Conference 7.286::digital

    We're going to OEM Ollivetti 386SX 20mhz notebooks and a 286 model as
    well.  
    
    -Ken

March 13, 1991


             Digital Announces Portable Computers


Digital Equipment Corporation today announced a new line of portable 
Computers based on Intel Corporation's 80386sx and 80386dx processor 
architecture.  These new products extend the range of Digital's worldwide
personal computer offerings to now include laptop and notebook PCs.

The new DECpc 320p is a notebook computer weighing in at 6.1 pounds and is 
based on the 20MHz 80386sx microprocessor technology.  The DECpc 333p is a 
new laptop computer which offers cache based 33MHz 80386 power in an 11 pound
system optimized for power PC users.  Both systems feature 60MB internal hard
disk drives, 1.44MB internal diskette drives and high quality LCD displays 
as well as an integrated mouse pad to allow efficient use of MicroSoft 
Corporation's MS-Windows Graphical User Interface.  Both systems also are 
available with an optional desktop expansion cabinet which allows users to 
add industry standard monitors, disk drives and option cards to their 
computing environment.

The new family of DECpc portable computers is based an eighteen month
development collaboration between Digital and Olivetti SPA.  The systems
will be manufactured under a contract by Olivetti's Triumph-Adler 
subsidiary in Nurnberg, Germany. 

"The products announced today are excellent examples of Digital's 
commitment to develop strong collaborations with leading technology and 
manufacturing companies.  We have worked with Olivetti  to create very
high performance laptops and notebooks that integrate easily into network and 
corporate environments.", said Digital's Grant Saviers, Vice President of 
Personal Computing and Systems Peripherals.

Commenting on today's announcement, Vitorio Cassoni, Olivetti Group 
Managing Director, said "Olivetti is particularly pleased that Digital, 
whose emphasis on state of the art technology and quality make it a leader 
in distributed applications systems, has chosen a European solution for a 
market segment characterized by accelerated growth rates, both in terms of 
markets and technological innovations."

Digital's new PC products will be sold and serviced by Digital on a 
worldwide basis and will be shown for the first time at the CBIT'91 show in 
Hannover, Germany today.  

With revenues of more than $8 billion, the Olivetti Group, based in Ivrea,
Italy, is the leading Eruopean-based supplier of personal computers and is 
ranked among the top ten IT companies worldwide.

Digital Equipment Corporation, headquartered in Maynard, Massachusetts, is 
the leading worldwide supplier of networked computer systems and services.  
Digital ofers a full range of computing solutions and systems integration 
for the entire enterprise - from the desktop.

    ...and each DEC salesrep will get one right away...gratus...right?

    
    	Digital Nameplate Corporation
    

    We intend to offer the two products defined in the press release within
    the DECpc product family.
    
    Although Olivetti has introduced a number of portable products, only
    two were jointly developed between Digital and Olivetti and will
    be offered worldwide.  These are the DECpc 333 Portable (a
    transportable with optionable screens) and the DECpc 320sx (a
    notebook).
    
    Digital had to announce its products in Europe due to an Olivetti
    need to introduce its products at the Hanover show. This announcement
    should be looked at as more of a "program" announcement from our
    perspective. None of the products are shippings from volume
    manufacturing as of this date.
    
    A detailed product announcment with full support material will
    occur in Q4, with product shipping shortly thereafter. The
    US/GIA announcement will take place at that time.
    
    Nancy Peaslee the Product/Program manager for these portables.
    She can be reached at Ranger::Peaslee.
    
    Regards,
                

I'm sure glad somebody managed to change the name before we announced it.

Bob

.3>  ...and each DEC salesrep will get one right away...gratus...right?

Sure, they can use it along with their LA12's <snicker>.

Lee

    
    RE .3
    
    Dream on!
    I'm in sales too. The potential benefit to our customers of equiping
    salespeople with these things is, to me, staggering.....
    
    .....but I can't see it happening. :-(
    
    'gail
    

    Any idea about prices - special DEC employe's prices ?
    
    Cj

    You should know that these new offerings are at the heart of a major
    new campaign - Sales Operations and Management Systems (aka SOMS)
    intended to provide a solution to our customers' needs to provide
    better tools to their salesforces. These customized solution systems go
    beyond traditional approaches of simply providing a laptop to a rep and
    expecting positive results. The SOMS systems are built on Vax and
    portable platforms and incorporate pc-based productivity tools,
    communication tools, activity management systems, and business
    management systems. A comprehensive set of services from EIS will unify
    the system.  

    
    
    OK, so Digital is going to resell notebook PCs.  What's the big deal?!
    As far as I'm concerned it's another case of the "Digital has it
    FINALLY" syndrome.  Again, we're 2-3 years behind the power curve.
    
    Now, if we came out with a laptop/notebook VAXstation or DECstation
    (MIPS)  --THAT-- would be another story.  If SONY can do it (i.e.,
    32 bit laptop) why can't Digital????
    
    
    
    Dave

    Shades of the shoe-maker's son!  Of course we're going to sell these
    as a commodity, deeply discounted, and get off our  added value kick,
    right?   Sure we are.  Just like we captured .075% of the PC market
    last year.
    
    ......but there is still hope.  KO's memo of a couple days ago strongly
    "suggested" that the PC business, among others, adopt the Dell Computer
    Company's business model.  How they are gonna do that without massive
    lay-offs I don't know, but maybe thats the reason.
    
    Employee discount?  Your kidding yourself.  Go to Sears, you'll do
    better.
           

    
    
    The KO memo "suggested" that other LES groups follow model after
    DELL like the PC group... we've been doing it, now it's recognized
    
    

    Laptops for the salesforce with the "soon to be" instituted profit
    model / cost model at the unit level? I would find it extremely hard to
    believe. From what I've seen so far - there would be a severe impact on
    the operating budgets in absorbing the cost of laptops. Considering the 
    kiniptions I've seen so far over very small cost issues, I am afraid to
    think what monies would'nt be left for other costs - like perhaps a
    raise someday?? Hope I'm wrong. HP sales reps have BOTH a laptop and a
    desktop pc and they seem to be surviving pretty well. We'll see.

    re: .14
    
    Horse-hockey!
    
    First of all, P/L (actually, contribution margin) will be _measured_
    (what the _goal_ will be is still an open question) on an _account_
    basis, not _unit_.
    
    Second, the depreciation cost of equipment (as well as facilities,
    supplies, car plans, SP2, Circle of Excellence, ad nauseum) is
    reflected in the Direct Sales Expense.  Since this expense is to
    calculated using a US averageof $134K per person, at least for the
    budgeting process, the incremental impact of more or less equipment on
    specific account margins will be invisible. 
    
    At some point, _actual_ per-person costs will be available.  They will
    be a loaded cost.  Assuming that $134K is at least in the right
    ballpark for most people, and noting that direct sales expense is only
    a fraction of the total selling expense (not even in the top 3 on the
    list, BTW), how many thinking account managers are going to figure on
    gaining much by cutting a few hundred bucks of depreciation expense out
    of their budgets?
    
    Al
    

    Horse hockey?? It is YOU who does not know what he is talking about!! I
    don't know if you live in the real field sales world, but your comments
    reflect only a partial  awareness of what will go on. P/L is DEFINITELY
    measured on a sales unit basis!!  It is also measured on account basis
    when the account is large enough! As far as using an average instead of
    actual cost - you again must live in a different universe than my unit.
    There is CLEARLY ALREADY high pressure in the units I have contact with
    - several - on keeping actual accrued costs to rock bottom minimum.
    Costs figure into the formula of calculating profit, in case you did'nt
    notice.  Set costs are high and the only controllable ones are the
    "options". If laptops are prescribed then they too will be set costs.
    They also will eat up margin. There is certainly speculation around
    ho the costs of equipment would be handled as a load but even if they
    were added as rotational gear - the new formula for that  requires a 6
    month turn around or guess who gets saddled with the full cost?? Don't
    argue this one - it's happening. The % of the cost of a lap top
    therefor is not fairly presented as a minute % of 134K - its' impact is
    whatever % it contributes to whatever is left after all the fixed costs
    are applied, therefore a MUCH greater percent. As I said and will
    repeat, if we were down to sweating over post-its and other minor
    costs, how does a laptop get justified? Am I against having them per
    se?  I have a MAC at home, a permemant loaner from Apple of one at
    work, access to 2 pc's, and my job has a high  80% - focus on their
    connectivity and propogation. No, I don't personally oppose them for
    sales reps. I am a sales rep too.  I'm not too coinfident about what
    they will connect into - software wise, etc - but that is a seperate
    issue. My issue is over the REAL operating margins a sales unit  AS
    WELL AS large accounts, will be forced to deal with, like it or not.
    ANother issue is follow through on training, actual use, support
    requirements, etc.  Sales units and accounts should'nt have to be
    worried about ANY of the costs associated or be burdened with them if
    it is to really work IMHO. Direct expenses count, sales units expenses
    count so do individual accounts; count on it. Laptops would be fun, I
    hope.  

    re: .16
    
    I'm a Sales Support Manager, so I guess I live in the real life sales
    world.  I'm also involved in the current account planning that's going
    on, plus I've been to the training on how to do the planning and I'm
    pretty sure I stayed awake long enough to understand how things are
    being done.  I'm also a CC manager so I know how expenses are currently
    allocated.
    
    P/L (actually, like I said, Contribution Margin) is currently being
    PLANNED on an ACCOUNT basis.  No UNIT plans are being done, per se, 
    though it is pretty obvious that the units simply fall out of the plans 
    for the accounts they cover.  No one has a clue at the moment how margin 
    (P/L if you prefer) goals will be set or how they will look at any level.
    
    The expense section of the account plans consists of Product, Direct Sales, 
    Direct Sales Support, Allowances, Discounts, and one or two other costs
    which escape me right now. (Snap quiz:  What are the largest three
    expenses?  Hint: They aren't labor costs.)  The labor expenses are
    burdened, i.e. they include all that stuff I mentioned in the previous
    note. The PLANNING process that is currently underway uses an average
    expense of $134K per person.  Period. End of discussion.  I'm not making 
    this up!  At some point ACTUAL salaries and other expenses will be used
    for account measurement.
    
    Now, a laptop cost what?  About $750/yr in depreciation, give or take a
    few hundred bucks?  For the sake of argument, let's assume that actual
    burdened labor expenses for a mythical sales rep are only in the $100K
    range (pretty low - Sales Rep II's in Omaha, perhaps?).  The
    incremental cost of a laptop is 0.75% of the labor expense.  Expressed
    as a percent of revenue and ergo as a direct subtractor from margin 
    (I'll use $1.5M as a reasonable budget for a rep II), it's somewhere 
    around 0.05%.  Yeah, sure, it eats margin, but who's going to notice?
    
    Your point is valid about controlling the variable costs, but what are
    they?  If you passed the snap quiz, you correctly answered that
    Discounts and Allowances are the largest variable expenses, followed by
    Sales and Sales Support in 4th and 5th place (product costs are #1). I
    would think most account managers are going to make margin targets by
    managing discounts, allowances and headcount, not by focusing on what
    amounts to incidental expense.  Some managers will use productivity tools 
    like laptops judiciously in order to leverage more out of their labor 
    force and hold headcount down.  Call them SMART!  Others will have 
    knee-jerk reactions to every incremental cost and will turn into
    expense managers instead of account managers.   Call them FAILURES!
    
    Editorial side comment not intended to be directed at you:  The morons 
    who abused rotation/consignment in order to acquire equipment for
    internal use (instead of capitalizing it) deserve every bit of pain
    which accompanies the new costs for it.  Unfortunately, it punishes
    those of us who did not abuse the privilege in the process.
    
    Al
    

    I have no idea what current policy is, but from a purely economic
    standpoint, then the following is true:

    If giving sales people laptops leads to increased sales or decreased
    costs that exceed the cost of the laptops, then their purchase is
    justified, otherwise it is not.  That justification should be figured
    over the life of the laptop, not just the quarter it is purchased.

    Steve

    Does anyone know what tools the laptop is to provide and what training
    is planned to help the sales force understand how to use those tools?
    
    Won't be much good if each laptop equiped rep requires a sales support
    person to help use the "tool" 8^)

    re:.18
    
�    [....] That justification should be figured
�    over the life of the laptop, not just the quarter it is purchased.
    
    The operate word here is "should" (and I agree). In the real field, as
    a previous noter implied, the cost comes immediately and completely off
    of the "bottom line". So, don't hold your collective breath.
    
    The only way that a Sales Rep could reasonably expect to get their
    hands on this particular sales tool would be to buy it themselves and
    hope against hope that the investment/gamble pays off. 

    Re .-1
    
    Excuse me. The only cost that is seen is the depreciation cost per
    quarter. That is what comes off the bottom line per quarter NOT the
    whole expense. Sure you have to have/planned a capital budget to cover
    equipment such as laptops but the meaning of capital is that it gets
    capitalized which means the cost doesn't come off your bottom line
    all at once.
    
    The decision that needs to be made by the cost center manager is.
    
    Is the depreciation cost of a laptop per quarter greater or lesser than
    the extra profit generated by the salesman having the laptop. The
    capital cost doesn't even factor in.
    
    Dave

[forwards deleted]

From:	NAME: Pier Carlo FALOTTI @GEO       
	FUNC: EUROPE                          
	TEL: 821-4961/Public:(41)22 7094961   <FALOTTI AT AMISA1 @EHQMTS @GEO>
Date:	12-Apr-1991
Posted-date: 12-Apr-1991
Precedence: 1
Subject: PORTABLE COMPUTERS (Laptop/Notebook) PURCHASE POLICY
To:	See Below
CC:	See Below


         TO: EUR MGMT TEAM
             EUR CM
         cc: Georges Cassir @GEO
         
         
         We are very excited about the announcement of the new family of 
         portable computers (Laptop and Notebook) which will be sold by 
         Digital and available soon. We clearly want to encourage the usage 
         of those systems by our employees in order to increase their 
         familiarity with the technology and get advantage of these new 
         tools for their own activities.
         
         We expect a vast majority of employees to acquire a Laptop or 
         Notebook. In order to avoid the cumbersome administrative and 
         security procedures for each employee every time he/she enters or 
         exits a Digital facility, and avoid the impossible differentiation 
         between who needs and does not need a Laptop/Notebook, we have 
         decided the following.
         
         1.  Digital will not buy any portable computers for employee 
             usage.
         
         2.  We will, therefore, give very favourable conditions to all 
             employees to purchase a Laptop/Notebook so that they can use 
             it both at work and for their personal activities.
         
             Each country will implement an Employee Purchase Plan to 
             ensure adherence to local tax situations, using the guidelines 
             which Georges Cassir will issue shortly defining the favour-
             able purchase conditions mentioned earlier.
         
         3.  Purchases at these special Digital employee conditions will be 
             limited to one unit per family member, per year.
         
         4.  No Digital or third-party Laptops/Notebooks should be 
             purchased by Digital, except for specific benchmarking or 
             customer loans. Such purchases will require Country Manager 
             approval.
         
         5.  The packages will not be owned by Digital and, therefore, we 
             have no right to copy them without buying the licence. Digital 
             will not be accountable for problems related to eventual 
             piracy of PC software packages used with the Laptop/Notebook. 
         
             We should make this point very clear to each employee. In 
             order to avoid any temptation of copying, we will also sell 
             the PC software packages to them at a very favourable rate. 
             Employees should be made clearly aware of this policy and 
             their responsibility.
         
         
         Please make sure that employees understand the reason of this new 
         policy and the significant benefit it is providing to them.
         
         Regards.
         PCF/mjh
         
         
[distribution list deleted]

re: .22

I hope Europe has a better idea of "favorable price" than the U.S. Employee
Purchase Program.  If so, then the U.S. Employee Purchase Program should learn
a lesson from Europe.

Bob

    Won't it be great when we find out what really will go on and we can
    quit speculating!! ;-) If we are encouraged to purchase the laptops and
    do so, I wonder if the IRS will have any problems with folks deducting
    them from taxes, & perhaps the office you use it in at home? Could get
    REAL iffy.  Perhaps the category has nothing to do with it but last
    year depreciation of rotational gear was accumulated at 1/24th of cost
    per month and it all became due at the end of 1 year. We are about to
    "own" some equipment at full cost in 2 weeks! The new depreciation has
    gone to a 6 month basis. I think we'll end up spending twice the time
    in processing paper/electronic work and the logic for the change isn't
    clear.  Hope the laptops come "free" like LA12's did - imagine;
    combining a worthwhile tool and a pleasant way of "doing business"!!
    Too good to be true? We'll find out sometime I guess.

RE: 1405.24         Digital coming out w/ a notebook PC??!!            24 of 24
>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>                                -< Tax break?? >-
>
>Won't it be great when we find out what really will go on and we can
>quit speculating!! ;-) If we are encouraged to purchase the laptops and
>do so, I wonder if the IRS will have any problems with folks deducting
>them from taxes, & perhaps the office you use it in at home? Could get
>REAL iffy.  Perhaps the category has nothing to do with it but last

    From what my tax man says, and articles in various business
    magazines, companies, like DEC,  are well known to the IRS, and if
    DEC doesn't mandate needing a LapTOp; then they are not deductible as
    a business expense, no more than the black pin stripe suit and red
    necktie or the Cross pens ...
    
    Your right about the iffy part ... 
    
    Bob
    

    re .19:
    
>>>    Won't be much good if each laptop equiped rep requires a sales support
>>>    person to help use the "tool" 8^)

    Actually, maybe it would. The laptops could decisively strengthen our
    sales of software products (our most profitable business) if each rep
    did get a sales support person out of it!
    
    /Tom
    

From the memo in .22:

Now, let me get this straight:

     >> 1.  Digital will not buy any portable computers for employee 
     >>     usage.
     >>
     >> 2.  We will, therefore, give very favourable conditions to all 
     >>     employees to purchase a Laptop/Notebook so that they can use 
     >>     it both at work and for their personal activities.
     >>
     >> 4.  No Digital or third-party Laptops/Notebooks should be 
     >>     purchased by Digital...

And, then, at the end:

     >> Please make sure that employees understand the reason of this new 
     >> policy and the significant benefit it is providing to them.
                   ************************************************


The "significant benefit it is providing to" WHO??

Have I gotten adrift in an Orwellian nightmare, or is there a disconnect
here?  Why does the phrase "Thank you, sir, may I please have another?"
come to mind?

I don't know whether to laugh or cry... we don't design 'em, we don't make
'em, and we can't have 'em to do our jobs, unless we pay for them ourselves,
and they have the nerve to "expect a vast majority of employees to acquire
a Laptop or Notebook".

Why don't we just stop the pretenses, rent a corner of K-Mart to sell these
things, and pump up those sales!  Pump, pump!  It's becoming apparent that
Digital expects employees to pay for an increasing number of the tools that
are necessary to do a successful job for the company.  I have a "vision",
of some future day when a new hire will come to work for Digital, and the
first thing they'll have to do will be to whip out a checkbook (though I
suppose they'll take MC, Visa, or AmEx) to fill an empty office with a
desk, chair, workstation, and so on.  Of course, they'll provide very
"favorable" terms for you if you can't afford to pay all at once...

Chris

    What is the price they are asking employees to pay for the equipment.
    
    I am based in the UK so $ and � prices would be usefull. Any one know ?
    
    thanks
    
    mark

    re: .25  Your tax man is right - it would require an official
    requirement.  Unfortunately the suits & ties are required for sales but
    they certainly aren't deductable even though work coveralls, etc. are for
    folks who get to use their bodies as well as brains. Time for a change
    in the law? AN interesting approach might be for DEC to give an adder
    to the employee required to buy a laptop to cover the cost and tax.
    Solves a couple of problems if the  concern for "security" is really
    high and pops the bubble of pretense if that is what really is
    happening ;-] 

    Sales scenario (the end of a management presentation):
    
    DEC rep:	And so you see, sir, that equipping your entire salesforce
    		with the new DECfoo laptop computer will greatly boost
    		field productivity and have a strong positive impact on
    		your bottom line (blah, blah, blah...).
    
    Customer:	Ah yes.  And where is yours?
    
    DEC rep:	Weeell.... ooooh..... errrrr......
    
    
    If we sees these things as unjustifiable luxuries, how the heck do we
    expect to convince our customers they aren't?
    
    -dave

    re:.30
    Well, I suppose they'd claim that you could borrow one for a sales
    presentation, since it would then be a "demo".
    
    But seriously, the tone of the memo is Orwellian.  It really means that
    you can't get a Digital Laptop for love nor money, so if you need a
    laptop for business, you can do what we do around here.
    
    Buy NEC or Toshiba.
    
    Besides, given the prices, if you really want a laptop for personal
    use, you can buy one on the street from Brand X for much, much less
    than any DEPP price.  If they want employees to be customers, they
    should expect smart employees to be smart customers.
    
    We have to buy the "Digital laptops" from Olivetti anyway.

re: .31,
    
>    Besides, given the prices, if you really want a laptop for personal
>    use, you can buy one on the street from Brand X for much, much less
>    than any DEPP price.  If they want employees to be customers, they
>    should expect smart employees to be smart customers.
    
	What are the prices anyway?

	I know that a Zeos (out of St. Paul Minnesota) 386 SX laptop
	with a 20 MB hard disk *lists* at around $2,250.  By the time
	you factor in any sort of discounts, the price becomes quite
	attractive (it was also rated #1 for durability in a somewhat
	silly test conducted by PC Computing magazine this month).

				   -davo

    re: .30  IMHO there is a HUGE disconnect between what we propose to
    customers as "the best way to computerize", including lots of the HW &
    SW well sell - which is great stuff, and what we often don't implement
    in the field. Not using laptor considering them a luxury would be only
    one example. It's a real shame if you consider how succesful we are /
    were in selling All in 1 - wonder how much of that is due to the wide
    use by those selling it? A good bit, I'd bet.

    re: .28
    
    I made some enquiries - don't expect an operatinal machine for less
    than �1500 - which is totally forgettable, given the prices of the
    opposition.
    
    	- andy

    I remember when we took pride in selling what we used in-house.  Seems
    like those days are long gone and are not coming back.  Maybe we are so
    concerned about listening to what the customer wants that we aren't
    using common sense about what a customer might want based on what we
    use.  
    
    I mean, no cost centers want to buy 9000s.  Few employees want to buy
    our smaller workstations.  It's cheaper for us to buy laptops from our
    competitors in order to compete?  Reading these notes I'd expect one of
    our Digital sales reps to have a Toshiba laptop to take orders for DEC
    laptops.  There is a similar trend in some software applications where,
    for example, groups would rather buy outside because internal software
    is inferior.  The justification for all of this is that we need the
    best software and hardware to be competitive.  But, if our stuff isn't 
    good enough for us to use, how is it good enough for us to sell? 
    Shouldn't we be using our energy to make our products "best in class" 
    rather than to argue for buying "best in class" from our competitors?
    
    Steve

    At present there are 4 or 5 districts whose FS engineers have been
    issued TOSHIBA XT1200 with a form of ALL-IN-1 implemented and 20mb disk
    drives.  These units have integral modems and the FS guys use them to
    dial up CHAMP and SMART, etc.  The units are leased at present, and it
    sounds like they will be replaced with Olivetti units soon.  This is
    part of a pilot program (DART), and is implemented by the Corporation.
    
    
    tony

    RE .34 Andy
    
    Thanks for getting the info. You are right at that price there will not
    be many "Digital" Laptops being used in the UK. I am being made
    redundant and wondered if the price was "really" good I might purchase
    one before I left.. I think I will look around outside.
    
    �1500 what a price !!
    
    mark

    The great tragedy is that the typical customer's "style of computing" is
    now alien to the typical field employee.

    Sales reps once had empathy with the people they were selling systems
    to.  Now we wonder what these people are talking about when they say
    "productivity" and "simplicity".

    Personal computing is, to the field, a specialization, a niche.
    Until this changes, we'll stay out of touch.

    Well, the latest DECdirect flyer in the UK has the list prices
    for these things.
    
    PCP10-CE - 320sx Notebook, 60 Mb disk, 2 Mb RAM - �3204
    PCP20-CE - 333 Portable 60 Mb disk 4Mb Ram      - �4295
    
    The notebook has  a 20 MHz 80386sx while the 333 Portable has a 33MHz
    80386. A floppy drive is standard.
    
    This is for the base machine; carrying cases, etc are extras.
    
    I hope there is a very generous discount available....
    
    Peter.
    
    
    

>    PCP10-CE - 320sx Notebook, 60 Mb disk, 2 Mb RAM - �3204

Sounds like a name for a 36-bit machine.

    
    
    
    	Doesn't 3K pounds turn into about 5K dollars ?
    
    	What's the competition charging ? 
    
    	I think I remember reading about a PC notebook in VNS a while 
    	back that was quite a bit less.
    
    	What makes us better ?
    
    
    					Mike
    					----					

    Mike,
    
    I think you have to bear in mind that most electronic equipment
    this side of the pond costs more than in the U.S.  It used to
    be a standing joke (not entirely falsely based) that to get a
    UK price for ANY US product you simply change the dollar sign
    to pounds.
    
    I weep when I hear how little you people pay for High end audio
    gear.
    
    Calvin

One of the advantages of 110v 60 Hz mains is smaller transformers...

    Well, now the notebook and portable are officially announced. They look
    slick &  seem expensive. I found it interesting that the Sales Update
    article used the example of a sales rep suing  the notebook and a
    Customer Services rep as the appropriate one for the portable.  THe
    example is one written to the sales rep as a suggested "line" to sell
    the product to a customer. It would be almost an insult and certainly
    ironic if the sales force did not end up with one of these systems per
    rep, to use. It would be galling to have to go out on a sales call with
    the example of a salesperson using a notebook computer fresh in one's
    mind, knowing that it had a hollow ring for me as the promoter of the
    concept. I guess we'll find out if & when we do.

re .-1
>    the product to a customer. It would be almost an insult and certainly
>    ironic if the sales force did not end up with one of these systems per
>    rep, to use. It would be galling to have to go out on a sales call with
>    the example of a salesperson using a notebook computer fresh in one's
>    mind, knowing that it had a hollow ring for me as the promoter of the
>    concept. I guess we'll find out if & when we do.

Why? I have sold multiple 9000's to a customer, and I didn't have to have one,
to convince them to buy.

I have worked with many sales reps both inside and outside of Digital, and a)
a reasonable number thereof are not computer user-level literate (and have no
need to be to sell computers), b) Most have no desire to be tied to another
breifcase filler.

	There is not a great deal that a notebook computer can do for a sales
rep, that can't be done with a good diary and a quick mind.

	Don't get me wrong, I see that there is a potential for Computerised
support of our selling process, but not with these toys... If we want serious
electronic support tools for our sales force then lets try the following. 

A laptop VAX (not a portable, keep AC power as running a vax from Batteries
has associated problems.) This can be done, the board sizes, disk sizes etc in
our newer systems would fit, and there are already companies selling laptop
vaxes.

	Run a read only VMS from an internal Cdrom drive. (The technology is
real close to run VMS Read only...) On that same CD, place the equivalent of
the 1. Systems and Options catalog, 2. The Price Book, 3. The master SPD list,
4. The network and communications buyers guide, and any other sundry
documentation. Adapt Xcon/Xsel/AQS so that it will run from this environment,
Embellish it, so that it can handle software quotations, and appropriately add
descriptive text, and SPD contents etc where appropriate. Train the sales
force on how to use it. don't force it on those that don't need or want it.
Make Money. 

	The same technology could also be used as a portable Dignosis station
by Field Service. But you will need the power/application support of a Vax.

q

    .45 > Don't get me wrong, I see that there is a potential for Computerised
    .45 > support of our selling process, but not with these toys... 
    
    Right.  This little toy DECpc 333 laptop only has performance matching
    that of a VAX 6000/510 (at 1/30th the price), or 3 times that of a
    VAXstation 3100 Model 30.  And it only has several times as many
    available applications.  Let's not burden our salesforce with toys like
    that.
    

    re: .46
    
    The bottleneck for computerized support of our selling process is
    probably not arithmetic speed or number of applications, but data
    storage.  I imagine that just holding the XCON data base would require
    a lot of disk space.  Don't forget that data base must be updated
    with each new announcement.
        John Sauter

    re: .45 You bothered to quote me - how 'bout bothering to read what you
    quote??  My point was focused on the sales pitch given in Sales Update
    as an example for the DEC sales rep as "typical" applications to give
    the rep a "good idea" to think on when they wonder " what the h*** is
    this good for - or when the prospect asks it.  A scenario & base to
    build a pitch on - a seed of an idea to compose a presentation
    (hopefully credible) on. The embarrasing question my customer could be
    thinking EASILY - is "wellll.....wonder why HE does'nt have one?
    hmmmm?? The modern company should have their sales folks use these so
    they can be more profitable, productive?? Hmmm... wonder why the DEC
    rep does'nt have one?? They must not really believe it, why are they
    trying to sell me on it and yet??? It's called integrity - at least
    PERCIEVED integrity! 
    
    The example is on page 16 of Sales Update vol. 22 #20 - if you are
    interested.  
    
    A good memory and a notebook?? This typifies the thinking in the
    company that is keeping us 10 years behind the industry in some areas.
    Let's not take 2 steps forward with the announcement of really quality
    pc products and then 1 step back ?  
    
    9000's are not intended to be hauled around in briefcases - or did'nt
    you find the distinction important? Laptop VAX?? - This is like the
    comment on memories & notebooks - it misses the point.  Client / server
    and remote computing are Intel desktop & MAC based. VAX is a great
    server. The bacon is burning - please sniff!! 

	... and I'll put it there also, but in my local paper yes-
terday AM (Gwinnett Daily News, Georgia), the business page had a
wire story that DEC can't make the laptops fast enough for the
sales volume.  Sorry I didn't bring it in to transcribe it.

<><><><><><><><>  T h e   V O G O N   N e w s   S e r v i c e  <><><><><><><><>

 Edition : 2324             Thursday 16-May-1991            Circulation :  8489 


 Digital - Displays new PC line; Clearpoint Research charged
	        {The Boston Globe, 15-May-91, p. 44} {MISG}
   Digital Equipment Corp. formally unveiled a broadened line of personal
 computers in New York yesterday, priced competitively and in some cases below
 its rivals.
   Although the Maynard-based company has tried making and marketing personal
 computers and failed, this time it is offering four industry-standard
 machines, including three that are compatible with International Business
 Machines PCs. These computers will be sold to Digital's commercial and
 scientific customers and discounted for volume purchases.
   The computers - two portables, one desktop and a local area network server -
 will carry the Digital label, but will be built by Intel Corp., Ing. C.
 Olivetti's Triumph Adler division and by Tandy Corp. to Digital's
 specifications. Already Tandy Corp. has a separate factory building
 Digital-only personal computers.
   The Intel-built personal computer, which Digital designed with some
 proprietary chips to provide specialized graphics capabilities found in more
 expensive Digital workstations, will include eight megabytes of internal
 storage plus an additional two megabytes if memory dedicated to the video
 display.
   Known as the Digital PC433 workstation it is aimed at the scientific and
 engineering communities as well as desktop publishing users. It will sell for
 $5,999 without any disk storage, video display monitor or software. A
 comparable machine from Compaq costs nearly $11,000.
   Digital is also selling two portable computers from Olivetti. The first is a
 6.2 pound notebook-sized computer that will include an Intel 80386SX chip and
 a 60 megabyte hard drive. Priced at $4,895, users can add an internal
 send-and-receive facsimile/modem for $590 more.
   Olivetti is also building, to Digital's specifications, a nearly 12-pound
 laptop machine that will include a fast Intel 80386 chip, four megabytes of
 main memory and a 60 megabyte disk drive with a detachable keyboard. It is
 priced at $6,450.
   And while Digital already has one personal computer made by Tandy Corp, the
 Fort Worth computer maker with also build a second machine, know as LAN
 server. It is priced at $12,000 without any peripherals. The key to this
 computer say Digital officials, is to offer corporate users a low-cost
 networking system that has the flexibility to run different networking
 systems.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
        Please send subscription and backissue requests to CASEE::VNS

    Permission to copy material from this VNS is granted (per DIGITAL PP&P)
    provided that the message header for the issue and credit lines for the
    VNS correspondent and original source are retained in the copy.

<><><><><><><><>   VNS Edition : 2324    Thursday 16-May-1991   <><><><><><><><>

re: .48,
    
>    A good memory and a notebook?? This typifies the thinking in the
>    company that is keeping us 10 years behind the industry in some areas.
>    Let's not take 2 steps forward with the announcement of really quality
>    pc products and then 1 step back ?  

    	I agree wholeheartedly.  If we don't start acting like leaders in
    (or at least attempt to keep pace with) the use of the technology we
    are attempting to sell, then we might as well switch to the horse,
    buggy, and out-house business.

    	In the meantime however, given the apparent demand for the new
    DEC PC products (mentioned in subsequent notes and articles), then 
    when the customer asks why the DEC salesman doesn't have a notebook
    computer, they could truthfully answer something to the effect of:
    "I'd love to get my hands on one, but they're selling like hotcakes!"

				   -davo

    I agree.  I also find it difficult to believe that we have sales
    persons out there selling things that they don't use and don't know how 
    to use!  Is this really true?  If so, it's no wonder we can't figure out 
    why we don't sell as much as we should.  Put two salesmen, one from IBM
    and one from DEC, into a room with a customer trying to sell him a bunch 
    of laptops.  Give the IBM rep a laptop and a few brochures.  Give the DEC
    rep no laptop but a fat wad of brochures.  Any bets on who will make the 
    sale?
    
    Yeah, you can't bring in a VAX 9000.  But, try the same thing with an
    IBM rep that uses and is comfortable with an IBM mainframe and a DEC
    rep that has only seen pictures of a VAX 9000 and has never really used
    one and you have a similar situation, I think.
    
    Just because we are selling lots of PCs now is no reason to rest easy.
    Remember back four years ago when we were selling "lots" of VAXen?
    That's when we got over confident and really started to blow it ...
    
    Steve

re .52
But we shouldn't have sales reps trying to sell Laptops against IBM. Laptops
are a commodity item. They should sell themselves. Anyone planning on making a
$5 Million quota on $2000 PC's needs to sell a whole load of them. find me a
sales rep that feels comfortable attempting to make their quota on terminal
priced items, and you have a fairly rare person. IBM, incidentally, would not
send an IBM sales rep to sell laptops. They would refer you to a computerland
or the like.

As for putting Laptops in the hands of sales reps, If you do not support them
with an appropriate set of tools ( �that don't degrade the reps efficiency),
then you might as well put them in a dumpster. this is why I made the point
about the laptop vax technology and available tools...

q

� I have fond memories of DEC middle management people, who delighted in
spending large amounts of their highly paid, and potentially profitable time,
trying to drive spreadsheets. Because these people weren't fromt line
software specialists, their spreadsheets tended to be some of the most
inefficient and inaccurate code possible, often taking them days to set up,
when a talented SW Specialist or financial analyst could throw it together in
minutes. Look at the current management that labor over getting presentations
to look right, when in terms of the value of their time, it would often be
cheaper to sub-contract out to an outside graphic artist (or an internal one,
if the volume justifies it.)

As I said before recently, leave the "doing" to those that know how to do it
better than you, and you'll make money. Try to be a jack of all trades and you
will lose money. Throw a laptop at a bunch of sales reps, (without appropriate
application support�) and they will either spend hours of valuable selling
time, trying to make then useful, or end up becoming Tetris experts...

�By "Appropriate  Application Support", I don't mean Just putting Package X,
y, and z on, I mean sufficiently tailored applications to justify the expense
and the effort.

Does any else remember when we gave Sales Reps LA12's to help them sell.

>But we shouldn't have sales reps trying to sell Laptops against IBM. Laptops
>are a commodity item. They should sell themselves. Anyone planning on making a
                       ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

This is NOT correct.  The days of DEC equipment selling itself are OVER.
(At least according to the various discussions I've read about DEC and
"better mousetraps".)  Being a commodity item means that sales reps are 
selling not just against IBM but against many other vendors as well.  So, for 
my example throw in even more PC-equipped salespersons against the one DEC 
salesperson.  My understanding is that we ARE selling PCs and ARE in the 
commodity business.  Our sales people ARE the ones that are competing with 
other sales persons.  Please feel free to correct me if I am mistaken.

>As for putting Laptops in the hands of sales reps, If you do not support them
>with an appropriate set of tools ( �that don't degrade the reps efficiency),
>then you might as well put them in a dumpster. this is why I made the point
>about the laptop vax technology and available tools...

If we are trying to sell a product that we feel is inferior, then we really do 
have a problem.  Aren't we telling the world that our notebooks and laptops are 
great for sales and field support personnel?  Then, we say that they are not
"good enough" for our sales and field support personnel.  Or, we say that the
stuff we do sell is too expensive to provide for our own internal people.
Doesn't this remind anyone of the situation we have now where hardly anyone
within the Corporation is buying VAX 9000s?  Lo and behold, some of our
customers aren't buying them for the same reasons!

Also, I would contend that if what we sell is too difficult for our sales
people to get any "hands on", we have another big problem.  If we can't train
our sales people in how to use our equipment, how on earth can we expect to 
sell the idea of us providing training for our customers?  Our software tools
need to be easy and intuitive to use.  This is a major reason why Digital is
pushing OSF/Motif.  This is a major reason why VMS is cited as a superior
system - ease of use and good development environment.  As a potential
customer, I would have difficulty buying from a salesperson that told me that
what I was about to buy would be easy for me to use but that the salesperson
didn't personally know how to do it.

Imagine buying a car from a person that didn't know how to drive.  The test
drive would be a blast, wouldn't it?  Or, how about buying a fleet of cars from 
a person that insisted on taking public transportation everywhere.  Or, how 
about buying a fleet of Boeing 747s from a person that insisted on taking the
train cross-country?


Steve

    Simply throwing sales reps into the field with notebooks and laptops
    won't accomplish a whole lot.  If we want to use our own people as
    "demos" then we need to equip them with a really slick,
    well-intergrated set of support tools (inclding dial-up access to
    internal systems) as well as the hardware.  
    
    Then the message changes from "why don't you buy some of these neat
    (commodity) PCs" to "Why don't you let us build a sales support system
    like this for your people".  This is one good way of getting OUT of the
    commodity market (at least according to Tom Peters).
    
    We also need to be in a position to provide hardware and software
    support for this sort of distributed installation, if only to match
    what is already available from people like Dell.
    
    -dave
    

    Interesting points, Dave.  I'm curious about what Tom Peters said along
    these lines.  I have the impression that we are talking about two
    aspects of what we sell - commodities and services.  In other words, we
    might need to say something like, "We have great commodity PCs to sell you.
    And, we have great support to sell which our own sales force uses."
    
    Without preparing and arming the sales forces, we are ill-prepared to
    sell either message.
    
    Steve

    In "Thriving on Chaos" Peters hammers on the idea that there really is
    no such thing as a commodity.  Any product, no matter how generic it
    may seem, can be differentiated by constant improvements in quality,
    by superior customer service, by constant adaptation to specific
    customer requirements, etc, etc...

    Our biggest advantage in the PC marketplace IMHO, is our ability to
    deliver total integrated solutions -- PCs, servers networking,
    integrated software, training, support and service -- all from a SINGLE
    vendor.  Try getting that from Businessland!  

    Saying that PCs (or open systems) are "just a commodity market" is
    giving up before you even start.

    Another Peters truism:  there are only 2 successful strategies -
    delivering acceptable quality at the lowest price or being the BEST!
    Middle strategies yield lower revenue at lower margin than either of
    the extremes.

    -dave

    Well, I have the book and have read it cover to cover at least once, as 
    well as Passion for Excellence.  What we're getting caught up in here is 
    the definition of a "commodity".  It probably won't suffice to blow off the 
    idea of Digital participating in the commodity market since KO has 
    identified it as one of our areas of business.  Another area is service.  
    Another is VAX.  (I think there are four, but don't remember the fourth off
    hand.)  
    
    Now, as far as the services and commodities markets go, we have
    emphasized our networking solutions with the PC announcement.  We have
    also taken a stab at the commodities market by comparing prices for our
    machines with the prices for comparably configured machines from our
    competitors.  So, we seem to be using the PCs to hit both commodity and
    service markets.
    
    In essence, saying that we are just a service market is contrary to our
    announcements and admits defeat in the commodity market.  Right now we
    are telling our potential customers that we have the best solution
    (service) and at a price that is lower than our competitors (commodity).  
    So, by the strictest interpretation of Peters, we are doomed.  But, 
    remember that Peters also states that he didn't find any companies that 
    used all of the methods recommended.  They were still "successful".  He
    recognized in recommending his prescriptions that there are exceptions.  
    I think that if we recognize and respond to the fact that we are trying
    to deal with two different businesses here, we can be successful.
    
    In either business, our sales force is at a disadvantage if they do not
    have sufficient user-experience with both the services and the
    commodities we are selling.  Even though these are two different
    businesses, the same people are doing the selling.
    
    Steve

	...Wed., May 15, 1991, attributed to unnamed wire service reports:

"Thousands of buyers swamped [DEC], snapping up its new notebook-sized
personal computer and leaving it fresh out of supplies until July. Sur-
prised by the "phemonenal demand", DEC said it was immediately stepping
up production of the mini-computer. The tiny PC - the size of a notebook -
is one of a new series of DEC computers that ranges from a light laptop
to a powerful graphics machine. The notebook PC costs less than $5000."

	BTW, Trace, feel free to copy this for Vogon, Livewire, whatever,
or track down which wire it came from!  Where's the old AP VTX service
when you need it?  :>)  :>)

I have just returned from a Banking Trade show (NOAC) where I had the
honor :-) of being one of the first people to demo the new PeeCees
publicly so I'll give you folks a little report.

The Bad News:  I predict the Laptop will be a disaster.
The Good News:  The notebook is SO GOOD that why buy the bigger one that
runs and hour less on one charge?

I had to take the Notebook back to the hotel and lock it up every night
because everyone around wanted one.  It really is a fine machine.

Some points:

o Everyone who saw the notebook seemed extremely impressed.

o The notebook in its base configuration is a complete system that seems
to be able to satisfy the needs of most people.  When showing the little
sucker I could whip it out and say "For $4800 this is exactly what you
get." without having to go through 500 pricing configurations.

o The external power supply for the portables is TOO BIG.  I kept it
hidden.

o Some people where talking about potential orders in the thousands.

o The hardware documentation for these things stinks.

o Practice using your finger instead of the stylus in the mouse pad.
It's a lot easier once you get the hang of it.  (Try dragging with the
stylus and you'll know what I mean.)

The problem is going to sell the things.  Unfortunately Digital does not
equal [personal] computers in most people's minds.  This looks like a
good start to change things.  We are only in a position to make money
off of large orders.  Digital needs a [better] mechanism for selling
them in small quantities.

Although this is slightly off the subject I am happy to report that the
Digital booth was by far and away the slickest looking one at the whole
show and seemed to attract the most attention.  It looked infinately
better than the Big Blew's.

    
    There has been signifigant work done in the laptop space within
    Digital's I.S. groups. Don't forget that until very recently machines
    of this class weren't even available, much less from Digital. Even now
    that they have come of age in terms of speed, graphics and disk size it
    isn't clear cut exactly how to integrate them into the current toolset.
    
    Most of the current tools are built around databases that fill multiple
    RA90s, and even then it's common to find those databases too small
    because they aren't account based yet. Even if you ignore much of the
    data that is historical and finanical in nature you still end up with
    some significant requirements. This isn't even taking into
    consideration the issue of updating the laptop's databases and the
    legal issues of what happens when a sales rep quotes something from an
    out-of-date database. Don't forget, we're talking about actually
    quoteing something, not just providing prices. Also, the actual
    applications are becoming more and more integrated with the intent to
    reduce the amount of redundant data entry and streamline the process.
    Remove some of these applications to the laptop and it complicates the
    issue once again. This also doesn't consider the loss of features that
    are just too complex for the laptop like AQS's configuration assistance
    and checking. These are AI applications that run in batch on
    "mainframes" and can take quite awhile to run.
    
    Anyway, I agree with the concept of not providing them unless an
    integrated set of tools, with training to match, is available. It's
    something that's been worked on in the past and is being worked on now.
    
    Personally, I've made the suggestion that Sales Reps be provided with
    top-of-the-line Sharp Wizards which, for a list price of $400.00 and a
    little programming, can provide quite a bit of what most sales reps want
    and need. The relatively low investment could give us a productivity
    boost now and provide the breathing space to develop the right set of
    tools to enable a notebook to actually meet it's potential. The Wizards
    could be throwaways after 12 months!
    
    -Ray

    What we really need to get out is a Laptop MIPSCO Workstation.  SONY
    is the first on the market.
    
    

    There has been a Notesfile set up for the new Portables Products.
    It is located at RAINBO::DECpc_Portables.

    
    re .63:
    
    Was the node name chosen "lest we forget"?
    

    U.S. News                         LIVE WIRE                     11-Sep-1991

              Availability of Portable PCs for Employees announced

  Demand for Digital's portable laptop and notebook computers has been heavy 
  from both Digital customers and employees.
  
  The company is currently working on fulfilling customer demand. The 
  DECpc 333 and DECpc 320sx should be available for employees through the 
  Employee Purchase Program no later than February, l992. Watch for dates of 
  availability and ordering information in future issues of Digital Today, 
  the U.S. Field newspaper.

    Just curious, how is heavy demand measured from employees when they
    can't order any yet and don't know what the price is?  I thought the
    high prices of PCs through EPP (versus buying clones) was, um, limiting 
    employee participation.  No?
    
    Steve

  <<< Note 1405.66 by MIZZOU::SHERMAN "ECADSR::SHERMAN 235-8176, 223-3326" >>>

    >Just curious, how is heavy demand measured from employees when they
    >can't order any yet and don't know what the price is?  
    
         Large numbers of calls from employees asking about the products, 
    perhaps?
    
                                       Greg

My customer ordered them through DECdirect...