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Conference 7.286::digital

Title:The Digital way of working
Moderator:QUARK::LIONELON
Created:Fri Feb 14 1986
Last Modified:Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:5321
Total number of notes:139771

4794.0. "FY96 Systems and Server Study, Management Insight Technologies" by FUNYET::ANDERSON (Just say NO to Clinton & Dole!) Thu Aug 22 1996 19:12

The following entry has been contributed by a member of our community who
wishes to remain anonymous.  If you wish to contact the author by mail, please
send your message to HUMANE::MODERATOR, specifying the conference name and note
number.  Your message will be forwarded with your name attached unless you
request otherwise.

Paul, co-moderator DIGITAL


Please consider posting this pointer (or even the whole text) to FY '96 systems 
and servers study by management technologies anonymously in the Digital notes 
file.  It is a real eye opener, and shows how great our technology is but how
it is not being marketed and sold well.

I fear that this important info will at best not get widely circulated and at 
worst, supressed.

	http://pmd-wb.zko.dec.com/Market_Info_and_News_Services/
		Market_Research/sys_ser.htm 

A colleage discovered this info while searching for something else, and it is 
not protected.... just "hidden".  He is concerned that this very frank and
valuable info will either not get widely circulated or might even be surpressed
rather than acted on.
T.RTitleUserPersonal
Name
DateLines
4794.1haystack searched, needle found, now we're looking for a camelBIGUN::KEOGHI choose to enter this note now.Thu Aug 22 1996 23:296
Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

Let's measure the sanity of the company by how widely and quickly this
gets circulated internally!

Once again, thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
4794.2SALEM::ADEYMouse Copy 'n Paste...the real re-use technologyThu Aug 22 1996 23:526
    Hmmm...why was this hidden? Why was it posted anonymously? 
    
    The SLT should read this!
    
    Ken....
    
4794.3PM&D WorkbenchCOPCLU::SIIGGreat Dane at LargeFri Aug 23 1996 05:4520
Hmm,

Apparently the report is part of the "Product Management and Development
Workbench", ( http://pmd-wb.zko.dec.com/ ) which is:

"...a Web site environment established to provide organized, intuitive,quick,
and easy access to key business information and tools necessary for PM&D groups
to be competitive and productive."

Btw, the report can also be found in MS Word format, which allows for nicer
printing than the html document: 

http://pmd-wb.zko.dec.com/
Market_Info_and_News_Services/Market_Research/sys_ser.doc

Interesting reading indeed.


Regards,
Jesper
4794.4Read it in WORD format, it's prettierBBPBV1::WALLACEUnix is digital. Use Digital UNIX.Fri Aug 23 1996 05:4917
    I read it too. I tried very hard to find something that hadn't already
    been said, usually already been said in here. I'm not sure I did.
    
    That, actually, is goodness. The report manages to put a lot of good
    information and sensible recommendations (which have probably
    previously been viewed as "hearsay") together in one place, and the
    evidence to back them up is apparently available too.
    
    I hope it gets the ACTION it deserves; someone somewhere clearly
    invested a substantial amount of Digital stakeholders money in
    producing that report.
    
    Anybody seen the 20minute video of why folks said they'd never do
    business with Digital if they could avoid it ?
    
    regards
    john
4794.5This has been circulatedASABET::SILVERBERGMy Other O/S is UNIXFri Aug 23 1996 07:2812
    Our Business Segment has sponsored a few MIT (no - not MIT the school)
    studies, and we circulated this particular report when it came out a
    while ago.  These folks (ex-Digital folks such as Jack Mandelbaum and
    Gary Gottschalk) have done a number of insightful studies and reports
    that really need to get higher management attention.  Whenvever I
    attend a report session, the same question gets asked - How do we get
    this to the right levels of management for attention and action?  It
    always seems to get filtered out about 2-3 levels above folks; it
    seems no one wants to be the messenger these days.
    
    Mark
    
4794.6MARVEL::SUPPORTAutomatic Patch Entry SystemFri Aug 23 1996 07:555
    
    
    Send it to Digital Today ?
    
    
4794.7or..RDGENG::WILLIAMS_AFri Aug 23 1996 08:131
    try mailing to POND::PALMER. Bypass all filtration.
4794.8QUARK::LIONELFree advice is worth every centFri Aug 23 1996 11:448
Re: .7

That's for sure - you'll get back a "no such node" error.

Even if you sent it to the correct address, you're kidding yourself if you
think the mail isn't read by one of Bob's staff first.

					Steve
4794.9Netscape won't let be get to the web page.PCBUOA::MARRSHFri Aug 23 1996 14:323
    can't seem to get to it from my Netscape.  Can anyone copy the text
    into the notefile so folks like me can read what the discussion is
    about?
4794.10QUARK::LIONELFree advice is worth every centFri Aug 23 1996 15:276
It can't be posted into the notesfile without the author's permission.

It works fine for me - make sure you have the full URL that is split across
two lines in the base note.

			Steve
4794.1164 bit windshield wiper ?RDGENG::WILLIAMS_AFri Aug 23 1996 17:3911
    re .8
    
    then print it off, and stick it under the windshield wiper of his
    nice Porsche.. I presume his staff don't yet check that before he
    drives home in the evening.
    
    ;-(
    
    ?
    
    
4794.12not there anymore?WHOS01::ELKINDSteve Elkind, Digital SI @WHOSat Aug 24 1996 00:053
    I just tried to read it.  Lynx just told me it's not there or the
    server's been told to not let me see it.  Somebody must have tattled
    8^(
4794.13No ... It's still there.JALOPY::CUTLERSat Aug 24 1996 08:316
 I just tried and was able to access both HTML and DOC file. Good reading,
 nice to know that customers view us in that way. I also agree with the 
assessment regarding "Direct Account Coverage" and "Difficult to do Business
With" ---- Let's fix those....

RC
4794.14for those having problems getting to the pageGIDDAY::BACOTMon Aug 26 1996 03:155
    Try going to http://pmd-wb.zko.dec.com
    and follow the links.
    
    Angela
    
4794.15You can also try `hotlnk' instead of `pmd-wbENGPTR::MCMAHONMon Aug 26 1996 13:417
    And if for some reason you still can't get there, try `hotlnk' instead
    of `pmd-wb'. pmd-wb is an alias for hotlnk.
    
    Regards,
    
    Pat McMahon
    backup webmaster for the PM&D Workbench
4794.16SO? Is that what we are doing this year?SKIBUM::GASSMANMon Aug 26 1996 13:437
    Great messages, and hints of a strategy.  Now we need someone with a
    cross business unit responsibility to tell us all which suggestions to 
    follow and which ones to ignore.  What is the "go to market" strategy
    for each business segment.  Most of us can follow directions - as long
    as they are not at all points of the compass.
    
    bill
4794.17Can't cherry-pick server marketTROOA::RJUNEAUMon Aug 26 1996 19:5440
    One observation missing from the report: you can't cherry-pick the
    server market.
    
    18 months ago, we pushed our workstations. We announced the 2100s, 
    and we destroyed the price performance curve in the market. And we did 
    it again with the 8400. And we made lots of money on those servers.
    
    And at some point, someone, somewhere saw the money we were making 
    on servers, and said we should concentrate our efforts there. We 
    stopped pushing workstations. We stopped leading in price/performance. 
    We havent responded with price cuts to match Suns Ultra server 
    announcements.
    
    We're trying to do the same thing in the PC market - don't push
    desktops, just sell servers.
    
    Someone forgot the prime directive for being a big player in the 
    UNIX and PC worlds: you can't cherry pick the server market. Compaq 
    couldn't do it. HP couldn't do it. IBM couldn't do it. Those who try 
    are in a never-ending struggle to break out of niche markets - Pyramid, 
    Sequent, DG, etc. Techies use workstations. Techies influence
    purchasing decisions in the UNIX market. Techies deploy on servers, 
    but develop on workstations.
    
    Is this now our fate? To be a struggling niche player in the server 
    market? Our marketing and sales goals certainly point that way.
    
    We decide that A is a workstation and B is a server. Anyone notice how 
    Sun just takes the monitor and keyboard off of a workstation and calls 
    it a cheap server? And makes tons of money doing it? And doesnt have 
    to waste time explaining stupid workstation vs server decisions to 
    customers?    
    
    Yes, we have workstations with excellent performance, but marketing has
    virtually disappeared in the general market. And even if we do market,
    we shoot ourselves in the foot with decisions like
    you-can't-put-UNIX/VMS-on-that-box-because-we-say-so. Even Sun, in 
    the great Solaris vs Sun OS box issue, could not get away with 
    delibarate decisions like that.