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

To: kemble s. matter who wrote (156835)	5/7/2000 5:53:00 PM
From: calgal	Respond to of 176387

Cisco, Dell to greet Street Tech bellwethers posts much-anticipated results ahead of Fed Hi Kemble! RE: "Let's hope that we will hear Patrick's favorite word concerning Europe by years end... "robust".. Best, Kemble" Keep the faith...remember the BIG picture, which is on the tracks (the Dell Train). I am hanging in there...The week ahead is a blip on the radar screen, but it would be nice to see Dell beat The Street, by a couple of pennies! :)Leigh cnnfn.com By Staff Writer Jake Ulick May 07, 2000: 8:00 a.m. ET NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The flow of corporate earnings reports trickles to a near halt in the days ahead. But what's lacking in quantity is made up for in importance. Tech bellwethers Cisco Systems and Dell Computer this week are scheduled to report quarterly results, providing a key read on the health of the technology industry. And Microsoft Corp. is expected to file its response to the government's remedy proposal by Wednesday. The government is seeking a break-up of the software giant on the grounds that it violated the nation's antitrust laws. Analysts said the quarterly results from Dell and Cisco will attract considerable attention from investors. "The market is going to want to see in those numbers some clues that the PC market is picking up post-Y2K," said Barry Hyman, chief market strategist at Ehrenkrantz King Nussbaum. For months, analysts have questioned the future of the computer industry in an era when Internet users are increasingly migrating to hand-held wireless devices. Reports from Cisco (CSCO: Research, Estimates), which makes equipment that links computer networks, and Dell Computer (DELL: Research, Estimates), the No. 2, computer maker, and even Applied Materials (AMAT: Research, Estimates), a chip maker, could be a gauge on the future. Cisco stock had a solid rally Friday, possibly on anticipation of good results. "I'm going to be especially interested if the stock can sustain any upside moves behind the earnings report that is expected to be very good," said Clark Yingst, market analyst at Prudential Securities. Analysts surveyed by First Call/Thomson Financial forecast that Cisco earned 13 cents per share in its fiscal third quarter, up 30 percent from the 10 cents per share in the year-ago period. A range-bound market? When it comes to the markets, both Yingst and Hyman expects volatility in the weeks ahead with positive sessions punctuated by down ones. That's was certainly the case last week when stocks rallied Monday and Tuesday, fell Wednesday and Thursday and rose Friday. For the five-day period, the Nasdaq Composite index fell 1.1 percent, ending at 3,816.32. The Dow Jones industrial average shed 1.4 percent last week, finishing at 10,577.86. "There's a possibility that we may have a very volatile market a very choppy market over the next few weeks," Yingst said. "The evidence is growing that the rally (of late April) was just an oversold bounce." Indeed, many analysts don't see the market rallying again until the Federal Reserve finishes raising interest rates. Unlike some Wall Street watchers, Ehrenkrantz King Nussbaum's Hyman is not convinced the Fed will raise rates by half a percentage point later this month. Further, he argues the if the central bank really wants to keep a lid on the market it will take smaller steps with tightening credit, thereby leaving investors guessing about what's next. A quarter percentage point rate-hike "would keep the market at bay rather than clear the air," Hyman said. The week's economic indicators may not offer much direction -- one-week ahead of the Fed's May 16 policy-making meeting. The most closely watched report comes Friday, when investors get a read on wholesale inflation. The Producer Price Index, a gauge of prices at the wholesale level, could move markets, giving a read on how aggressively the Fed may need to be on tightening credit. The week's data on retail sales, import prices and consumer credit rarely move markets. Wal-Mart ahead Cisco, Dell and Applied Material won't be the only big names to report. Wal-Mart, the world's biggest, retailer posts quarterly results in the days ahead. Goldman Sachs downgraded the retail sector last week, concerned that higher interest rates will mean a slowdown in consumer spending. But Prudential's Yingst is more optimistic about the sector and Wal-Mart in particularly, saying the retailer's discount sales are unlikely to suffer from slower spending the way a luxury retailer's might. "As long as consumers have a job and as long as they have a wages they will ultimately spend," he said, referring to labor market evidence contained in the April jobs report. Several high-profile analysts meetings come in the days ahead, possibly leading to upgrades and downgrades that could move the market. IBM hosts an analysts' meeting Tuesday. Chase Hambrecht & Quist hosts a technology conference that begins on Monday and Yahoo!'s annual shareholder meeting is Friday. And after a virtual slowdown in the initial public offering market, a few companies may test the water this week. But all are small deals. In the largest, Digitalwork.com, "dwrk," an Internet service provider, plans on pricing 6.25 million shares in the $10 to $13 range.

To: kemble s. matter who wrote (156835)	5/8/2000 5:25:00 PM
From: calgal	Respond to of 176387

Here is Patick's favorite word again Kemble! :)Leigh "Dell Computer Corp. is taking the lead by bringing its online Resolution Assistant to the enterprise. The software/service, which was developed for the manufacturer's server and consumer base, will be enhanced to be scalable and robust for corporate-level help desks." zdnet.com. PC makers push self-help Big PC makers are bolstering their online services to cut back on tech support costs. By John Madden, eWEEK May 8, 2000 12:00 AM ET Hardware vendors have heard the call: Corporate customers would rather turn to the Web than pick up the phone when it comes to PC and server support. With that in mind, major PC makers are moving to increase online support capabilities with tools ranging from knowledge databases to remote diagnostics. The goal is to eliminate or reduce calls to tech support. Customer satisfaction is only part of the equation. As the number and the cost of service calls increase, hardware vendors scramble to lighten the load. Dell Computer Corp. is taking the lead by bringing its online Resolution Assistant to the enterprise. The software/service, which was developed for the manufacturer's server and consumer base, will be enhanced to be scalable and robust for corporate- level help desks. Gary Cotshott, vice president of services at Dell, in Round Rock, Texas, said the company has committed to expanding Resolution Assistant to its entire client base by year's end. The product was introduced in August 1997 for servers, then expanded to consumers; next quarter, it will be rolled out to large enterprise customers across Dell's product line. The tool includes remote diagnostics, operating behind a company's firewall, that allow users or corporate help desks to identify and correct problems. The Resolution Assistant works in conjunction with Dell's other support offerings, such as its Premier Pages Web sites for 40,000 of its larger customers and its www. support.dell.com site. Retro Studios Inc., of Austin, Texas, a video game maker, tested the product in its Dell environment, which includes 10 types of servers. George Thomas, the company's IT director, said the tool creates e-mail alerts?sent to him and Dell support?if problems arise. In addition, Thomas said that if he needs to call Dell, the diagnostic tools will forward information on problems in a "snapshot" to Dell technicians before the two parties make contact. "I like the idea that I don't have to get into lengthy phone conversations and that I don't have to go through the 10 idiot questions" detailing the problem with technical support, Thomas said. He added that his organization benefits from Resolution Assistant simply by cutting drastically the time that he has to walk around "with the phone to my ear." Ana Volpi, an analyst at International Data Corp., in Framingham, Mass., said that while all PC vendors are making strides in online support, Dell seems to stay slightly ahead of its competitors by "continually refining [its] offering and adding things to it." Houston-based Compaq Computer Corp. has a comparable offering in Carbon Copy, a Web-based tool for remote diagnostics on desktops. It has been shipping its Insight Manager suite of remote management tools for several years and offers large corporate customers Active Answers customized Web sites. Compaq said more self-help-focused tools are coming later this year. IBM, meanwhile, offers Online Assistant, an online database to help customers resolve problems. The Armonk, N.Y., com pany also allows customers to enter IT profiles to give technical support personnel an idea of their environment. Dermot O'Loghlin, program director for IBM's U.S. service and support in Raleigh, N.C., said he expects the company by the end of the year to come out with a "cocktail of what we believe are some of the best tools out there" for diagnostics and remote support. Hewlett-Packard Co., of Palo Alto, Calif., earlier this year introduced its Instant Support online service, which remotely detects problems on HP hardware using software from Motive Communications Inc. HP also unveiled its IT Resource Center, replacing two Web-based support services with en hanced offerings. Gateway Inc., of San Diego, recently launched its Gateway @Work program to promote its business services and products. Earlier this year it launched its eSource personalized Web pages to provide online support for enterprise customers. But there's more to the online support movement than a desire to keep customers happy. Industry forecasts show PC support needs skyrocketing in the next few years, and PC makers would rather concentrate on developing robust Web-based support instead of adding costly call center agents and technicians, said Doug Chandler, also an IDC analyst. "The ability to hire enough talented people, even if you wanted to do it, is a tall challenge, to put it mildly," said M.L. Krakauer, vice president of global services fulfillment at Compaq. Dell estimates that the number of support incidents will jump from 1.4 per Dell technician to 3.0 by 2003. IBM's O'Loghlin said IBM over the past few years has cut the number of call centers from 40 to 14 to increase efficiency and lower internal costs. In addition, with cutthroat competition in the PC market, vendors are using online support to flag customers' attention. "Support is the last bastion where you can differentiate your product," said IDC's Volpi. Recent television commercials from Gateway that tout the services that accompany its PC, rather than the PC itself, are just an example, Volpi said. "A couple of years ago, you never heard them talk about this," she said. "Just the fact that you see a commercial focusing not on the attributes of the product but the service?I think that's pretty compelling."

To: kemble s. matter who wrote (156835)	5/8/2000 5:25:00 PM
From: calgal	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 176387

Here is Patick's favorite word again Kemble! :)Leigh "Dell Computer Corp. is taking the lead by bringing its online Resolution Assistant to the enterprise. The software/service, which was developed for the manufacturer's server and consumer base, will be enhanced to be scalable and robust for corporate-level help desks." zdnet.com. PC makers push self-help Big PC makers are bolstering their online services to cut back on tech support costs. By John Madden, eWEEK May 8, 2000 12:00 AM ET Hardware vendors have heard the call: Corporate customers would rather turn to the Web than pick up the phone when it comes to PC and server support. With that in mind, major PC makers are moving to increase online support capabilities with tools ranging from knowledge databases to remote diagnostics. The goal is to eliminate or reduce calls to tech support. Customer satisfaction is only part of the equation. As the number and the cost of service calls increase, hardware vendors scramble to lighten the load. Dell Computer Corp. is taking the lead by bringing its online Resolution Assistant to the enterprise. The software/service, which was developed for the manufacturer's server and consumer base, will be enhanced to be scalable and robust for corporate- level help desks. Gary Cotshott, vice president of services at Dell, in Round Rock, Texas, said the company has committed to expanding Resolution Assistant to its entire client base by year's end. The product was introduced in August 1997 for servers, then expanded to consumers; next quarter, it will be rolled out to large enterprise customers across Dell's product line. The tool includes remote diagnostics, operating behind a company's firewall, that allow users or corporate help desks to identify and correct problems. The Resolution Assistant works in conjunction with Dell's other support offerings, such as its Premier Pages Web sites for 40,000 of its larger customers and its www. support.dell.com site. Retro Studios Inc., of Austin, Texas, a video game maker, tested the product in its Dell environment, which includes 10 types of servers. George Thomas, the company's IT director, said the tool creates e-mail alerts?sent to him and Dell support?if problems arise. In addition, Thomas said that if he needs to call Dell, the diagnostic tools will forward information on problems in a "snapshot" to Dell technicians before the two parties make contact. "I like the idea that I don't have to get into lengthy phone conversations and that I don't have to go through the 10 idiot questions" detailing the problem with technical support, Thomas said. He added that his organization benefits from Resolution Assistant simply by cutting drastically the time that he has to walk around "with the phone to my ear." Ana Volpi, an analyst at International Data Corp., in Framingham, Mass., said that while all PC vendors are making strides in online support, Dell seems to stay slightly ahead of its competitors by "continually refining [its] offering and adding things to it." Houston-based Compaq Computer Corp. has a comparable offering in Carbon Copy, a Web-based tool for remote diagnostics on desktops. It has been shipping its Insight Manager suite of remote management tools for several years and offers large corporate customers Active Answers customized Web sites. Compaq said more self-help-focused tools are coming later this year. IBM, meanwhile, offers Online Assistant, an online database to help customers resolve problems. The Armonk, N.Y., com pany also allows customers to enter IT profiles to give technical support personnel an idea of their environment. Dermot O'Loghlin, program director for IBM's U.S. service and support in Raleigh, N.C., said he expects the company by the end of the year to come out with a "cocktail of what we believe are some of the best tools out there" for diagnostics and remote support. Hewlett-Packard Co., of Palo Alto, Calif., earlier this year introduced its Instant Support online service, which remotely detects problems on HP hardware using software from Motive Communications Inc. HP also unveiled its IT Resource Center, replacing two Web-based support services with en hanced offerings. Gateway Inc., of San Diego, recently launched its Gateway @Work program to promote its business services and products. Earlier this year it launched its eSource personalized Web pages to provide online support for enterprise customers. But there's more to the online support movement than a desire to keep customers happy. Industry forecasts show PC support needs skyrocketing in the next few years, and PC makers would rather concentrate on developing robust Web-based support instead of adding costly call center agents and technicians, said Doug Chandler, also an IDC analyst. "The ability to hire enough talented people, even if you wanted to do it, is a tall challenge, to put it mildly," said M.L. Krakauer, vice president of global services fulfillment at Compaq. Dell estimates that the number of support incidents will jump from 1.4 per Dell technician to 3.0 by 2003. IBM's O'Loghlin said IBM over the past few years has cut the number of call centers from 40 to 14 to increase efficiency and lower internal costs. In addition, with cutthroat competition in the PC market, vendors are using online support to flag customers' attention. "Support is the last bastion where you can differentiate your product," said IDC's Volpi. Recent television commercials from Gateway that tout the services that accompany its PC, rather than the PC itself, are just an example, Volpi said. "A couple of years ago, you never heard them talk about this," she said. "Just the fact that you see a commercial focusing not on the attributes of the product but the service?I think that's pretty compelling."

To: kemble s. matter who wrote (156835)	5/8/2000 5:39:00 PM
From: calgal	Respond to of 176387

Kemble, the story behind the HP-Compaq group. :)Leigh "Absent from the new B2B exchanges are two of the industry's biggest players, Dell Computer Corp. and Intel Corp. For its part, Dell rejected joining the HP-Compaq group because of the vagueness of its charter and because Dell is satisfied with its supply chain system, according to a spokesman for the Round Rock, Texas, company. Intel refused to say if it had been contacted about joining one of the B2B ventures." Linking up suppliers in chains zdnet.com Major computer manufacturers team up to streamline sales of components By Ken Popovich, eWEEK May 8, 2000 1:17 PM ET The race is on to create the premier business-to-business exchange for high-tech products, with industry heavyweights dividing into at least two camps. Two proposed B2B exchanges-one led by Hewlett-Packard Co. and Compaq Computer Corp., the other by IBM-are being touted as a way to lower costs for manufacturers of computers and components. However, the outlook for reduced prices for IT departments is cloudy at best. Carly Fiorina, chief executive at HP, in Palo Alto, Calif., stressed that the 12 high-tech manufacturers participating in a venture announced last week are mainly seeking to help high-tech companies "master the complexity of our sizeable supply chain, to reduce time and to reduce costs." Another major goal of the as-yet-unnamed exchange is to increase customer satisfaction by improving the speed and predictability of product shipments. But Chuck Kramer, chief technology officer for Social and Scientific Systems Inc., has reservations. "I'm not crazy about the idea," said Kramer, in Bethesda, Md. "In order for these companies to make the B2B work really well, the process needs to be as automated as possible, to reduce their costs. The problem with the automation is it's inflexible." Furthermore, big computer makers already have supply chain systems in place. As such, the systems are likely to significantly reduce costs only at smaller components makers, said Lisa Williams, an analyst with Boston-based Yankee Group Inc. A more likely motivation behind the new ventures, Williams said, is that the companies want to establish a beachhead as the premier B2B exchange for the high-tech industry. "Every time suppliers would talk to each other [using the exchange], the host would take a tax," she said. "They would essentially create revenue by providing the service." Ultimately, such an exchange could be a cash cow for its founders, particularly if it were spun off as a publicly traded company with an initial public offering of stock. "Never say never to an IPO," said Fiorina at the launch. The spoils could be great. In announcing the new joint venture, the companies estimated that online B2B sales of high-tech components will total $600 billion over the next few years, making it the world's largest e-marketplace opportunity. With such a lucrative prize at stake, it's not surprising that competition to host such a marketplace is about to heat up. Later this month, IBM, already a leading supplier of computer components, is expected to announce the formation of its own Net-based exchange. Nine other high-tech enterprises are expected to sign on with the IBM venture. "There's going to be room for more than one exchange in each industry," said Steve Ward, general manager of IBM's Global Industrial Sector, in Armonk, N.Y. In the other camp, HP and Compaq are joined by Advanced Micro Devices Inc., Gateway Inc., Hitachi America Ltd., Infinion Technologies AG (formerly Siemens Semiconductor Group), NEC Corp., Samsung Group, SEI Systems, Quantum Corp. and Western Digital Corp. The HP-and-Compaq-led venture has yet to choose a name or the technology it will use. It is being operated by an interim management team whose members were not disclosed. In addition, the founding members of the new venture have pledged to provide more than $100 million in funding and have agreed to use the exchange for a significant portion of their own supply chain activities. The company is scheduled to begin operations in 90 days. Absent from the new B2B exchanges are two of the industry's biggest players, Dell Computer Corp. and Intel Corp. For its part, Dell rejected joining the HP-Compaq group because of the vagueness of its charter and because Dell is satisfied with its supply chain system, according to a spokesman for the Round Rock, Texas, company. Intel refused to say if it had been contacted about joining one of the B2B ventures. The proposed exchanges have come together quickly in an apparent desire to stake their claims. Michael Capellas, CEO of Houston-based Compaq, said last week that Fiorina first approached him about the idea only three weeks earlier. Invitations to the other 10 participants to join the exchange didn't go out until the middle of the week preceding the announcement, a Compaq spokesman said. "This is a land-grab economy right now," Yankee Group's Williams said. "We have to see what happens when these things go live."

To: kemble s. matter who wrote (156835)	5/8/2000 5:41:00 PM
From: calgal	Respond to of 176387

Kemble, the story behind the HP-Compaq group. :)Leigh "Absent from the new B2B exchanges are two of the industry's biggest players, Dell Computer Corp. and Intel Corp. For its part, Dell rejected joining the HP-Compaq group because of the vagueness of its charter and because Dell is satisfied with its supply chain system, according to a spokesman for the Round Rock, Texas, company. Intel refused to say if it had been contacted about joining one of the B2B ventures." Linking up suppliers in chains zdnet.com Major computer manufacturers team up to streamline sales of components By Ken Popovich, eWEEK May 8, 2000 1:17 PM ET The race is on to create the premier business-to-business exchange for high-tech products, with industry heavyweights dividing into at least two camps. Two proposed B2B exchanges -one led by Hewlett-Packard Co. and Compaq Computer Corp., the other by IBM-are being touted as a way to lower costs for manufacturers of computers and components. However, the outlook for reduced prices for IT departments is cloudy at best. Carly Fiorina, chief executive at HP, in Palo Alto, Calif., stressed that the 12 high-tech manufacturers participating in a venture announced last week are mainly seeking to help high-tech companies "master the complexity of our sizeable supply chain, to reduce time and to reduce costs." Another major goal of the as-yet-unnamed exchange is to increase customer satisfaction by improving the speed and predictability of product shipments. But Chuck Kramer, chief technology officer for Social and Scientific Systems Inc., has reservations. "I'm not crazy about the idea," said Kramer, in Bethesda, Md. "In order for these companies to make the B2B work really well, the process needs to be as automated as possible, to reduce their costs. The problem with the automation is it's inflexible." Furthermore, big computer makers already have supply chain systems in place. As such, the systems are likely to significantly reduce costs only at smaller components makers, said Lisa Williams, an analyst with Boston-based Yankee Group Inc. A more likely motivation behind the new ventures, Williams said, is that the companies want to establish a beachhead as the premier B2B exchange for the high-tech industry. "Every time suppliers would talk to each other [using the exchange], the host would take a tax," she said. "They would essentially create revenue by providing the service." Ultimately, such an exchange could be a cash cow for its founders, particularly if it were spun off as a publicly traded company with an initial public offering of stock. "Never say never to an IPO," said Fiorina at the launch. The spoils could be great. In announcing the new joint venture, the companies estimated that online B2B sales of high-tech components will total $600 billion over the next few years, making it the world's largest e-marketplace opportunity. With such a lucrative prize at stake, it's not surprising that competition to host such a marketplace is about to heat up. Later this month, IBM, already a leading supplier of computer components, is expected to announce the formation of its own Net-based exchange. Nine other high-tech enterprises are expected to sign on with the IBM venture. "There's going to be room for more than one exchange in each industry," said Steve Ward, general manager of IBM's Global Industrial Sector, in Armonk, N.Y. In the other camp, HP and Compaq are joined by Advanced Micro Devices Inc., Gateway Inc., Hitachi America Ltd., Infinion Technologies AG (formerly Siemens Semiconductor Group), NEC Corp., Samsung Group, SEI Systems, Quantum Corp. and Western Digital Corp. The HP-and-Compaq-led venture has yet to choose a name or the technology it will use. It is being operated by an interim management team whose members were not disclosed. In addition, the founding members of the new venture have pledged to provide more than $100 million in funding and have agreed to use the exchange for a significant portion of their own supply chain activities. The company is scheduled to begin operations in 90 days. Absent from the new B2B exchanges are two of the industry's biggest players, Dell Computer Corp. and Intel Corp. For its part, Dell rejected joining the HP-Compaq group because of the vagueness of its charter and because Dell is satisfied with its supply chain system, according to a spokesman for the Round Rock, Texas, company. Intel refused to say if it had been contacted about joining one of the B2B ventures. The proposed exchanges have come together quickly in an apparent desire to stake their claims. Michael Capellas, CEO of Houston-based Compaq, said last week that Fiorina first approached him about the idea only three weeks earlier. Invitations to the other 10 participants to join the exchange didn't go out until the middle of the week preceding the announcement, a Compaq spokesman said. "This is a land-grab economy right now," Yankee Group's Williams said. "We have to see what happens when these things go live."

To: kemble s. matter who wrote (156835)	5/8/2000 5:57:00 PM
From: calgal	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 176387

Dell touts services plans at Chase H&Q conference SAN FRANCISCO--Dell Computer may be best known for its direct sales of laptops and desktop computers, but it wants to lay claim to being the premier one-stop shop for every company's or individual's digital needs. news.cnet.com Five years from now, said Dell chief financial officer Jim Schneider, Dell will perceive itself not as a computer dealer that competes against Compaq Computer and IBM, but as a full-service computer consulting and sales behemoth that competes against Sun Microsystems and other software and professional services giants. "Dell will help companies build online businesses of all sizes," Schneider said Monday at the Chase H&Q Technology Conference here. "The more we can push out our enterprise server and storage business, the better...Our core business is very sound and growing, but again, we've got a big push." One of Dell's biggest expansion efforts centers on consulting services--especially to so-called old economy Fortune 1,000 companies that want to build the e-commerce divisions of their businesses. The Round Rock, Texas-based PC maker has become a model of direct computer and software sales online, and it hopes to sell that e-commerce expertise to other businesses. Schneider estimated that sales, hosting and consulting services could eventually become a $10 billion-per-year business for Dell. The company expects to grow the division by 50 percent annually for the next several years, working with consulting partners such as Arthur Andersen. The company had revenues in fiscal 2000 of $25.3 billion, and it's expected to top $32 billion in fiscal 2001. Dell conducts about $40 million per day in Internet transactions, with online sales accounting for about half of the company's total business. If the portion of the company devoted to online sales were an independent company, Schneider said, it would rank No. 137 on the Fortune 500 list of America's largest companies. Dell forecasts that global e-commerce transactions will reach $2.5 trillion in 2003--a 100 percent compounded growth rate from 2000 levels. The number of people using the Internet for transactions will double to 500 million in 2003 and will top 1 billion by 2010. Meanwhile, businesses worldwide are expected to spend $370 billion on Internet infrastructure in 2003. Expanding from the company's core business of direct computer sales is a shrewd move as the margins in that arena become thin, analysts said. Technology-oriented investment bank Chase H&Q advises clients to buy Dell stock. "We view Dell as one of the leaders among the PC vendors in moving to leverage the Internet, well positioned to benefit from the Windows 2000 launch and transitioning its mix to more enterprise systems," analysts Walter Winnitzki and Georgia Fountoulakis wrote in a report prepared for the conference. "As a result, Dell is likely to record the strongest earnings growth in the group and could once again be in a position to possibly exceed (earnings per share) expectations, both of which bode well for a higher share price." Dell shares closed down $1.94 today at $47.94.