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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

3837.0. "IBM Mainframe future revenue problems" by AKOCOA::KAMINSKY () Fri Apr 28 1995 18:49

    There is an article in the Wall Street Journal today about IBM.
    
    The point of the article is that IBM has achieved about half of their
    net profit in their recently announced earnings based on greater than
    expected sales of mainframe systems.
    
    It also states that IBM can't count on this source of profits for
    all that much longer.  It mentioned that there are vendors working
    on CMOS technologies that will fairly quickly rival performance
    of mainframe systems. It also said that IBM's strategy for client
    server computing is not well defined and behind that of other vendors. 
    
    The problem I had with the article was that they mentioned only Sun
    and HP and Hitachi (another mainframe maker potential alternative to IBM).
    
    No mention of Digital!
    
    We clearly have CMOS based systems today that greatly outperform
    mainframes TODAY with our 8200/8400 announcements.
    
    Here is another example of Digital products not understood or reported
    on in the press.
    
    The good part of the article was that it clearly was not favorable to
    IBM.  If we can't seem to get the positive press we exposure we really
    should, at least one of our competitors is getting unfavorable press.
    
    
    
     
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3837.1Bad NewsMIMS::SANDERS_JFri Apr 28 1995 19:259
    The article also stated that IBM's strategy to confront Intel (PowerPC)
    and Microsoft (OS/2) had been a big flop.
    
    Other items were that its RS/6000 AIX Unix systems were not up to the
    task of being enterprise-wide servers.
    
    It was truly a negative article.
    
    IBM down $1.75 at 15:09.
3837.2Mainframe, Enterprise Server, ???NEWVAX::MURRAYIts now, or neverMon May 01 1995 11:444
    
    hmmm...
    
    I'm not so sure what the definition of a mainframe is today?  cost?
3837.3GRANPA::MWANNEMACHERNRA member in good standingMon May 01 1995 12:068
    
    
    It would shock me if a negative article could affect a stock price like
    that.  Especially after the corporation (IBM) just turned a $1B+ profit
    the last quarter.
    
    
    Mike
3837.4RE .3AKOCOA::KAMINSKYMon May 01 1995 14:3418
    RE .3
    
    The point of the article was that the high level of profit was
    generated in large part to the unexpectedly strong sales of mainframes
    and their relatively high margins.
    
    With our new products, we should be able to grab market share and hurry
    along the demise of the mainframe business that IBM itself had been
    forecasting.
    
    This will reduce that hefty profit picture that they were able to
    report last period.  The article also mentioned that their pc business
    was about $1 billion in the red!
    
    We have a real chance to succeed at the expense of our competitors if
    we are aggressive.
    
    Ken
3837.5Aim gun at someone else's foot...RDGENG::WILLIAMS_AWed May 03 1995 09:437
    re .4
    
    .. agreed, as long as we target *their* customers with our new
    (low margin) stuff. 
    
    maybe it was the increase in sales of *our* old stuff (Vax, remember?)
    just recently that helped us too.... Just wondering.