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Politics : Ask Michael Burke -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: RealMuLan who wrote (44636)	1/27/1999 12:13:00 AM
From: RealMuLan	Respond to of 132070

High-Performance Computer Market Experiences Slow Down in 1998, According to IDC Framingham, MA, January 25, 1999 — According to IDC's recent bulletin, 1998 High-Performance Computer Market: Review and Outlook, revenue estimates for the worldwide High-Perfomance and Technical Server market show a sluggish annual growth of 4.2% in 1998. The overall High-Performance Computer (HPC) market is estimated to total $5.2 billion at the close of 1998. Debra Goldfarb, Vice President of Workstations and High-Performance Systems research, highlighted the overall dynamics affecting the market. "The revenue slowdown across all segments was largely the result of SGI's overall market performance. Other variables included the economy in Asia, Japanese supercomputer tariffs, the visibility of new products from Compaq, IBM and HP, a product vacuum at the high-end, and general buyer wariness." IDC believes a major trend impacting the High-Performance Computer market is the homogenization of hardware, wherein system suppliers rarely differentiate features between technical computing offerings and those targeted for the commercial marketplace. "This strategy moves the buying criteria away from performance and product specialization, and towards a total solutions approach, where price, applications availability and service/support govern the purchasing decision. One of the potential long term implications of this market shift is that vendors may miss major technological innovation cycles in their desire to control R&D costs and serve the mass market," commented Debra Goldfarb. Revenue Data from the Four Market Segments of the HPC Industry The Supercomputer segment declined 11% in revenue over 1997 to $474.0 million in 1998, as expected. SGI continues to erode its position in this segment as it phases out the T90 product family. Aggressive price cutting in Europe drove revenues down, as Fujitsu and NEC moved to capture key Cray installations. This segment now has a 9.1% share of the total High-Performance Computer market. The High-Performance Midrange segment grew its revenues by a modest 5% over 1997 to reach $1.9 billion in 1998. Strong years by Compaq, Sun, HP and IBM were not offset by SGI's overall losses. This segment is still the heart of the market with 37.8% share. Revenues for the MPP segment dropped 12% over 1997 to level off at $541.6 million in 1998. SGI and IBM are the dominant players in this segment, but SGI is transitioning its product offering from the T3E to large Origin configurations. The revenue decline was due primarily to the discontinuance of the T3E product from SGI. The MPP segment has a 10.5% share of the total market. The Technical Server segment increased its revenues to $2.2 billion in 1998, exceeding 1997 revenue by 12%. The Technical Server market is the largest segment in the overall High-Performance Computer industry with 42.6% share. This market is driven by new applications growth, workstation up-sizing and vendor's renewed focus on technical markets. IDC expects SGI to renew its emphasis here, looking to move high volumes of Origin servers over the next year. While the revenue decline in the Supercomputer and MPP segments is unsettling, IDC does not believe it is indicative of a long term shift in demand. Looking ahead, IDC expects buyer caution to ease over the next six to twelve months as the implementation of SGI's new strategy and product initiatives become apparent. IDC believes that this renewal, coupled with new products from HP, Compaq and IBM should stimulate another strong buying cycle. The High-Performance Midrange and Technical Server segments are expected to drive the majority of sales going forward. This bulletin also gives revenue estimates for 1999 for the four market segments. For more information or to purchase this bulletin (#B18229), 1998 High-Performance Computer Market: Review and Outlook, call Cheryl Toffel at 1-800-343-4952, ext. 4389. IDC's Web site (http://www.idc.com) contains additional company information, recent news releases, and offers full-text searching of the latest available research. idc.com

To: RealMuLan who wrote (44636)	1/27/1999 12:35:00 AM
From: Skeeter Bug	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 132070

business must be HOT for the 0% interest deal. i mean, they are gouging on the interest ;-)

To: RealMuLan who wrote (44636)	1/27/1999 1:10:00 AM
From: NW Bronco Fan	Respond to of 132070

Yiwu, I don't think you're going to see a big increase in Dell's A/R due to these purchases. Dell probably factors the A/R to the finance company at a cost of a couple points, then the finance company carries the loan interest free for 4 months, and then collects 10% annual interest on the balance until paid. But don't pay it late, because if you're late twice, the interest rate goes up to 22.99%. Ouch! As far as the rewards towards future Dell purchases, does anyone know if Dell would be required to show some quarterly expense in the form of an accrued liability for these rewards? Similar question on the GTW YourWare trade in program. Do these programs just end up trashing future gross profits as customers take advantage or are the companies required to record an accrued expense? Do both of these programs offer up the potential for a "one time writeoff" in the future?