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To: MikeM54321 who wrote (2042)	9/18/1998 2:35:00 PM
From: Kenneth E. Phillipps	Respond to of 12823

From Computer Reseller News Survey Finds Midsize-Company Spending Hike (09/17/98; 1:03 p.m. ET) By John Roberts & Tim Long, Computer Reseller News Resellers can expect a solid surge in spending for networking products and services by midsize companies throughout the next 12 months, according to the latest Computer Reseller News Inside Spending survey. The survey found midsize companies -- defined as those with annual sales of between $20 million and $500 million and at least 100 employees -- expect to spend an average of $392,000 on networking hardware and software during the next 12 months. If realized, this would be a hefty 23 percent increase over the average $317,000 spent per midsize company in the previous 12 months. Following this hike in product spending will be a 16 percent jump in spending on networking service and support, to an average of $180,000 per midsize company from $155,000 in the previous year, according to the survey, which was conducted for CRN by The Gallup Organization and polled 671 MIS managers across the country. These results are consistent with other CRN research, as well as information from the CRN PC Product Sales Forecaster, which has shown that after a desktop PC spending binge in 1997, midsize companies are increasingly turning their attention to incorporating these systems into business operations. The Inside Spending survey also found the reseller channel remains the primary source of networking products and services for companies of all sizes. Eighty-one percent of large-company respondents named a reseller player as their primary source of networking products, as did 79 percent of midsize companies, and 80 percent of small companies. Networking-product spending by large companies, defined as those with annual sales of at least $500 million, is projected to reach an average of $1.77 million per company during the next 12 months, up from $1.75 million in the preceding 12 months, the survey found. The small-business networking market is much tougher to define this year. CRN Inside Spending results projected a sharp downturn in spending on products (30 percent) and service and support (40 percent) in this market. However, data collected in the monthly CRN/Gallup spending survey has shown small businesses, defined as those with sales of between $2 million and $20 million and fewer than 100 employees, have been on a roll in the past six months that shows no sign of abating. Compared with the first half of 1997, spending on both networking software and hardware has doubled in the first six months of 1998 for the average small business, according to the monthly-spending survey results. For example, small businesses each spent an average of $6,700 on networking hardware in the first six months of this year, compared with $2,800 in the same period in 1997, the monthly survey found. Moreover, networking, hardware and software combined, accounted for 34 percent of total IT spending for small businesses in the January to June 1998 period, up from 31 percent in the same period last year. Networking has overtaken desktop PCs as the single-largest spending category for small businesses, according to results of the monthly poll.

To: MikeM54321 who wrote (2042)	9/18/1998 4:09:00 PM
From: DenverTechie	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 12823

I wouldn't characterize DSC Communications as a data networking company. They make the switches and systems that allow data networking products to work better and faster, such as Signaling Transfer Points (STP) switches used in SS7 networks. This gets confusing because SS7 networks are essentially data networks for moving information more efficiently while setting up calls in the PSTN, among other things. DSC also has some of the leading fiber digital loop carrier equipment in the industry which Alcatel does not have. This explains the article's "strong position in access and switching". But this is not what is typically considered data networking in the data communications community. So Alcatel would still need a true connection with a data networking outfit to make a well rounded offering in the data world.