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

To: stockman_scott who wrote (66664)	9/22/1998 1:57:00 PM
From: flickerful	Respond to of 176387

Dell touts e-commerce to boost small business By Don Sheron EXPRESS-NEWS SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY WRITER september 18, 1998 AUSTIN -- As electronic commerce continues to expand, small- and medium-size businesses will find themselves facing a number of issues. These include maintaining secure and private financial transactions, controlling inventory and keeping customers coming back while expanding into new markets, said Michael Dell, chairman and chief executive of Dell Computer Corp. Businesses also can use the Internet to get a jump on the competition by checking up on rival products and services. "The Internet doesn't discriminate based on business size, so it levels the playing field between small and large companies," Dell said during a "Breakfast with Dell" Webcast last week. Spokesmen for Dell Computer identified small- and medium-size businesses as having fewer than 400 people. About 4,000 business people participated in Tuesday's event by watching or listening over the Internet, or sending in e-mail questions. The event was one of several the Round Rock-based company plans this year. A previous Webcast discussed how businesses could set up their own networks. Dell Computer will host another Webcast on Nov. 12 with the Small Business Administration on Year 2000 issues. That event will originate from Washington, D.C. The idea for these Webcasts evolved after Dell Computer set up its small business section a year ago. Business owners soon began asking how today's technology can help them do their business better, according to company spokesmen. A major concern facing many businesses is making sure a customer's privacy is protected, such as securing credit card numbers from outsiders, Dell said. MasterCard and Visa International jointly have developed a new standard called Secure Electronic Transaction for online payments. SET uses certified account identification and a new way of encrypting financial information sent from the customer to the online store. This adds to need of businesses to protect the privacy of their database of customers from being acquired by competing interests. Dell said his company's own customer base brings in millions of dollars a day and is growing. "Online sales have been a big part of our buying and selling online," Dell said. A year ago, online transactions amounted to $1 million a day. Today, it's about $6 million a day. Dell Computer expects to conduct half of its business online by the end of 2000, the company's founder said. U.S. businesses face a large untapped market, Dell said, citing a report from the International Data Corp. that showed only 41 percent of U.S. small businesses were conducting online transactions in 1997. Of that group, 9 percent maintained a Web page, about 24 percent purchased a product online, and another 16 percent sold a product online. But the cost to have a Web presence can be expensive for some companies. Start-up costs can range from $5,000 to $10,000, which can make businesses weigh the economic return of such an investment. "It depends on the business," Dell said. A home garage business, for example, likely would not see a benefit. But other companies will see benefits, he said. A company can reach a global audience, creating a virtual 24-hour store on the Internet. This builds customer relationships by providing online catalogs and updated pricing, Dell said. Dell said his company's Internet presence also is a cost-effective way of dealing with customers, such as the 2 million who visit Dell Computer's Web site each week. It means that companies with a Web presence don't have to set up and maintain sales or branch offices across the country, he added. And with federal government statistics showing that Internet traffic doubles every 100 days, "this provides an opportunity for businesses to expand their market," Dell said. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Breakfast with Dell" seminars are posted at: dell.com.

To: stockman_scott who wrote (66664)	9/22/1998 2:01:00 PM
From: Mohan Marette	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 176387

No problem-says Microsoft Europe. Scott: I think what is good for Microsoft should be good for DELL and PC biz in general,no? No complaints from Europe. ======================================= Tuesday September 22, 12:25 pm Eastern Time Microsoft Europe says ''no complaint'' BRUSSELS ''I have no reason to complain about the results of the first few months of this fiscal year,'' Vergnes told reporters on the margins of an information technology conference in Brussels. Microsoft's first quarter closes at the end of September and the company plans to announce the results in late October. Vergnes declined to comment further on the expected announcement. But he noted the fiscal year 1998 results were the best the company had ever achieved in Europe. He added he did not expect the Russian economic crisis to hurt Microsoft's performance in Europe since the company had very low exposure in Russia.