Sun Regains #1 Ranking in Technology Business Research, Inc. Second Quarter 1998 CBQ Ranking; Digital Acquisition Drops Compaq from 3rd to 6th Place
HAMPTON, N.H.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 19, 1998--Improved inventory
management and operational efficiencies allowed Sun Microsystems
(NYSE:SUNW) to regain its first place TBR ranking from Dell Computer
(NASDAQ:DELL) in Technology Business Research, Inc.'s (www.tbri.com)
Second Quarter 1998 Computer Business Quarterly (CBQ) Benchmark Index.
Sun had maintained the #1 spot from the third quarter of 1995
through the third quarter of 1997, before Dell took over for the
fourth quarter of 1997 and first quarter of 1998. Dell dropped to the
#2 spot, while Gateway (NYSE:GTW) displaced Compaq (NYSE:CPQ) as the
#3 ranked vendor, due to the transitional nature of the quarter for
Compaq with its acquisition of Digital Equipment Corp. Among the Intel
vendors, Dell still ranks #1 by a significant margin this quarter.
-0-
*T
CBQ Benchmark Index for Second Quarter 1998
2Q98 Rank 1Q98 Rank 1Q98 2Q98
#1 Sun 2 6.66 7.17
#2 Dell 1 6.99 7.02
#3 Gateway 4 5.96 5.71
#4 Hewlett-Packard 7 5.14 5.37
#5 Micron 5 5.45 5.28
#6 Compaq 3 6.04 5.27
#7 Data General 4.97
#8 IBM 6 5.24 4.88
#9 Toshiba America 10 4.77 4.77
#10 Apple 12 4.53 4.72
#11 NCR 16 3.96 4.57
#11 Silicon Graphics 14 4.49 4.57
#13 Vobis 9 4.93 4.56
#14 Acer Group 11 4.59 4.38
#15 Packard Bell NEC 8 5.09 4.37
#16 Unisys 13 4.51 4.27
*T
-0-
Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HWP) improved its position this
quarter, climbing to the #4 spot from #7 in the first quarter due to
drops by Compaq and IBM (NYSE:IBM) and improvements in expense
control and well-rounded product offerings. HP's advanced supply chain
programs were a highlight for the company, allowing it to avoid the
channel inventory problems faced by some of its competitors. Apple
(NASDAQ:AAPL) improved its position as well, climbing from the #12
spot to #10 as it continues to succeed in turning its business model
around. TBR initiated coverage of Data General (NYSE:DGN) in 2Q98,
which debuted at #7 for the second quarter.
"The second quarter is further indication of consolidation in the
PC market," said TBR's Manager of Computer Business Quarterly, Lindy
Lesperance. "Vendors are looking for additional revenue and profit
streams to support falling PC ASPs and margins. For example, Compaq
acquired Digital to allow it to move up the enterprise product food
chain and into the services space. The same trend is occurring in the
consumer market as Gateway and Dell adopt Internet service/portal
strategies allowing them to generate revenue over the lifetime of the
PC."
TBR's highly quantitative, proprietary benchmarking methodology
ranks the leading global computer vendors on a comparative basis every
quarter, taking into account the critical factors of business success
in the computer industry: ability to effectively implement strategy
overall and in terms of product sets, marketing strategy,
manufacturing strategy, and business model.
TBR specializes in the competitive analysis of the major players
in the global computing market and is well known in the industry for
its Computer Business Quarterly (CBQ) reports and industry
benchmarking. TBR also provides comparative summaries of industry
players, computer product databases, and a well-respected consulting
practice.
Complete details are available to accredited journalists.
CONTACT:
(east coast)
Technology Business Research, Inc.
Lindy Lesperance
603-929-1166
lesperan@tbri.com
or
Technology Business Research, Inc.
Jon Lindy
203-426-7172
lindy@tbri.com
or
(west coast)
Technology Business Research, Inc.
Ed Wagner,
650-712-0355
ewagner@tbri.com |
