Conference 7.286::digital

I agree with the principles and highly support them.

I hope and get the feeling that Bruce Claflin has enough
credibility to change people's attitudes to the extent that
it will make a $profitable$ difference.  I get the 
feeling there are a lot of attitudes that need to change
though...

t'wont be easy...


/Mario

    I've seen some other hard hitting "Claflin says..." quotes pinned up on
    cubicle walls recently - somethings like "the Account Plan that takes
    more than 60 seconds to explain is dead on arrival",  etc.
    
    Where can we find the full set of these gems
    
    /Chris/

(I counted ten.

PJDM)

Bruce Claflin's Principles:

Solutions:

Digital sells IT based solutions to customer business problems.

Those solutions have the highest Digital content possible. But, no one vendor 
has all the elements of a solution, so...

We will actively work with partners to build complete solutions. 

Behavior:

We will never criticize Digital products, services, initiatives, organizations, 
or people in front of the customer.

The DEC nod is dead. And so is anyone who condones it.

Customers are the most important people on earth. People who sell to and support 
them are next, and the rest of us all support you.

Account relationships are sacred and will not be broken as part of this new 
structure. 

Sales Plan:

Any sales plan that takes more than 1 minute to explain is dead on arrival.

Any sales plan what can't be administered is dead shortly thereafter.

We are interested in aquiring and growing customers. "What they buy from us" is 
less important than "that they buy from us". 

    There is nothing here that I have an argument with... I've always 
    found it interesting that it seemed to me that the most important
    person to please and fear at DEC was your manager. 
    
    Fred

    What's a nod?
    

Re .5:

>    What's a nod?

I found a definition in note 1006.41


Re .3:

>Bruce Claflin's Principles:
...
>Behavior:
...
>The DEC nod is dead. And so is anyone who condones it.

From ULYSSE::VALBONNE (q.v.) 3922.0 (Charlotte Rancourt's notes on "Bob Palmer's
Breakfast Mtg", posted 23-Aug-93):

"
                      THE PALMER STYLE
                      --- ------ -----

        o Bob shared some of the things which characterize his style:
...
        - Decisions are real..they do not apply only to those who
          personally support the decision in question, but to all;  the
          'DEC nod' (my phrase) is "old" behavior and is not acceptable.
"
				/AHM

    When Bruce Claflin spoke to an auditorium full of deccies in April
    he did mention that he was surprised at the "Digital nod" being condoned
    for so long. If " do what we say we will do" is the new rule, then we may
    have to change a lot of other 30 year old Digital rules we have been
    giving the "Digital nod" to for many years...
    
    Which old rules would you like to see disapear to make us more honest
    in the way the corporation does what it says....? 
    								:o)

         Of the principles in .1, items 2-7 seem as unobjectionable as 
    apple pie; worth having but hardly original.  Sure, sell as much as 
    you can of your own stuff, get all the help you can, to get all the 
    business you can, and be honest and well-mannered.  I have some 
    difficulty with the first principle though:
         
              DIGITAL sells IT-based solutions to customer business 
              problems.
         
         Specifically I have difficulty with the words "solution", 
    "customer" and "business problem".  Does this include, for example, 
    being the prime to supply logistics functionality to the military?  I 
    hope Bruce would allow there's the world of difference between the 
    above and selling systems to CSC as a SI to the military.  And would 
    we regard CSC as a customer if they would not tell us who their 
    customer was?  (I assume the DPL stuff can be managed somehow.)
         
    	Recently in NSIS we said we had sold a system to the U.K. courts to
    manage legal paperwork.  What we have actually sold is networked systems 
    (sic) to EDS.

    re: .8
    
>         Of the principles in .1, items 2-7 seem as unobjectionable as 
>    apple pie; worth having but hardly original.  Sure, sell as much as 
>    you can of your own stuff, get all the help you can, to get all the 
>    business you can, and be honest and well-mannered.  
    
    If I read #2 right, Bruce would rather sell a box with OpenVMS or
    Digital Unix than a box with Windows NT (although we're clearly willing
    to sell the customer one of those, if that's what's needed; see #3).
    Despite our internal marketing to the contrary, Windows NT is NOT our
    operating system and, by Bruce's rules, should not be given preference
    over OpenVMS or Digital Unix if the customer is open minded on the
    subject (and appropriate solutions can be found on the non-WNT
    platform, of course).
    
    If this is true (and I do mean _IF_), this could represent a major 
    shift in corporate focus (and, no, I'm not holding my breath  :^(  ).
    
    -- Russ

    When I saw 'nod' I was hoping it was Gordon Bells NOD- No Output
    Division. As far as I can tell it is still alive and well, and VERY
    protective of its members.

    
    one VP, no matter how high up in the food chain, is not going to change
    the mindset or attitudes of management just below it. It will be
    business as usual.

    
    One item I find interesting -
    
    5  Customers are the most important people on earth.  People
       who sell to and support them are next.  The rest of us
       support you.
    
    If by rest of us he means managers/directors/VP's support the
    people that sell, and the people that support them, and action
    is taken in support of this model then we may have a chance.
    We've become too tops down, and this could reverse that trend.
                                    
    al

    >>>>     5  Customers are the most important people on earth.  People
                who sell to and support them are next.  The rest of us
                support you.
    
             6  Account relationships are sacred and will not be broken
                as part of this new structure.
    
             7  We are interested in acquiring and growing customers.
                "What they buy from us is less important than that
                they buy from us."                  (My punctuation)
    
    
    
    5,6,7 are good stuff. Common sense really but DIGITAL has forgotten
    them and instead fiddled with sales reorganisation for some 5 years. 
    
    These principles mean that you no longer send out trusted customers
    stupid letters explaining to them that they are not to trouble you with
    telephone calls any longer as they are not "strategic" customers of the
    right size, and they can no longer expect the service they have had
    down through the years. We sent this kind of thing out to some very
    large companies in the past few years, and it is an important part of why 
    HP has grown so fast in that period.
    
    A while ago a senior sales manager explained that Digital had purchased
    some consulting on the improvement of direct selling. The first thing
    the consultants said was, what are you coming to  us for, we had your
    DECdirect down as a reference site of how to do things! So we spend
    millions destructuring a valuable organisational sales asset.
    
    There is an enormous criticism of the last few year implicit in
    Claflin's principles in my eye, and he is absolutely right. My belief
    is that the customers and Wall Street are quite aware of these things.
    Before long they will notice that the tide has changed at last and
    things will start to improve. The glass is indeed half full. Now we
    just have to start pouring the milk we get from the cow in the glass
    instead of spilling it on the table, and we can grow. Digital still has
    a vital lead in 64-bit computing, and as the AltaVista example shows, we can
    leverage this to win in the market. If we genuinely support all our
    customers in the sense of these principles, we can win. Also, in spite
    of all that has happened, we have a workforce with unique and immense
    knowhow which the market needs. That is why we would be an attractive
    company to buy, were it not for the present power structures.
    
    ..Kevin..   
                

    Well said, Mr. Mannerings.
    
    Cheers, Laurie.

I too like what I see in Mr. Claflin's principles. Someone mentioned that if
this is real, that it is going to be difficult because of the upper and lower
levels of management that may be resistant to change. Well I say, anyone that
isn't flexible enough to learn to look at the world differently and is not
willing to try to adapt to new ideas... well, they should be given the boot. 

RC.

At last I'm hearing stuff from a Digital VP that makes sense. What next?

    Err, I suspect if you think back to when he first took over you can
    even find stuff from Bob P that makes sense. Re-engineering the
    customer value chain, and all that. 
    
    What puzzles me is why it never happened. Why should we expect it to be
    any different this time. I <want> things to get better. But I'm not
    sure I <expect> things to get better.
    
    have a good day
    john

    Bob's "get agressive" memo to Ed Caldwell and the semiconductor
    group's Alpha Pricing Committee three-and-a-half years ago made
    a lot of sense.
    
    Alas, they ignored him, Bob didn't hold anybody accountable, and
    the rest is history.
    .02 Kratz

>    Bob's "get agressive" memo to Ed Caldwell and the semiconductor
>    group's Alpha Pricing Committee three-and-a-half years ago made
>    a lot of sense.
>    
>    Alas, they ignored him, Bob didn't hold anybody accountable, and
>    the rest is history.
    
    Do you have a copy of that memo?

RE: .17

>    Err, I suspect if you think back to when he first took over you can
>    even find stuff from Bob P that makes sense. Re-engineering the
>    customer value chain, and all that. 
 
John, I think there is a *big* difference between 

	re-engineering the customer value chain

and

         7  We are interested in acquiring and growing customers.
            "What they buy from us is less important than that
            they buy from us."

The first is a set of buzzwords, which I *still* don't understand how
to implement even after years of explanations.  The second is clearly
direct, easy to understand, and tells us to stop this ridiculous
in-fighting between the operating systems and the hardware architectures
that we sell that is costing us so much time and energy, and which our
competitors find so helpful in their sales campaigns against us.

I find it amusing that when a VP mouths some buzzwords which no one
understands, we get on their case for not being direct and clear.  And
when a VP is direct and clear, we get on his case for stating the
obvious.  Well, yes, some of Claflins points *are* obvious, but I
think he needs to say them because Digital is currently not doing them.

-- Ken Moreau

To a certain extent, it doesn't matter what Bruce or Bob say today. What
really matters is that they follow through on it.

The behavior of the company ovef the last 5-8 years has been

	1. Come up with a strategy to fix "the problem".
	2. Announce it, preferably with one of those neat little
	   plastic-covered cards and a DVN for USA/Eur.
	3. Don't execute the strategy.
	4. Retrench some people, reorganise a bit, and make two more VPs.
	5. After one quarter, notice that "the problem" still exists.
	6. GOTO 1

So I'll go with Bruce's vision. I'll go with any vision. Hell, I'll even
pick the mushrooms myself. But until I see the kind of ruthless "execute your
part of the strategy or you're fired" behavior rolling inexorably down from BP
to VP to VP all the way down to where I sit, they're just words.

<--- gened by story.cgi --->
Bloomberg Company News Lookup  

Digital Equipment's Claflin Criticizes Compaq Reseller Plan
 
     Maynard, Massachusetts, May 7 (Bloomberg) -- Digital
Equipment Corp.'s Bruce Claflin criticized rival Compaq Computer
Corp., saying the company is turning away from the distributors
who sell its machines.
     Compaq unveiled last month a plan to build computers to
order and, in some instances, ship directly to customers as it
seeks to reduce delivery times, pare inventory and cut costs.
Customers will still place orders through distributors, who will
also receive sales credit for machines Compaq ships.
      Houston-based Compaq denied Digital's charges that it's
less committed to its distributors, through which the company
generated a record $18.1 billion of sales last year. Yet Claflin,
promoted last month to worldwide head of sales and marketing at
Digital, tried to portray his rival's plan as one to abandon its
distributors.
     ``Compaq is in a funk,'' said Claflin, one of three division
heads reporting to Digital Chief Executive Robert Palmer.
``They've announced a vague intention of leaving their channel
(distribution) partners in the dust.''
     Compaq and Digital are fighting for market share in the
increasingly competitive business of selling computers to
corporations. Compaq is making inroads with its ProLiant servers,
while Digital claims that its Alpha servers are the world's
fastest. A server is a computer that manages a network of PCs.
     Compaq, taking issue with Claflin's comments, said it hosted
a day-long meeting today with its distributors to reinforce how
important they are.
     ``We made it to the No. 1 position in the channel, and we're
not going to lose that,'' said Richard Snyder, head of Compaq's
sales and marketing. Compaq is the world's leading seller of
personal computers and the nation's third-largest computer maker.
Compaq's sales moved ahead of Digital's in 1995.
     Last year, Compaq's sales rose 22 percent, to $18.1 billion.
Digital's sales in the 1996 fiscal year rose 5.8 percent to $14.6
billion.
     Compaq's new distribution plan involves working with
resellers to improve the efficiency of deliveries to customers
and to lower prices for customers, Snyder said. While resellers
will on occasion receive less payment from Compaq for fewer
services performed, the resulting cost reduction should generate
more total business and help both Compaq and resellers, he said,
     Maynard, Massachusetts-based Digital's accusations come days
after the Wall Street Journal reported that Compaq had
discussions in 1995 and 1996 about buying Digital before talks
broke down on management and structural issues.
     Last month, Micron Technology Inc. said Compaq discussed
buying its Micron Electronics Inc. personal computer unit, though
no offer was made. Micron Electronics sells PCs through direct
mail.
     Claflin declined to comment on Digital's acquisition plans,
or on the talks with Compaq.
     ``My job is to beat their brains in, which we're doing quite
well, thanks to their help,'' he said.
     Compaq's Snyder replied, ``In his dreams. I gained (market)
share in the first quarter and gained share in the second
quarter. I don't even see him on the radar screen.''

Bloomberg PERSONAL News
Markets, Products and Services
Ask Bloomberg PERSONAL
Copyright 1996, Bloomberg L.P.  All Rights Reserved.

    re #17
    
    >when he first took over you can even find stuff from Bob P that makes 
    >sense. Re-engineering the customer value chain, and all that. 
    >What puzzles me is why it never happened.
    
    
    About 6 months after Mr Palmer began his Re-engineering campaign, we
    saw a presentation on plans to re-engineering the price, order entry, and
    manufacturing systems.  In the Q&A, somone asked if the program group
    had cataloged the problems in our current systems.
    
    The presenter said that they had not, as they intended to do a clean 
    slate program.  The meeting ended immediately.  We realized that
    their program was dead in the water.  Six months later it collapsed.
    Re-Engineering disappeared.  Five+ years later SAP will be implemented. 
    
    

>     Maynard, Massachusetts, May 7 (Bloomberg) -- Digital
> Equipment Corp.'s Bruce Claflin criticized rival Compaq Computer
> Corp., saying the company is turning away from the distributors
> who sell its machines.

>     ``Compaq is in a funk,'' said Claflin, one of three division
> heads reporting to Digital Chief Executive Robert Palmer.
> ``They've announced a vague intention of leaving their channel
> (distribution) partners in the dust.''

Great to see a Digital Exec out there fighting.  I don't know how many points
he scored with this battle, but I like the attitude.

    >>Great to see a Digital Exec out there fighting
    
    Yep, and I'd say we have to give him round one on points just for
    getting out there. This will improve the shareprice, believe it.
    
    ..Kevin.. 

    re:last couple of replies
    
    a great change ---perhaps he is the first person inside the puzzle
    palace who is looking out rather than in and who wants to win for
    everyone rather than for himself only
    
    rick 

RE. -1&-2 I agree, better to go into a fight swinging than continually covering
up waiting for/hoping for a decision in your favor and only taking the shots
your opponent graciously gives you. I too vote for giving Bruce points, but, I
must say that I too am taking a "wait and see" attitude before I believe "good
change" is coming. As someone else pointed out, we've heard the words before and
"action is what is needed"... not just words ... we've heard enough talk, nows
the time to walk. Don't get me wrong, I like what I'm hearing, I'm positive,
but, let's call it a "conservative" positive.


RC

>>> "My job is to beat their brains in, which we're doing quite
>>> well, thanks to their help," he (Clafin) said.
>>> Compaq's Snyder replied, "In his dreams. I gained (market)
>>> share in the first quarter and gained share in the second
>>> quarter. I don't even see him on the radar screen."

I thought this was in extreamely poor taste, reflecting badly on both Digital 
*and* Compaq.  Vice President of two Forture 500 companies flighting like 
children, and calling each other names.  Come on guys!  I don't expect you to 
ever become best buddies, but PLEASE fight like GENTLEMEN!


							-Paul

    re .28
    
    Poor taste?  Not at all.  It's the reality of big business, and it's
    refreshing to see someone that high up at DEC with his feet on the
    ground and his head screwed on straight.  Makes me wonder how long he
    can last here.
    
    Tony

    
    Fwiw, I agree with .29 ..
    
    We need more press.. Intel strategy these days is to provide rapid
    "leaks" (with no comments from Intel) and semi-announcements about
    futures...
    
    These keep them in the public eye and on the front page... As an
    example, saw a "leaked" announcement in PC Week discussing Intels plans
    for 400Mhz Intel chip, but only in last sentence did it state that
    delivery was expected in late '98 .. in contrast, we just announced
    600Mhz WS's for NT, to be shipping in a month or so - why don't we have
    a roadmap that shows EV6-EV7 future dates kicking around for public
    use?
    
    Gotta like great marketing when there is not much technology to be
    flouting ..
    
    :-)
    
    / Kerry 

    >>> "My job is to beat their brains in, which we're doing quite
    >>> well, thanks to their help," he (Clafin) said.
    
    Way to go, Bruce! :-)
    

    No offense, but comparing clock speeds between Alpha and Intel chips is
    meaningless if not misleading to our customers.  Yeah, it says
    something about the chip technology at the lowest level, but in real
    terms, it's apples and oranges.  600Mhz Alpha is not better than 400Mhz
    Intel...if even equal.  As for pre-announcements and vaporware, well,
    that's common practice for the industry.  We do it too.
    
    tim
    

    re-32
    
    you miss the point--most of our competitors use a variety of
    opportunities to get their point or their fud out to the public--we
    have for whatever reason have not shown that same abilty--as a result
    we continually lose the marketing game.
    
    the key is to win the mindshare of the 98% not the 2% who may know that
    clock speed diferentials are meaningless
    
    kick a&& bruce-let the distribution community know they are about to
    get screwed by the texas outfit
    
    rick 

    re: .32
    ---
    No offense, but comparing clock speeds between Alpha and Intel chips is
    meaningless if not misleading to our customers.  
    
    .... 600Mhz Alpha is not better than 400Mhz Intel...if even equal.  
    ---
    
    This is a rat hole that could be debated - it might be true, if using
    todays 32 bit NT OS and App's, but it is certainly NOT true, if one
    compares what is expected in the 64bit NT OS and app's that will be
    available when 400Mhz Intel chips are shipping.
    
    Regards,
    
    / Kerry

    Some things Alpha does better, some things Intel does better
    (even with just 32 bits).  DIGITAL is the only vendor that can
    offer it all! 
    
    Prioris Servers, AlphaServer Systems and AlphaStations Combine to
    Win 15 Awards -- Most Awards by a Single Vendor
    
       LAS VEGAS, May 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Reinforcing its leadership in
    price/performance enterprise solutions, Digital Equipment
    Corporation (NYSE: DEC) (Networld+InterOp booth # 5041), today
    received 15 awards at AIM Technology's Spring '97 Hot Iron Awards
    Ceremony held at Networld+InterOp.
       Digital's Prioris servers, AlphaServer systems and AlphaStations
    won awards in the performance and price/performance categories, for
    both Windows NT and UNIX environments.
       The award-winning Digital products included the Prioris ZX 6000
    Series and the Prioris HX 6000 Series, Digital's AlphaServer 4100
    and 8400 systems, and AlphaStation 500/333.  Combined, Digital won
    more awards than any other vendor for the Spring '97 awards.
       "Receiving multiple AIM awards for our Prioris, AlphaServer
    systems and AlphaStations recognizes our unique ability to provide
    customers with industry-leading solutions -- from the workgroup
    throughout the enterprise," said Duane Dickhut, vice president of
    server products for Digital's Personal Computer Business Unit.
       "Customers are looking for true value, and that value is
    measured through price/performance.  As the AIM Awards indicate,
    our line of Intel servers, AlphaServer systems and Alpha-based
    workstations set the standard, providing customers with the best
    solution in every price segment."
       Digital Hot Iron Awards for Spring 1997 include:
    
    -- Best Throughput Performer, Windows NT Domain Server, priced
       between $7,500 and $14,999 -- Digital Prioris HX 6200MP
    -- Best Price Performance, Windows NT Domain Server, priced
       between $15,000 and $24,999 -- Digital Prioris HX 6200MP (4 disk)
    -- Best Throughput Performer, Windows NT Domain Server, priced
       between $25,000 and $49,999 -- Digital Prioris ZX 6200MP/4 (1GB)
    -- Best Throughput Performer, Windows NT Domain Server, priced
       over $50,000 -- Digital Prioris ZX 6200MP/4 (1.5GB)
    -- Best Price Performance, Windows NT Domain Server, priced
       over $50,000 -- Digital Prioris ZX 6200MP/4 (1.5GB)
    -- Best Throughput Performer, UNIX Shared System, priced between
       $15,000 and $29,999 -- Digital Prioris HX 6200MP
    -- Best Price Performance, UNIX Shared System, priced between
       $15,000 and $29,999 -- Digital Prioris HX 6200MP
    -- Best Throughput Performer, UNIX Shared System, priced
       between $30,000 and $74,999 -- Digital Prioris ZX 6200MP/4
    -- Best Throughput Performer, UNIX Shared System, priced
       between $75,000 and $149,999 -- Digital Prioris ZX 6200MP/4 (1536 MB)
    -- Best Price Performance, UNIX Shared System, priced between
       $75,000 and $149,999 -- Digital Prioris ZX 6200MP/4 (1536 MB)
    -- Best Price Performance, General Workstation Mix (UNIX),
       priced between $10,000 and $25,000 -- Digital AlphaStation 500/333
    -- Best Performance, General Workstation Mix (UNIX), priced
       between $10,000 and $25,000 -- Digital AlphaStation 500/333
    -- Best Performance, General Workstation Mix (UNIX), priced
       over $25,000 -- Digital AlphaServer 4100 5/466
    -- Best Price Performance, Shared System Mix (UNIX), priced
       over $150,000 -- Digital AlphaServer 4100 5/400
    -- Best Performance, Shared System Mix (UNIX) priced over
       $150,000 -- Digital AlphaServer 8400 5/350
    

RE: .28 -< VPs fight like children >-

>>> "My job is to beat their brains in, which we're doing quite
>>> well, thanks to their help," he (Clafin) said.
>>> Compaq's Snyder replied, "In his dreams. I gained (market)
>>> share in the first quarter and gained share in the second
>>> quarter. I don't even see him on the radar screen."
>
>I thought this was in extreamely poor taste, reflecting badly on both Digital 
>*and* Compaq.  Vice President of two Forture 500 companies flighting like 
>children, and calling each other names.  Come on guys!  I don't expect you to 
>ever become best buddies, but PLEASE fight like GENTLEMEN!

Again, here we go with people trying to have it both ways.  People in this
notes file are constantly attacking VPs for their mealy-mouthed and quite
artificially constructed statements that no real person would ever be able
to say without practice at such phony style.  And now we have a VP who
speaks the way I have heard Sales Reps and Sales Managers from many (*many*)
companies talk all the time, and we criticize him.

Cut the guy some slack, people.  I personally am *THRILLED* with what I
am seeing of Bruce's style and approach.  His stated principles, his
approach to marketing, his recognition that he has to be out there in
the marketplace selling everything, all speak very well for him and for
Digital, and I am looking forward to seeing the implementation of his
plans for the coming year.

Besides of which, what names did they call each other?  I personally like
the phrase "in his dreams".  I just wish Bruce had been the one to say it...

-- Ken Moreau

|   Digital's Prioris servers, AlphaServer systems and AlphaStations
|   won awards in the performance and price/performance categories, for
|   both Windows NT and UNIX environments.
    
    ABSOLUTELY!
    
    
    Anyone else notice that one of our dual processor "servers" took a
    "workstation" award?
    
    (We were just days away of a clean sweep on the General Workstation MIX
    UNIX awards.  Sigh.)
    
    
    And here's *all* the awards.  (And I should take a moment to thank
    Compaq's Snyder for his help in this.)
    
    								-mr. bill
    
Domain Server MIX/ Windows NT
    
    Best Throughput Performance 
    Less than$7,500 - NEC Computer Systems Division EXPRESS 5800 LE2000 (160MB) 
    $7,500-$14,999  - Digital Prioris HX 6200MP 
    $15,000-$24,999 - Zenith Data Systems Z-SERVER HX (256MB) 
    $25,000-$49,000 - Digital Prioris ZX 6200MP/4 (1GB) 
    $50,000 and over- Digital Prioris ZX 6200MP/4 (1.5GB) 
    
    Best Price/Performance Throughput 
    Less than$7,500 - AcerAltos 900Pro 
    $7,500-$14,999  - NEC Computer Systems Division EXPRESS 5800 LE2000 (192MB) 
    $15,000-$24,999 - Digital Prioris HX 6200MP (4DISK) 
    $25,000-$49,000 - Zenith Data Systems Z-SERVER HX (256MB/5Disk) 
    $50,000 and Over- Digital Prioris ZX 6200MP/4 (1.5GB
    
    Multiuser Shared System MIX (UNIX)
    
    Best Throughput Performance 
    Less than$15,000 -- AcerAltos 9000Pro 
    $15,000-$29,999 -- Digital Prioris HX 6200MP 
    $30,000-$74,999 -- Digital Prioris ZX 6200MP/4 
    $75,000-$149,999 -- Digital Prioris ZX 6200MP/4 (1536MB) 
    $150,000 and Over -- Digital AlphaServer 8400 5/350 
    
    Best Price/Performance Throughput 
    Less than$15,000 -- AcerAltos 9000Pro 
    $15,000-$29,999 -- Digital Prioris HX 6200MP 
    $30,000-$74,999 -- Zenith Data Systems Z-SERVER HX 
    $75,000-$149,999 -- Digital Prioris ZX 6200MP/4 (1536MB) 
    $150,000 and Over -- Digital AlphaServer 4100 5/400 
    
    General Workstation MIX (UNIX)
    
    Best Performer 
    Less than $10,000 -- Silicon Graphics O2 R5000SC 180Mhz 
    $10,000-$24,999 -- Digital AlphaStation 500/333 
    $25,000 and Over -- Digital AlphaServer 4100 5/466 
    
    Best Price Performer 
    Less than $10,000 -- Silicon Graphics O2 R5000SC 180Mhz 
    $10,000-$24,999 -- Digital AlphaStation 500/333 
    $25,000 and Over -- ROSS HyperStation 30 
    

    
    
    Re: AIM awards
    
    So where are the market leaders ? Those who detain the large part of
    the market ? No SUN WS. NO HP, IBM Servers and WS. No Compaq PCs.
    Does this mean that customers regularly choose non-conveniently priced
    or poor performance computers because they're masochists ? Or does it
    mean that they are looking for other things apart performance ?
    
    Re : Claflin vs. Compaq
    
    IMO nothing childish about this kind of attitude. This is exactly the
    way to go. Bruce, keep going !!! This is the winning attitude we have
    so long forgotten with all of us concentrating on our internal problems.
    Hey, maybe that's exactly what the customers want. Agressiveness, 
    and determination. 
    Then they may trust more the fact that we're here to destroy (I may be
    getting too excited here) our competition with our better products, 
    while until now we seemed slightly shy or snob about our superiority 
    ( in performance). 
    
    
    Michel. 

    Count me on the Claflin team on this one. I love the combative
    attitude. We're in a fight, people. So what if there a few ugly
    moments. 
    Bruce

    Controversy sparks automatic advertising.  With Claflin's mode of
    expression, I think DIGITAL will be receiving more than its fair share
    of free marketing.
    
    Steve

    Count me in as a Claflin supporter!  We need someone out there letting
    the competition, and our sometimes partners for that matter, know that
    we're bad as hell, and we aren't going to take it anymore!
    
    If we can infuse the rest of management and the work force with this
    same attitude, maybe we can look more like our Sun counterparts, and
    others who aggressively compete in the marketplace.
    
    Chuck

HOUSTON -- Compaq Computer came within days -- perhaps hours -- of acquiring 
direct marketer Gateway 2000 in a whopping $7 billion deal before it was
called off by Gateway Chief Executive Ted Waitt, according to a published 
report.

The Time magazine story follows a CRN Online story on April 15 that Compaq 
was attempting to complete a deal with Gateway.

The discussions between Compaq and direct marketer Gateway of North Sioux 
City, S.D., angered Compaq's channel partners. Ninety-five percent of 
Compaq's business goes through the channel.

"The price is huge," said Jeff Matthews, general partner of Ram Partners LP 
in Greenwich, Conn., responding to the story. "I don't see how they get a 
return on that for a long time. I don't see how you could think about spending
$7 billion to make this investment and then out of the other side of your 
mouth say you are committed to the channel."

The article in the May 19 edition of Time documents how close the agreement 
came to reality. Gateway founder Waitt rejected the deal shortly before the 
manufacturers were going to go public with the announcement, according to the 
published report.

Despite the temptation of an offering price 46 percent above Gateway's market 
value, Waitt did not like the idea of Gateway executives taking orders from 
Compaq, according to the Time story.

The talks hurt reseller confidence in Compaq, which convened a meeting last 
week with top channel partners to get relations back on track. Compaq in the 
reseller meeting said it would scale back plans for an in-house configuration 
center, which many resellers thought would compete with their own 
channel-assembly operations.

Both Compaq and Gateway declined to comment on the acquisition talks.

    Another cheer for Mr. Claflin. I hope he is given the freedom and 
    resources to push his "beat their brains in" attitude throughout 
    his (Sales & Marketing) organization. 
    
    Go get 'em...
    

    I wonder if he had anything to do with the latest David vs Goliath
    battle in the Mass. court.
    
    - Vikas

>    I wonder if he had anything to do with the latest David vs Goliath
>    battle in the Mass. court.
>    
>    - Vikas
    
    Remember that the powers-that-be don't want discussion of the case in
    Notes (see 5284.3)...

    They didn't say anything about this -D-avid and gol-I-ath, did they?
    8^)
    

    Full marks to Bruce for not using "Please join me ..." in his
    organizational announcement yesterday.  That alone makes me feel good
    about the man.

>    one VP, no matter how high up in the food chain, is not going to change
>    the mindset or attitudes of management just below it. It will be
>    business as usual.

Can you maintain your mindset and attitude if you don't have a job?

I have heard, but am not in a position to know for sure, that the people
most affected are the people in "middle management" and that the people on
the front lines are not to be messed with.

    I was very pleased to hear Bruce actually admit there were things wrong
    at Digital. I dont recall ever hearing a VP say that. Its always been
    the old BS of 'speaking positive.' When common sense tells you there is
    a problem, to hear someone deny it makes them look either a liar or
    fool. Bruce clearly stated he knew there were problems, and he
    indicated how he intended to fix them.
    
    A great breath of fresh air. If only he can extend that down into the
    middle management ranks where maintaining the old buddy network is so
    entrenched.

    
    .48
    
    I've been with Digital for a long time, this is nothing new. Why
    don't you get back to me in 6 months or so, and we'll see if it's
    still relevant.

>
>    I've been with Digital for a long time, this is nothing new. Why
>    don't you get back to me in 6 months or so, and we'll see if it's
>    still relevant.

I don't know how everbody else feels, but the past couple of weeks have
really made me feel a lot better about working for Digital.  The lowering
the price of the Alpha chip, Claflin blasting Compaq and the Intel suit.
It's like the company changed its attitude overnight from being passive
to a lot more aggressive.  I hope it continues and it pays off for all of
us.  As far as whether the reorg changes anything we'll have to wait and see
(in 6 months or whatever.)

    RE: .51
    
    Ditto.  Add in that it appears like we might be rolling out some
    regional and more localized advertising (even billboards for Pete's
    sake) per a recent memo, and we might get the name recognition up a
    tad.
    
    Like I said in other conferences this week, I'm suddenly feeling a
    little bit better about being a DIGITAL employee.  Like all of us hope,
    I'd like it to be backed up by solid progress in earning back
    marketshare.  But that is just as much up to the collective "us" as it
    is to those in the ivory tower.  They can't do it alone, and we can't
    either.  Like it or not, we need each other to be successful, and maybe
    the powers that be have gotten that mindset back.  Time will definitely
    tell.
    
    Chuck

    For once I have to agree with the positive tone here.
    
    Normally, I'm just as much for marching on Maynard with torches and
    pitchforks as the next guy.
    
    Another positive thing: with the announcement of the new Personal 
    Workstation, we finally have a consistent workstation message. UNIX,
    NT and (later) VMS across the board on Alpha. For once the marketing
    simpletons (apologies if someone else is responsible) did not cripple
    the things because of the typical "won't that hurt the more-expensive-
    for-no-reason Alphastations" excuse.
    
    And yet another positive thing: for those of you who watch Livewire,
    well, a few weeks ago, there was an announcement about a cluster of
    multi-processor 4100 systems on display at the NAB show in Las Vegas.
    What's missing is a follow-up message: I hear it sold right off the
    show floor!
    
    Another one, if you can take it: at the NAB workstation booth, they
    had about a dozen personal workstations right on the floor for 
    people to try - with SoftImage. I've never seen that many workstations
    available for touchy-feely work on a show floor.
    
    How about one more: they were giving out free copies of Alpha Visual FX
    magazine, which specialises in articles on Alpha in the Hollywood
    market. The cover read "Alpha Invades Hollywood FX Studios".
    
    If you can still take more: this week's issue of "The Economist" has a
    special section on On-Line Commerce. An entire piece of the section
    uses Amazon.com as an example of how to do it right. While they don't
    mention DEC specifically, our timing is impeccable - we're airing TV
    ads right now about our work with Amazon.com.
    
    All we need now is an announcement of "Monkey Ads Cancelled - Person
    Responsible Transfered to Broom Closet Division with pay cut".

re. 51 ... I agree with your comments about the last several weeks... something
seems to be different (in the positive sense). Just keep going with it and 
execute. If we're still sitting in the same position a year from now (i.e.,
without any real change happening)..... well I don't really want to think about
that.... I like feeling positive for once. Thank you Bob (Mr. Palmer) and Bruce
(Mr. Claflin) for the last few weeks. I like seeing us taking swings at the
competition.

Rick

>    If you can still take more: this week's issue of "The Economist" has a
>    special section on On-Line Commerce. An entire piece of the section
>    uses Amazon.com as an example of how to do it right. While they don't
>    mention DEC specifically, our timing is impeccable - we're airing TV
>    ads right now about our work with Amazon.com.

I think we're also airing something about Amazon.com on the PBS Nightly
Business Report in the few seconds we get for being a co-sponsor. Perhaps
someone should consider whether reprints of the Economist article would be
helpful to the field.

    
    
    Can I just add one more positive aspect about what has been happening
    during the last days ?
    
    A few people who definitely aren't into computer business have heard about
    Digital lately. Guess thanks to which news ? Well, now they know who we
    are. Talk about long-term returns on investment ! Of course this is an
    uncalculated benefit, but why not make the most of it ? It's great,
    people are saying : "Do you work for that "Digital" company that just
    filed a suit against Intel ?"
    
    (Moderator, please cancel this one if you think it infringes Digital's 
    rules of silence on our recent suit against Intel).
                                                       

Re .53: sounds wonderful. Where do we get our copies of this mag?

I did an AltaVista search for "alpha visual fx" and found 
http://www.plasmadyne.com/ which looks interesting until you read their 
description:

Plasmadyne is a 3D computer graphics company specializing in original solutions 
to animation, characters, and fine art. 

The development of low data density spline-patch character plus low cost 3D 
graphics hardware accellerators, the new MMX CPU technology and Direct3D, allows 
for affordable real-time graphics available for small company game developers 
and/or companies looking for or building for VRML.

Oh well.

PJDM

>    people are saying : "Do you work for that "Digital" company that just
>    filed a suit against Intel ?"

No they're not, they're saying "Do you work for that DEC company that just filed 
a suit against Intel?"

PJDM

    re .56
    
    I haven't read anything in here that I believe goes "over the line"
    (but I'm not a moderator; nor do I play one on TV).  However I think
    it's worth commenting that saying things like "please cancel this one
    if...it infringes" do no good for at least two reasons:  backups may be
    made; moderators wouldn't want to be put in a position that could be
    interpreted as destroying evidence.

    Over the past few months I have noteda very positive change occuring
    within DIGITAL, barring the recent history of problems with Exchange.
    
    In any event, I watched the Bob Palmer and Bruce Claflin show earlier
    this week, and I am very upbeat.
    
    I received e-mail from both of them and also Mr. Copperman on the Intel
    Suit and although each had something usique to say in their e-mails,
    there was a nice comfortable consistency in the messages that made me
    feel good.
    
    The presentation on DVN was very positive and the expression by Bob
    that we are protecting the investments made by our shareholders and our
    hardworking and creative engineers speaks very highly of a positive
    attitude towards staff at large.
    
    Keep it up Bob and Bruce, we'll be in the number 1 drivers seat yet.
    
    rtt

    RE .57:
    
    The Alpha Visual FX magazine is free for US subscribers. 
    
    Anyone who wants a copy of the subscription card can send me an
    e-mail at [email protected].
    
    Please include your internal mailing address. 
    
    I don't want to fax it because the print is quite small and will 
    obviously get blurred.
    
    Give me a few days to get it mailed out - I'm out of the office a lot,
    and internal mail from Canada to US is slow.

RE: last 10 or so on being up-beat

What are you guys trying to do, steal my thunder?  Here I was talking
with some of my fellow Digits at lunch today about how I planned to
write an up-beat, I feel good about Digital again, positive note about
the changes in the last few weeks (like I did almost exactly 2 years
ago in note 3846), and you guys sneak in ahead of me... :-) :-) :-)

While agreeing with every one of the positive moves that other people
have listed, let me add another one of my own.  The announcement about
the world-wide organization that will start on July 1, and the stated
commitment that all Sales Reps will have their budgets and their accounts
settled as of July 1, is wonderful.  Whether they make this date or
not (even if they come close), this is a *WHOLE* lot better than the
stated commitment of a few years ago, where every Sales Rep and Sales
Support person interviewed for their job in Q1... 

Of course, the fact that all of the PCBU Sales Reps had their budgets
and accounts settled as of July 1 last year (unlike the SBU people),
and the fact that the person who was head of the PCBU last year is now
the head of all Sales people this year, and the fact that this person
saw how well it worked for the PCBU and wants to see that level of 
success for all of Digital, is probably just an amazing coincidence.
Certainly it could not be part of a master plan for growth.  Naahh,
that would make too much sense... :^)

-- Ken Moreau

       > All we need now is an announcement of "Monkey Ads Cancelled - Person
       > Responsible Transfered to Broom Closet Division with pay cut".
    
    Ho ho ho, very good. What is the US equivalent of managing a power station
    in Siberia, a power station in Alaska ?
    
    ..Kevin..

    .. um... so can we all get out there and deliver Q4 then please.
    Positivity yes. Sales needed too 
    
    Thnx,
    
    AW

Yesterday IBM had wonderful commerical about LLBean web server.  The
contrast between how the marketing department is using liason with LLBean
versus what Digital has done with the Amazon.com is quite striking.

IBM's TV commercial about LLBean's web server is upbeat and multi-colored
whereas Digital's print copy on Amazon.com is single colored and drab.

Yesterday was the Amazon's 15 minute fame day.  It is unfortunate that
Digital did not think of coming up with a dynamic and too-our-horn
commercial with Amazon.  Amazon would not have been as succssful as they
are without Digital.  But this needs to be shouted from the rooftop so rest
of the world would know.

- Vikas

    In keeping with the theme of feeling good about DIGITAL (albeit not
    necessarily in direct reference to Mr. Claflin's principles)...
    
    I spent last week at Microsoft Tech Ed-- Microsoft's annual
    training/propaganda event geared towards developers and system
    integrators who use Microsoft's products.  DIGITAL was one of the eight
    major sponsors in addition to Microsoft (others included Compaq and
    H-P).  Other than Microsoft (of course), we had the strongest presence
    of any company there.  We had a great display in the exhibit hall and
    provided the hardware for many of the session rooms (you'd walk in and
    see projected on the screen "Equipment provided by <digital logo>." 
    The second best highlight of my week was having a group of Compaq 
    employees tell me "Gee, you guys have your name *all over* this place."
    The top highlight was hearing the same Compaq folks drooling over the
    "Werewolves of London" demo in our booth in the exhibit hall.  Almost
    equally stunning was the fact that Bill Gates actually referred to us as
    "DIGITAL" (NOT "DEC") two of the three times we were mentioned in his
    keynote address  ;^).  At lunch, I heard non-DIGITAL folks talking (mostly)
    positively about Alpha.  From a DIGITAL perspective, the only down point 
    was when an IS manager from a Fortune 500 company asked me "How long have
    you guys been making Intel-based products?  We recently had someone
    come in and give us an overview-- you really have a nice set of
    products."  OK-- great he was impressed, but very bad that he didn't
    even realize we had Intel-based products until recently.
    
    All in all, though, it was great to see our name out there in front of
    so many (about 8000) key technical folks in the industry.  My hearty 
    thanks to the folks who made this happen.  Great job!!!
    
    Jim Allbery

    
    We have a TV commercial on Amazon.com running in many countries- maybe
    not yours.  As far as a big campaign going for Amazon.com incremental
    to the plans we laid out with them last October, they are forbidden by the
    U.S. Securities and Exchange commission while such companies are in
    what is called the "Quiet Period", which they are just exiting.  Their
    Initial offering of stock could have been delayed or quelched
    completely by the U.S. Government.  In fact, Amazon.com has had
    to excuse itself from some joint activities with DIGITAL during this
    period. Amazon.com is a major reference site for DIGITAL in Internet
    Commerce, a relationship we jointly value, and will be able to do more
    as this period comes to a close.
    
    IBM is putting all of its broadcast muscle, including LOtus, around
    Internet Solutions, and that is a tack that is open to us as the new
    marketing organisation forms its FY98 attack plan shortly.  
    
    Bill
    

    Advertising our products with Amazon.com has been a great Ad but
    reading todays USA Today's business section about them going public we
    should be concerned about the following comment "While sales have grown
    quickly, Amazon itself warned that the rapid growth was straining the
    computers that track its business."
    
    Is anyone talking with them about these issues?
    
    I'd hate to see them start using our competitors computers because of
    this.
    
    /Mark

    
    I missed a couple of earlier notes on advertising in this string, but I
    would like to address a couple of points.
    
    First, please no more Monkey campaign bashing. While I manage the
    Corporate Campaign with Amazon.com and AMEX - the decision was taken 9
    months ago to proceed with the NT effort, and we need to look forward
    not backward and focus on the outside, not inside.
    
    Second, the U.S. campaign renews on TV and Radio in late May with a
    couple of spots on the indy 500, then the major golf tournaments.
    
    Third, following on our recent success in using the Airplane banner for
    the Boston Marathon - we see billboards as an increasing role where we
    are in market with other forms of communication  -like Radio.  
    
    Bill

    
    I doubt this comment is new - I bet it is in the prospectus as they
    need to lay out every real or possible wart to possible investors.
    
    They recently bought and installed 2 8400's moving from 2000 series units,
    totally skipped 4000 series products - these probably came on line
    after the prospectus was written.  They are also upgrading their
    support levels from Services for faster response levels, beyond
    waaranty.  I am in very frequent contact with them, at least weekly. 
    
    However, it is true that we have a huge incentive to ensure that our
    frontline systems work very well for customers we jointly market with,
    be they the AMEX, Amazon.com, Netscape - a new ad called the
    webmaster's prayer with Mr. Andreeson of Netscape - or whoever. 
    
    IF we position ourselves in mission-critical deployments, the
    stakes are raised.   
    
    Bill
                                    
    Bill

    While their book ordering side seems to take advantage of
    good technology, Amazon also stated that their internal
    financial reporting mechanism was essentially paper-based,
    and that that they cannot timely report on finanicial
    condition of the company.
    
    As CNBC stated, "That really warms investor's hearts." 
    Kratz 

    As long as law suits seem to be in vouge, the Boston Globe has an
    article today that Barnes and Noble is after Amazon.com over claims of
    being the 'largest bookstore'. B&N claims amazon isnt even a bookstore,
    just a broker, and they can get anything Amazon can.
    
    More lawyers making money. 

re: .71

So far Amazon has been losing money reliably, so it isn't
as if the investors haven't seen a trend.  So they won't
know exactly when they are back into the black, when
they realize they have turned the boat around they have
plenty of time to tell people before they actually start
making a profit.