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Technology Stocks : Network Associates (NET) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Chuzzlewit who wrote (2144)	3/19/1998 3:21:00 PM
From: Bulldozer	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 6021

Paul please, you have been a very credible presence on this thread - don't blow it now. NETA bought TISX because Larson needed to get into segments with higher growth than virus and network diagnostics (though he could have picked a better segment than firewalls). He 'picked' TISX because they could not compete with Checkpoint on their own (TISX has stated they did not have the channel strength of Checkpt) and it was valued at $300M vs. Checkpoint's possible ($50/sh) value of $1.6B+. Plus - there is no way Checkpt would have been interested in NETA - don't need them. Rancher summarizes the party line - sounds good and it may work. Integration will not be easy and a company will not buy a TISX firewall (they probably already have a Chpt, Cisco or Raptor one anyway)just because they have Sniffer etc. As far as the govt. - good customer - but he'll need more than that to please the Street. Bulldozer

To: Chuzzlewit who wrote (2144)	3/19/1998 3:44:00 PM
From: Ojing Eo	Respond to of 6021

from Paul L. Levy on Mar 19 1998 2:24PM EST: >>Second, he has squarely targeted the US government as a customer. >>That why he picked up TISX rather than CHKPF What are the margins like for government contractors ? It's fine if this deal give NETA a better channel to sell all the usual products to the Feds, but I hear TISX designs for the Feds. Ojing

To: Chuzzlewit who wrote (2144)	3/19/1998 3:58:00 PM
From: The Rancher	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6021

Paul: I think I have to side with 'Dozer on this one. The TISX was clearly not a move to target the government sector, merely a side effect. I think 'Dozer is dead on -- CHKPF would have been way too expensive, especially since the firewall market is losing a bit of momentum. But Larson has stated that CHKPF is the target. However, I must admit, I am a bit wary of ANY company's attempt to displace CHKPF. They seem awfully entrenched and their brand equity is huge (side note: anyone notice CHKPF is trading at 18x LTM revenues?). But I still believe that NETA's overall product strategy works. The only piece of the puzzle that I am bit confused/skeptical about is the attack on the help desk market. Larson has stated that the strategy going forward is to attack the help desk market in 1998, security market in 1999. Question #1: Can the help desk market support another major player next to RMDY and IBM(Tivoli)? Question #2: Is 1999 too long to wait for the security market attack? Let me know. -Ranch