re: NCD and uSoft
We consider ourselves a friend of uSoft. We also consider ourselves a friend of IBM in their NC crusade. It is a bit odd, but both sides seem to be ok with us keeping a foot in each camp. We are forced, however, to stay a bit neutral in some of our opinions. We are really only a bit player in a much larger drama, filling a supporting role in the various acts. Since the end of the story isn't written the best we can do is try to survive and get reasonably healthy :). From my experiences with both uSoft and IBM, underneath the huffing and puffing there are some pretty realistic folks. We have worked very hard to cultivate our relationships, and to build our reputation as a non-political, non-BS, can-deliver sort of organization. I believe we have succeeded on the technical front, and in many regards in the sales and marketing front. But, as Mr. Smith is prone to point out, at the end of the day, you gotta sell something.
The Comdex announcements and demos are the result of an effort we began in the summer of 1996. A lot of time and energy by many people has gone into this week's show, and we certainly hope it pays off. In the long run I believe that much of what the 'network computer' represents will come true. My personal fear from the very beginning of 1996, however, was that the hype was outrunning the reality of product and technology delivery. On the other hand our Citrix/WinCenter experience taught us a strong lesson on what swimming with the uSoft tide can do for sales, and it was with this lesson in mind we launched a parallel effort to help bring uSoft to the 'thin client' world. The WBT is a result of that effort.
Going forward we believe we can now offer a customer a much broader set of products and solutions. We believe the different products are synergistic from a core competency standpoint. We believe that we can be a dominant player in the WBT market. We believe our relationship with IBM can keep us involved in more forward looking technologies. All together I think we're very well positioned. Now we need to execute. |
