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Technology Stocks : Compaq -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Night Writer who wrote (33206)	9/21/1998 9:47:00 PM
From: Elwood P. Dowd	Respond to of 97611

Compaq Wins in Web Servers September 21, 1998, Issue: 808 Section: Inside Spending Compaq Wins In Web Servers Joseph F. Kovar Compaq Computer Corp., Houston, dominated the Web server market among businesses of all sizes in the latest CRN Inside Spending poll. This was the first time that Web servers were included in the annual survey of MIS managers regarding their use of networking products. Survey results showed that 33 percent of large companies used Compaq Web servers, compared with the closest rival, Palo Alto, Calif.-based Hewlett-Packard Co., which had an installed base of 20 percent. Tied for third place among large companies were Dell Computer Corp., Round Rock, Texas, and IBM Corp., Armonk, N.Y. Each earned a 9 percent share. In the midsize-business space, Compaq's Web servers earned a 23 percent share, followed by HP with 14 percent, Dell with 8 percent and IBM with 3 percent. In the small-business market, Compaq's meager 7 percent share still beat that of HP (5 percent), IBM (5 percent) and Dell (3 percent). John Hampton, Compaq's director of cross-industry solutions marketing, attributed Compaq's success in part to the company's understanding of the role the Internet is playing in business, as well as its desire to help businesses use the Internet. "We really do want to accelerate the adoption of the Internet into business, small and large," Hampton said. "We've taken the complexity out [of] things . . . [and] provide not just the hardware, but the software, too . . . through our resellers. We've done all the testing, and they're leveraging our good work." To simplify corporate Internet adoption, Hampton said, the company provides ProLiant Web servers integrated with Site Server and Internet Information Server from Microsoft Corp., Redmond, Wash., as well as its own Compaq Carbon Copy software to manage and optimize the site. For enterprise security, Compaq offers ProLiant and ProSignia Firewall Servers, he said. In March, the company also introduced the ProLiant E-Commerce Server. "In each case, we do the recipes and provide the tools for sizing," Hampton said. "Resellers can find out what customers need and then right-size the solution to that need." Compaq also offers enterprise-class tools for payments and transactions, which were acquired in this year's purchase of Tandem Computers Inc. These include iTP Certificate Security Solution for secure routing of information over public and private data networks; iTP Payment Solution for secure Internet payment processing; iTP NetACD, which allows individuals visiting a site to directly connect with the merchant's call center; and iTP Virtual Store Solution for hosting multiple storefronts on the Web.

To: Night Writer who wrote (33206)	9/21/1998 9:52:00 PM
From: Elwood P. Dowd	Respond to of 97611

Compaq Sweeps LAN Servers September 21, 1998, Issue: 808 Section: Inside Spending Compaq Sweeps LAN Servers Amber Howle Compaq Computer Corp. emerged as the most widely used LAN server product among large, midsize and small companies polled in the latest CRN Inside Spending brand-preference survey. Compaq servers were in use at 49 percent of the large companies queried, while Hewlett-Packard Co. was cited by 24 percent, and IBM Corp. placed third with 13 percent. At midsize companies, 34 percent named Houston-based Compaq, while 23 percent named HP, Palo Alto, Calif., and 8 percent named Dell Computer Corp., Round Rock, Texas. Among small companies surveyed, 16 percent used Compaq, 13 percent named IBM Corp., Armonk, N.Y., and 10 percent cited HP. In the survey, MIS officials were asked to name all the brands of LAN servers currently used by their companies. Doug Strain, Compaq's manager of channel and field marketing for North America systems marketing, said Compaq's brand recognition helped it retain a dominant position in the survey. "We've been in the business for quite a while . . . and customers recognize that major ISVs in the major LAN server business use Compaq as their primary benchmark platform," Strain said. Marketing Compaq LAN servers to different sizes of businesses does not directly correlate with hardware size, Strain noted. "It really depends upon what function they use it for," he said. Although Compaq does develop LAN servers geared toward specific business segments, it is the reseller channel that ultimately determines the vendor's success in those segments, Strain said. "[The large and midsize segments are] an area where having a reseller channel is key versus a direct model," he said. "A majority of our resellers have a level of account management and touch with those [segments], and can offer services that are difficult to get directly from the vendor." Strain said Compaq took the lead in the small-business category this year because it made an effort to reach out to resellers in that market. "In the small-business segment, it's important to have resellers out there who know how to address the needs of a small-business customer," he said. "We've done a lot in the past year particularly to develop programs and actively recruit resellers who sell into the small-business category." Compaq strengthened its SMB Solution Provider Program last year and toured the country recruiting resellers that focus on the small-business market, he said. Enhancements to the program include priority access to LAN servers and other products designed for the small-business space, customized marketing tools, financial solutions and more sophisticated lead generation.

To: Night Writer who wrote (33206)	9/21/1998 10:01:00 PM
From: Elwood P. Dowd	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 97611

COMPUTER RESELLER NEWS SAYS...... September 21, 1998, Issue: 808 Section: News Are Vendors' Gains Start Of Trend? Keith Burbank New York -- Compaq Computer Corp.'s servers were cited by resellers as their best-selling system in the small and midsize company market, surpassing even white-box units for the second month in a row. In August, 22 percent of the 136 resellers surveyed said Compaq was their best-selling server, compared with 21 percent for white-box units, according to data from the CRN/Answers Research Inc. hardware poll. The gap between Compaq and white-box servers however, has narrowed since July, when 30 percent of resellers cited servers made by the Houston-based vendor as their best-selling units, compared with 25 percent citing white-box servers. "Compaq servers are the best in class and are significantly outselling any and all white-box products, as well as [units made by] other major manufacturers," said Tod Shedlosky, president of MicroEnterprises, a Camp Hill, Pa.-based Internet development and hosting VAR. Over the past few months, the percentage of resellers citing white-box units as their best sellers has been declining, while name-brand manufacturers such as Compaq and Hewlett-Packard Co., Palo Alto, Calif., have been gaining ground, survey results show. For example, 16 percent of resellers cited HP servers as their best sellers in August, up from 14 percent in July and 12 percent in May. Dell Computer Corp., Round Rock, Texas, also posted a strong gain in August and was cited by 11 percent of resellers. It remains to be seen if the vendors' gains will persist for more than a couple of months, but the July and August figures for white-box servers were among the lowest recorded by CRN in the past two and a half years. Survey data also shows component availability, while still very good, is continuing to deteriorate. Forty-two percent of resellers building their own systems said they had no problems with microprocessor availability in August. This was down from 51 percent in July and 59 percent in June, and was the lowest monthly percentage since January. In contrast, 29 percent of these resellers said there were moderate to severe problems with microprocessor availability last month, the highest percentage since February. Similar results were seen in other categories CRN surveys such as hard drives, memory and motherboards. For example, 57 percent of BYO resellers reported no supply problems with motherboards last month. This was down from the peak reading of 65 percent in May. As a result, smaller BYO resellers are turning more to the gray market to meet their needs, although chip brokers often charge a premium (CRN, Sept. 14). For desktops, the number of resellers citing Compaq units as their best-seller has been rising, despite much attention being given to Apple Computer Inc.'s iMac system. Eighteen percent of resellers cited Compaq as the vendor of their best-selling desktop last month, up from 15 percent in July. The August figure is the highest for Compaq since CRN began surveying desktops in late 1994. In contrast, only 2 percent of resellers listed Apple as the manufacturer of their best-selling desktop. General Motors Corp. is buying Compaq PCs, Michael Sanford, co-owner of Sanford Computers, Clarkston, Mich, pointed out. "The work market is flooded with them," he said. "It's a big corporate deal." Some of Compaq's increase in desktops has come at the expense of white-box systems. Even so, nearly twice the percentage of resellers cite white-box desktops as their best-selling units compared with Compaq. Resellers are seeing a pickup in desktop sales growth in the near term in the small and midsize market. Fifty-seven percent said they expect sales to grow 6 percent or more in the September to November period, up from 45 percent of resellers in July and 37 percent in June. Finally, Internet use continues to surge among smaller resellers. Fifty-two percent of resellers are using the Internet for business between 11 hours and 30 hours per week. JOHN ROBERTS contributed to this story. Copyright r 1998 CMP Media Inc.