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To: Roads End who wrote (164687)	5/8/2002 4:35:04 PM
From: ild	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 436258

Riechers, thanx. I understand that people reduction is what happens after mergers. BTW, I hope your position is safe. My questions were not just about your merger but rather about business in any big IT department. For instance I heard that companies are stretching lives of their PCs (and they should). The most controversial topic is this new Microsoft licensing scheme. I heard that many companies have vigorously upgraded their software in 2001 and 2002 before new terms have kicked in. If this is true Microsoft and resellers may have a number of soft quarters ahead. Is there a rising grudge against Microsoft?

To: Roads End who wrote (164687)	5/9/2002 9:36:06 PM
From: ild	Respond to of 436258

From Fleck on IT spending Rack of Sacrificial Lamb: In light of yesterday's torch-bearing demonstration for technology, I want to share an email from a friend about how changes in compatibility and saturation have transformed the way people buy hardware. (His comments should dampen the infatuation a bit) He writes: "One of the major changes in technology spending is that no one buys forward anymore. There's an infrastructure in place at this point, and although there are changes made, standards and cross-platform compatibility have reduced the need to change out entire racks. No longer do you have to rip out your mainframe to put in client-based computing, or scrap your old version of the software because the new version isn't backward compatible -- everything is an add-on to the existing environment." Tech Table Scraps: He continues: "As a result, particularly on the heels of the massive expansion at the turn of the century, technology spending is piecemeal. You need a new PC, you buy one. You need to add a software seat, you add one. Time to implementation is a download off the Internet, a click in the box for overnight shipping, plug and play. In some respects, visibility will never return to tech companies as it once did, due to these structural changes that make instant gratification for customers possible. Consequently, the more meaningful measures of tech spending will be procurement activity relative to OEM activity. Presently you have a pretty flat environment according to OEMs. Business is hitting plan, which is being interpreted as an uptick, and as a result, inventories run down to practically nil are being restocked to get in line with the stability. The strong book-to-bills at semiconductor companies are unsustainable at present rates. I fully expect them to weaken sooner rather than later." tscpro.thestreet.com