.  Further investigation is
     required to understand upgrade will be able to adequately meet the
     requirements of the existing contracts. After OMS completes its
     evaluation of the options, OMS field personnel will be advised on the
     appropriate course of action.

IV.  Questions and Answers

A.   General

1.   What are the terms and conditions for the offer? Currently being
     drafted by CA and DIGITAL.
     
2.   When will the new VMS TNG software be available? The new software will
     be generally available (GA) in early July - orders can be taken now.

3.   What version of VMS does this product support? OpenVMS v6.2 - VMS v7.1.
     Future versions of Unicenter TNG will support OpenVMS v7.2 and beyond.

4.   What is the official name of this product? Unicenter TNG 

5.   Does Unicenter TNG run standalone or does it require the TNG server
     running on NT?  The Unicenter TNG Management Console software runs on
     Windows NT and is required with this offer. (It is also included free
     with this offer)

6.   Are these licenses perpetual?  No, these are standard Unicenter
     licenses.  Customers are typically licensed for a specific Unicenter
     version only and they can use that version for as long as they wish.
     New versions are only available through a service contract.  Globally
     there may be exceptions to this practice.

7.   What will customers with Unlimited Use POLYCENTER licenses receive?
     Upon payment of the maintenance fee of $15,000 per VMS server, these
     customers will receive the Unicenter TNG Management Console on Windows
     NT and Unicenter TNG for each VMS Server.  As a hedge against
     inflation, the customer can buy multi-year maintenance contracts at the
     $15k figure.

8.   How can we get copies of the new software and when? Part numbers have
     been created and will be orderable through internal order process for
     Unicenter TNG.  A detailed explanation of the process and examples are
     being developed and will follow this initial communication.

9.   Is Unicenter customer installable?   DIGITAL integration services are
     available and are highly recommended.

10.  Can installed base customers who do not want to go to Unicenter, but
     who need additional licenses, still purchase licenses for individual
     POLYCENTER products after July 1?   No.

11.  Can DIGITAL sell the new versions of the OpenVMS POLYCENTER point
     products between now and July 1st?  Yes, Console Manager v1.7,
     Performance Advisor v2.3, Data Collector v2.3 and Scheduler v2.2 will
     be orderable starting Monday, June 2nd.

B.   Sales

12.  Can DIGITAL make the same offer? Yes, DIGITAL can extend the same offer
     and will not be required to pay license royalty to CA, but will be
     required to pay service royalty as per the reseller agreement. NOTE:
     This is still being confirmed within CA. 

13.  Given Digitals plans for license sales this quarter and next, what is
     the upside of this announcement for DIGITAL?  This offer will encourage
     customers to deploy management across the enterprise and should carry
     additional license opportunity on non-OpenVMS, TNG-managed platforms.
     In addition, this should result in a significant opportunity for
     professional services to implement TNG on VMS.

14.  How will DIGITAL process orders for this promotional program and be
     credited with sales?  This is being defined and will be published
     shortly. 

15.  How will customers be approached about this offer by CA and DIGITAL:
     jointly or independently? Yes, to all the above.  The details of the
     communication are being developed and will be communicated shortly.

C.   Unicenter License

16.  Will POLYCENTER Accounting Chargeback and POLYCENTER Data Collector
     continue to be available as point products?  No, the POLYCENTER
     Accounting Chargeback will be enhanced to support OpenVMS v7.1, but the
     functionality will not be included in Unicenter TNG.  The POLYCENTER
     Data Collector capabilities have been incorporated into the Unicenter
     TNG Performance Agent.

17.  If a customer is running POLYCENTER in multiple locations, how many TNG
     servers is he entitled for this offer? Customers are entitled to one
     Unicenter license for every POLYCENTER Console Manager, Scheduler,
     Performance Advisor, or System Watchdog server license on OpenVMS they
     own.  However, they may not want to recreate their current environment
     using TNG due to the $15,000 per server cost.  Customers should ask
     DIGITAL or CA to help them redesign their environment specifically for
     Unicenter TNG.

D.   Services Professional

18.  What will be offered?  NSIS is in the process of detailing the specific
     Professional Services that will support this announcement.  They will
     communicate directly as well as in the next update of this document.
     19.  Who will sell?  Either DIGITAL or CA may sell and deliver
     professional services.   DIGITAL NSIS services will be offered via the
     existing Vendor Service Agreement (VSA).  20.  Who will deliver? To be
     determined, but will likely be DIGITAL.  Based upon certification.  21.
     How much will it cost? To be determined.

Facilities Management

22.  If CA plans to retire the POLYCENTER VMS products, can OMS continue to
     obtain licenses for the current versions -- only for use in FM service
     (OMS holds the license)?   Contractually, OMS may continue to use these
     products in deliver of services.  OMS is working on a process to
     fulfill future needs; given the products will no longer be
     manufactured, and otherwise, through CA or DIGITAL.  23.  Can OMS trade
     in as well for no charge? The answer is pending.  Our expectation is
     for the answer to be yes.  24.  Is OMS required to buy maintenance from
     CA or from DIGITAL?  OMS may purchase maintenance from DIGITAL MCS. 

Maintenance

25.  What comes with "Maintenance"?  Telephone support, rights to new
     version, media and documentation.

26.  How was the price derived (per server, power unit)?  Software pricing
     is unique for VMS and per server based, with maintenance calculated at
     19% of license price.

27.  Is the customer required to purchase a maintenance contract?  Yes, a
     maintenance contract is required.  Maintenance contracts are available
     for single or multiple years.  Customers can secure the $15k annual
     maintenance fee by purchasing multi-year contracts.  
     
28.  Is the purchase of CA Maintenance required or can customer purchase
     DIGITAL maintenance? Customer may purchase maintenance from DIGITAL or
     CA.  
     
29.  Will CA be willing to offer DIGITAL Maintenance instead of CA
     Maintenance for this program?  The client will be able to select their
     maintenance vendor.

E.   POLYCENTER Specific

30.  What Products are affected? The OpenVMS server versions of POLYCENTER
     Console Manager, POLYCENTER Systems Watchdog, POLYCENTER Scheduler and
     POLYCENTER Performance Advisor.

31.  Is this a retirement notice? Will the point products still be available
     for sale to end-users?  Until what date? While CA has not formally
     announced retirement for the above products, they have verbally said
     that these products will no longer be orderable as of June 30, 1997.

32.  Can DIGITAL continue to offer the VMS POLYCENTER point products?  No.

33.  If no, can DIGITAL have special terms that will allow us to continue to
     bundle the VMS POLYCENTER point product within a packaged solution
     until a workable solution can be crafted?  This is being worked between
     CA and the DIGITAL Program Office.

34.  What happens to the UNIX POLYCENTER products?  There is no change to
     the products with this announcement.  DIGITAL expects an announcement
     regarding Unicenter support for DIGITAL UNIX environments by August
     1997.

35.  When will the pending new versions of the following point products
     ship?
     
	Console Mgr. V1.7:		June 30, 1997
	System Watchdog V2.3:		September 1, 1997
	Scheduler V2.2:			June 30, 1997
	Performance Advisor V2.3: 	July 18, 1997
     
36.  Will CA continue to add new version and device support to these
     products, i.e., provide "maintenance"?  The POLYCENTER products for
     OpenVMS are considered functionally complete.  This means that no new
     features will be added, but that severity level 1 problems will
     continue to be addressed.  All "version and device support" will be in
     Unicenter TNG.
     
37.  If CA plans to retire maintenance, can OMS obtain the current code for
     purposes of being able to add new version and device support ourselves
     as needed? The DIGITAL/CA Reseller agreement does not have provisions
     that allow for DIGITAL to obtain POLYCENTER source code.
     
38.  How long can customers receive telephone support?  DIGITAL may continue
     to provide telephone support as long as they choose.  CA will continue
     to provide backup support according to the terms and conditions of the
     Reseller and Service Agreement.  Support to DIGITAL will continue as
     long as DIGITAL is contractually obligated to provide Professional
     Services for these products.
     
39.  Will CA continue to provide support for all severity levels? CA will
     continue to provide backup support for all severity levels, but only
     supply bug fixes for severity level one problems.
     
40.  How long will customers receive updates to their POLYCENTER products?
     TBD

    Does this apply equally/in the same fashion to internal usage?
    /lee

I checked the WWW pages from CA as well as our www.digital.com/polycenter area
to find (customer readable) details about the current situation but could not
come up with anything.

Please post all customer readable details as soon as possible.

Thanks,
Hans.

    
    	Any response to .1? What does it mean for internal Digital? Do we
    have to pay 15K for a 1 year maintenance contract?
    
    Thanks,
    
    Ron