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Technology Stocks : Datastream Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: DSTM) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Wright Sullivan who wrote (632)	6/13/1999 4:47:00 PM
From: TimeToMakeTheInvs	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 721

Thank you Wright for you post re the annual meeting. Did either mention how many customers are now using eMRO? Could be wrong, but I believe they said something like 12 or 15 when I saw this presentation. Regards, tim

To: Wright Sullivan who wrote (632)	6/14/1999 10:13:00 PM
From: Shane M	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 721

So by cross-referencing all these parts, DSTM gains a proprietary edge over others who aren't going to this trouble (they won't know which part numbers are the same and which are different). My personal opinion is that all this cross referencing must be a whole lot bigger job than they are hinting at now. Wright, Thanks for the summary. I remember being somewhat perplexed during the conference call when they mentioned how long it was taking to get the part numbers in the system. That didn't make sense to me, and it didn't click until just now. The suppliers actually have incentive to make it difficult to comparison shop. They'd prefer it be difficult because it preserves the impression of differentiation. Some of the suppliers (especially the suppliers that are not price leaders) are likely quite apprehensive about what DSTM is trying to do. He said he didn't know what a portal was until his daughter explained it to him. I find this unlikely too, but I'm afraid it's actually true for some companies. Sortof like Merrill Lynch just discovered the internet. If I'm an investor I don't want management to pretend they don't understand the implications of the internet. I seriously doubt DSTM falls into this camp because their products are moving rapidly to take advantage of interconnectivity, but for some companies a CEO who's never been online is probably not a joke. Thanks also for the comments on success rate of getting a small customer started on small scale and gradually moving them to the higher level products. Given that all the net economic growth in the country comes from small companies we should be in good shape. Shane