Conference 7.286::digital

Adding this to our fantastic rating in that Fortune survey mentioned
elsewhere and the rumor that network operations have started planning
for an employee population of about 45,000 makes me what to shout

	YABA-DABA-DOOO!!


Ahhh .. I feel better already.

>Per

    
    	I am now really being to wonder if our senior leaders actually
    *believe* we can downsize our way to revenue growth. The oxymorons
    in all this are to numerous to elaborate.
    	If we are to excute a strategy that focuses on value-added
    resellers as our primary growth (read: new accounts) vehicle, then
    a cohesive software (middleware) strategy with executable timeframes
    for delivery becomes the single most important facet for success.
    	Can you spell "deep sneakers"?
    
    		the Greyhawk

Just send them a coffee mug...

Note author Lynn Berg is a former DEC marketer, too...

    Not to make the Gartner report any less appealing, but does everybody
    realize how much terrible software is out there in the marketplace and
    (even worse) in use by our customers?    I spend all of my time doing
    database and application consulting, and some of the stuff I see
    running out there is simply appalling.   In the past month, I've dealt
    with a leading financial system (My name might give a clue) that was so
    poorly designed and had such a brain-dead interface, I couldn't believe
    it.   Another company has a LIMS system that takes 60 hours to copy
    3500 records from one table to another due to poor design.   A
    government agency is "upgrading" RDB from V4.1 to V4.2 (which is so
    old, it's no longer supported!) and relies on hundreds of DATATRIEVE
    procedures developed by someone not even in the I.S> department.  A
    hospital recently purchased another financial system that defaults all
    amounts to Pounds with no way to make dollars the default.   A
    manufacturer has developed in-house a dozen applications that simply
    take hand-written test results and record them in a database, while 
    the endusers still do the calcultions with a calculator and type them
    in.
    
    I've heard anecdotal comments about SAP (the current rage) being
    far less than ideal.   Powerbuilder is also hot, but has anyone ever
    really tried using it?   
    
    Marketing is winning out over innovation. 
    
    

Personally, I prefer freeware.  You know
it was written by someone who cares.   You
usually get better support, too.

    RE .03 - Did you mean to say morons instead of oxymorons. If not, why
    not?
    
    The Gartner article, like the proverbial iceberg just exposes the tip of
    the greater problem of the folks in charge not having a clue where they
    want to end up, what they want to be when they get "there" or how to go
    about getting "there". I have listened intently to most of the recent
    DVN's featuring the new SLC team. It's like eating cotton candy. There
    are slogans and platitudes but little or no substance. After a bit one
    can easily conclude that we are on a ship adrift in a very stormy sea.
    
    We appear to have folks in charge who probably are reasonably good at
    executing a plan but we have no visionaries, nobody defining the plan
    that these folks would and could go off and execute. Cut heads until we
    get profitable is hardly a vision for the future; it may make sense to
    ensure that there is a future, but more definition is needed both
    internally and for customers about what that future holds. The Gartner
    report basically says "We can't tell nor trust what Digital is likely
    to do in the future, given how unpredicatble they've become lately in
    the present". At the least, that is a telling inditement of the lack of
    communications skills at the senior level. It is probably only residual
    respect for Digital (and the underlying self-interest not to offend a
    potential customer) that prevents Gartner from just coming out and
    saying - WE HAVEN'T GOT A CLUE, BECAUSE THEY HAVEN'T GOT A CLUE!
    
    -OFWAMI-           
       
    
    

    Why do customers buy Hardware ?
    
    To run Software.
    
    
    Honest, it is true. Phew.
    
    

	For those interested in the truth...

	The  comments    in  the  Gartner  report  about  BASEstar  are
	completely false.   I feel it is important to let those Digital
	people in the field  know  that  rather  than  just being quite
	about it.  Gartner did  not  contact  anybody  in  the BASEstar
	group.  They are losing creditability  with  our customers that
	have more factual data than they do.

	/JCE
	BASEstar Program and Engineering Manager
	[Of course, not to be believed, according to Gartner]


ps: 	For those not familiar with BASEstar....


<SET ADVERTISEMENT ON>

			    BASEstar Update

            BASEstar Family Includes the Flexibility of Client/Server
            Packaging

HIGHLIGHTS

           . BASEstar, delivering an open manufacturing integration
             solution based on industry standards
                 
           . BASEstar family of products available for shipment
             today.  BASEstar is installed in a large, broad customer
	     base world-wide in both Discrete and Process manufacturing.

CUSTOMER PROBLEM

            High-efficiency manufacturing operations call for a high
            degree of integration for manufacturing equipment,
            applications, and the data they produce.

DIGITAL SOLUTION

            Digital's BASEstar family of products provides core
            integration platforms, device interconnect, and application
            development enablers to support the collecting, managing,
            and realtime distribution of plant floor data and events.
            The flexible and easy-to-use BASEstar information technology
            will be included in the February Corporate announcement.  It
            includes:

            Integration Platforms:

            .  BASEstar Open V2.0
				Server		Client
				======		========
		OSF/1		Shipping	Shipping
		OpenVMS Alpha	Shipping	Shipping
		OpenVMS VAX	Shipping	Shipping
		MS Windows			Shipping
		W/NT		Field Test	Shipping
		HP UX		Under Dev	Field Test
		IBM AIX		No Plan		Being Planned
		SUN		No Plan		Field Test

            .  BASEstar Classic V3.3

		OpenVMS Alpha	Shipping	
		OpenVMS VAX	Shipping	

	       BASEstar Classic V3.4 in development.

            Device Interconnect:

            .  DEComni -- for OSF/1 and VMS systems, a network
               communication product that provides an Application
               Programming Interface (API) for connection and management
               of plant equipment
              
            .  DECosap -- for OSF/1 and VMS systems, provides a method
               to access and communicate with plant floor equipment over
               Siemens' SINEC networks.  DECosap supports SINEC H1 and
               SINEC AP communications services and, because it is built
               on DEComni, preserves customer investments in migrating
               to MMS/OSI.

		Many additional device connects exist.  Please contact us
		to see the full list.

            Application Enablers:

            Application Enablers are a set of tools to allow BASEstar
            users a common style of user interface and a consistent
            application development environment, regardless of the
            underlying core.

            .  BASEstar Graphics Enabler -- provides the capability to
               create dynamic,   realtime, representational graphical
               interfaces for BASEstar Open, BASEstar Classic, and user
               applications.  Available on all platforms supported by
               BASEstar Open and BASEstar Classic.
              
            .  BASEstar CIMfast -- provides a 4GL environment that
               dramatically improves the productivity and efficiency of
               CIM application developers.  BASEstar applications
               developed using CIMfast are highly portable to all
               BASEstar Open and BASEstar Classic platforms.  BASEstar
               CIMfast functionality is included with both BASEstar Classic
               and with BASEstar Open.


CHANNELS STRATEGY

            BASEstar frees our partners from the need to develop and
            maintain basic data management and device integration
            technologies, and allows them to focus on their knowledge
            domain leadership expertise.  The BASEstar family of
            products is offered with significant discounts for
            resellers.

PRICING/ORDERING INFORMATION

            Pricing for the BASEstar products is available in the U.S.
            Price List.

	    Check the VTX IR for additional information on BASEstar or
	    contact Nancy Gustavesen, Larry Tuttle, or Tony Carpenter.


            OSF/1 is a registered trademark of Open Software Foundation,
            Inc.

<SET ADVERTISEMENT OFF>

    RIGHT ON JOHN !!
    
    I wonder how many other software products gartner is trying to 
    blackball !!!!

Be sure to tune in and send off your comments right afterwards.
    
    
    
    
Worldwide News                     LIVE WIRE
    
DVN telecast on Digital's software strategy ... Date: 13-Feb-1995
    
    
     DVN telecast on Digital's software strategy to air next Monday
 
         The Digital Video Network will air "Software Business Group:  
   Strategy, Partners, and Products" on Monday, Feb. 20, from 1-2 p.m. 
   Eastern time in the U.S.
         Nancy Strecker, vice president, Software Business Group. will 
   discuss the major elements of Digital's software strategy, and how the 
   company is using its proven expertise in distributed computing and 
   network integration to provide customers with transparent access to 
   information whenever and wherever it's needed.
         The program, which is aimed at all Digital employees, will also 
   highlight significant new products being introduced in Q3 that further 
   support the company's continued leadership in open client/server 
   computing.
         Employees in Europe should check with their local DVN site 
   coordinator for the exact broadcast times there. 
         For a complete listing of DVN sites, choose #8 on LIVE WIRE's
   main menu page.

    
    	Right now I am one really HOT cowboy. Let me explain.
    
    	Last year (March 94) we began a carefully orchestrated campaign to
    capture one of the largest resellers in the Legal industry market. We
    used local marketing, corporate marketing, industry marketing, product
    marketing, management, sales support, channels account management, and
    me, the reseller recruiter. After umpteen million sales calls; a demo
    that had people from New York, Montreal, Boston, and Chicago; and a
    host of letters, documents, etc. we signed these guys right out from
    under H-P's nose. A real coup!!!
    
    	Part of the deal was support for Linkworks on Win/NT, OSF/1,
    Windoze all flavors, and NATIVE NETWARE ON ALPHA (this is caps because
    marketing hyped this to the max). Now our new reseller is saying "We
    have committed $50,000 to marketing our new relationship with Digital	
    and want to beta NETWARE ON ALPHA *NOW*."
    
    	Today I learned that this is a dead puppy. My personal credibility
    is shot, Digital's credibility is going to be mud, and our competitor
    in Chicago will run all over town saying wonderful things about our
    software strategy, corporate comittments to resellers, etc.
    
    	I think we better get our act together real quick. Or else fold
    our hand. I can barely type this for the shame I feel for the company
    I love.
    
    		the Greyhawk

    Novell canned PIN (Processor Independent Novell) on all non-x86
    platforms a few months ago; it's not really breaking news.  HP
    was further along than we were, so they may have made even more
    (now broken) promises to customers than we did.  KB  

    ........all BIG BOB needs to do is hire another 10 or 20 V.P.s
    
    that will make every thing much much better....one vp for every
    
    10k real employees that get wacked...almost make sense!!!!!!
    
    hornet
    

    Re: .14

>>    ........all BIG BOB needs to do is hire another 10 or 20 V.P.s
    
    Gee then we could be "Digital VP Corporation"

      

According to PCWeek, Nov. 14, 1994, PIN went into alpha test for PowerPC that
month (note that that's alpha with a small "a", not Alpha with a capital "A"
8-( )

I guess its independent only if its an Intel and PowerPC, not HPPA or Alpha.

BobW

>================================================================================
>Note 3707.13             Our Middle Name is "Equipment"                 13 of 15
>PCBUOA::KRATZ                                         4 lines  17-FEB-1995 17:08
>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>    Novell canned PIN (Processor Independent Novell) on all non-x86
>    platforms a few months ago; it's not really breaking news.  HP
>    was further along than we were, so they may have made even more
>    (now broken) promises to customers than we did.  KB  
>

    An alpha version of Processor Independent Netware was up and running on
    a Alpha box in the Houston office. Novell has demanded that the
    (serialized) media be returned to them. :-(
    
    Harry
    

    
    Re -.Novell
    
     Ask Gartner what they thing of Novells GroupWare strategy, ask Gartner
    what they think of Novells NOS strategy, Ask Gartner what they think of
    Novells Application strategy.
    
     We should *NOT* feel the heat because they pulled the plug on some
    software. Hey NLMs and VLMs some people can and do live without them.
    Most techo weenie types are looking for more than file and print
    services. Can Novell ever outgrow that label. How is 4.1 doing?
    
     Someone needs to sit down with Gartner and educate them on the ways
    of Digital.
    
    -Mike Z.

re.
          <<< Note 3707.11 by DECLNE::LANGSTON "sampling the spew" >>>

Be sure to tune in and send off your comments right afterwards.    
    
Worldwide News                     LIVE WIRE
    
DVN telecast on Digital's software strategy ... Date: 13-Feb-1995
--------------

Could someone provide update on this DVN. It is not on Livewire.

thanks,
Avinash

    re: .0 (by me)
    
    >[bold] ACMS, TDMS, FMS: Some current users say these products are still
    >not shipping on Alpha VMS, forcing them to upgrade using VAXs that are
    >significantly less cost-effective that Alpah systems. Users have
    >explored migrating to ACMS AXP (which is a different Encina-based product)
    >on
    >OSF/1, and retrofitting that application back to VMS when ACMS AXP is
    >available on Alpha VMS. We do not believe that users should go to that
    >kind of trouble and expense -- current applications can be left on VAXs. 
    >ACMS
    >has in fact been shipping on Alpha since june 1994, but we recommend
    >eliminating or at least minimizing new development. We also do not 
    >recommend a port or
    >any new application development on ACMS AXP, no matter how good the
    >product is. We se no long term business scenario or viabillity for Digital
    >as a a vendor of multivendor transaction-processing software. Users
    >should not assume that ACMS will be ported to VMS or any other platform 
    >unless it
    >is spun off or bought by another software vendor (0.4 probability).
    
         <<< ABBOTT::ABBOTT$DKA100:[NOTES$LIBRARY]IM_PARTNERS.NOTE;1 >>>
                                     -<  >-
================================================================================
Note 1560.1  * Jesse Lipcon's Response to Gartner re:  ACMS Family *      1 of 4
TPSYS::FERREIRA                                      34 lines  17-FEB-1995 15:20
                           -< .txt of Jesse's memo >-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

+---------------------------+ TM
|   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
| d | i | g | i | t | a | l |	       INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM
|   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
+---------------------------+


TO:  Whom It May Concern	       DATE:  Feb. 17, 1995
				       FROM:  Jesse Lipcon
					      Vice President
				       DEPT:  Systems Product Management
					      and Development
				       EXT:   223-5898
				       LOC/MAIL STOP: PKO3-1/B15


SUBJECT: ACMS


               One of the key components of Digital's OpenVMS product
	       set is the ACMS transaction processing software family.
	       ACMS is used extensively by Digital's largest customers
	       in their mission critical applications. It is strategic
	       to Digital as well as our customers in this role.

	       ACMS has been available on OpenVMS Alpha systems since
	       mid 1994.  There are new releases planned or in progress
	       with significant enhancements.  We have also extended
	       this robust technology to UNIX with a December, 1994,
	       release of ACMSxp for OSF/1 V2.0, a portable version of
	       ACMS.  We are currently working on delivery of ACMSxp
	       on OpenVMS and Windows NT for complete Digital platform
 	       coverage.