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Technology Stocks : Dell Technologies Inc. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: edamo who wrote (133573)	6/20/1999 8:21:00 PM
From: Paul van Wijk	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 176387

Edamo, Let's compromise on CPQ & IBM. The moment Lou Gerstner will be announced as the new CPQ CEO I be the first one to buy "your story". Until that moment I will stay out of CPQ because it is a company that is in deep, deep trouble. With regards, Paul

To: edamo who wrote (133573)	6/20/1999 11:14:00 PM
From: Meathead	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 176387

Re: the ibm/hwp/cpq/siemens of the world can survive with or without the pc.....dell in its present configuration would be in a sad state if it had no pc revenues... Edamo, these aren't mutually exclusive. These two conditions can not coexist. If Dell had no PC revenues, the PC hardware industry would not exist. IBM et. al. can't survive without the PC industry. With no PC industry, IBM/HWP/CPQ etc. would not have clients to sell their software and services to. The PC is the foundation of a Trillion + dollar information and related services economy. None of these companies can survive without it. As well, Compaq is not yet like IBM or HWP. Compaq can't survive without the PC as it derives 80% of it's revenue from hardware sales... only 20% comes from services. It's that 80% and Dell's business model that's causing them severe financial turmoil. Your point is well taken however, these other companies have a broader array of revenue streams whereas Dell is solely dependent on the PC. However, the PC is not going away, and, as a Dell shareholder, I hope these other companies have to prove they can do just fine without PC revenues. What they relinquish will go to someone... a big chunk to Dell. Compaq indeed has an impressive array of products and services ala IBM. The DEC/Tandem deal got them a service battalion some 27,000 strong. However, the service capabilities they now offer enterprises, such as ERP, supply chain management thru extranets, process re-engineering, eBusiness etc. hertogeneous HW/SW interoperablity as a result of merging dissimilar platforms are precicsely where they are having problems themselves in assimilating DEC and trying to get their inventory model under control. You have to admit, if you're an IT manager looking to outsource a complicated migration or integration, the well publicized internal struggles at Compaq don't necessarily instill a high degree of confidence. Leadership, management, vision and a clear direction are vital to thriving, if not just surviving, and Compaq lacks these important characteristics at the moment. Furthermore, it is likely to get worse before it gets better. Finding strong leadership is extremely difficult, and if Compaq misfires and hires a Barry Switzer, they will likely fall further behind in many areas. At the moment, IMO Compaq is a bad investment as a turn around play. They are in BIG trouble right now on many fronts not the least of which is employee morale. The best products and services in the world won't save a company if they are mis-managed and your competitors manage maybe lesser yet competetive products in a superior fashion. If Compaq can find the right leadership and take the short term pain to right some of their problems, they can indeed resume profitability. And while it's likely they'll eventually right the ship, it could take a very long time... and in the interim, Dell stands to be a big beneficiary. I don't think it would be wise to invest a cent in Compaq as a turn around play unless it was clear they had the right management team in place and were strategically on the right track. MEATHEAD