1) Why would SAP listen to Compaq?
that's the 'secret german handshake' part. Just prior to the time that all of this took place (91-92) I was working with HP in Germany (as a consultant not an employee) on their SAP business, so I had something like a ringside seat (at least for an Auslander) and a lot of good contacts within SAP.
Peter-Mark Droste basically put his personal relationship on the line as a guarantee (which still carries some weight in Germany). Intel was not on the scene until more than a year later, and even then was pulled in by CPQ as a show of good faith.
If you heard something different from Intel I would be inclined to take it with a grain of salt, Intel also told me Dell uses 100% Intel motherboards, which is about 20% true. They like to take a little more credit than they deserve.
2) I know they bought Tandem. I still think that didn't work out all that well. What's your view?
Unlike the DEC purchase, which was mostly for the service business, the Tandem deal was mostly for IP and technologists. I think that CPQ got what they bargained for, and they are achieving what they intended. The results of that work are not yet very visible but will become increasingly obvious in the next year or so.
Read the article again and give the guy a break. He does mention RSX11 Yea I saw that, and it is really a well done article, so I'll chalk the headline up to journalistic license.
they have A LOT to prove
You got that right!!! and the votes are not all in... There are lots of powerful CPQ execs who do not believe in the new strategy. I think that when we see who the new leaders are after the merger with DEC, and also who gets laid off, we will know a lot more about what will really happen. They have a huge opportunity but they could screw it up, and there are years of hard work to achieve the value even if they do it right.
For that reason I would start buying in the low 20s
I did get a little at 24 but my basis is below 8 and I am holding a lot of CPQ so I will probably just ride with my current bet.
Thanks again for the lively and well thought out discussion |
