Apparently-To: dectei-l@ubvm.bitnet
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.dectei-l
Date:         Tue, 25 Aug 1992 11:31:13 PDT
              <DECTEI-L@UBVM.BITNET>
From:         "ELLEN MINTER * 297-2461 * EDUCATION MARKETING"
              <minter@MR4DEC.ENET.DEC.COM>
Subject:      Digital Press Release - PC's - FYI 1

                  I N T E R O F F I C E   M E M O R A N D U M

                                        Date:      EDT
                                        From:     Ellen Minter @MRO
                                                  MINTER.ELLEN
                                        Dept:     Education MBU
                                        Tel No:   297-2461

TO:  Remote Addressee                     ( _decwrl::"dectei-l%ubvm.bitnet" )


Subject: Digital Press Release - PC's - FYI

         Please remember that U.S. TEI customers get a 9% grant when
         ordering Digital's PCs through DESKtop Direct!

         Regards,
         Ellen


         Edward J. Canty
         Digital Equipment Corporation
         508-486-6387 or
         Peter Basmajian
         Digital Equipment Corporation
         508-486-6406




         Business Strategy Enhances Digital's Competitiveness...


                     DIGITAL INTRODUCES PC FAMILY BASED ON
                     INTEGRATED WORLDWIDE BUSINESS STRATEGY


         MAYNARD, Mass.--August 25, 1992--Digital Equipment Corporation
         today introduced a family of high-performance, upgradable
         desktop PCs and launched a new, worldwide strategy to increase
         the profitability of its PC business.  Components for the
         DigitalR-built, industry-standard DECpcTM LP (Low-Profile)
         family will be manufactured at the company's world-class
         facility in Taiwan and assembled and tested at seven Digital
         "integration centers" worldwide.
         	Digital launched a full range of 386- and 486-based
         desktop systems, starting at $899.  The family includes a
         66-MHz 486DX2 system that uses Intel's fastest 486 processor,
         released earlier this month.  Five of the six new models offer
         extremely high-performance graphics technology and plug-in
         processor upgrades.
         	The business strategy, according to James J. Liu, vice
         president, Personal Computer Group, is designed to increase
         Digital's competitiveness, market share and profitability, and
         to provide customers with the highest-quality products at
         extremely aggressive prices.  "We will achieve these goals by
         implementing a worldwide `franchise model,' under which all
         Digital regions follow similar business practices, and by
         tightly controlling all aspects of our entire process of
         product engineering, manufacturing, and worldwide distribution
         to reduce costs," he said.
         	One advantage for customers is that Digital can provide
         a consistent product on a worldwide basis.  For many large
         companies, product uniformity is an important purchasing
         criterion, because they invest heavily in computer-related
         training and need to install applications, networks and
         upgraded equipment uniformly throughout the world.
         	Digital said it will target FORTUNE-class 1000 customers
         and the 5,000 largest enterprises worldwide for its new family.
         Products will be shipped directly to customers from integration
         centers in Springfield, Mass.; Kanata, Ontario, Canada; Tokyo,
         Japan; Taoyuan, Taiwan; Sydney, Australia; Sao Paulo, Brazil;
         and Ayr, Scotland.

         DECpc LP Family Models
         	The six modular PC family models are configured and
         priced to serve a wide range of applications and users.  The
         models are:
              o	   ENTRY-LEVEL SYSTEM:  DECpc 333sx LP uses a 386SX
                   processor running at 33 MHz, which typically is 32
                   percent faster than competing 25-MHz 386SX machines.

              o	   CPU-UPGRADABLE SYSTEMS:  DECpc 340dx LP, DECpc 425sx
                   LP, DECpc 433dx LP, DECpc 450d2 LP and DECpc 466d2 LP
                   are 386- and 486-based units with clock speeds of 40
                   MHz, 25 MHz, 33 MHz, 50 MHz, and 66 MHz, for
                   demanding desktop business and technical
                   applications.

         U.S. catalog prices range from $899 for the DECpc 333sx LP to
         $2199 for the DECpc 466d2 LP.  The family is shipping today,
         with limited availability for the next 45 days, Digital said.
              Digital will market the new PCs in the United States
         through its direct sales force, resellers, and Desktop
         DirectTM, its telephone ordering system.

         Three-Way Upgradable PCs
              DECpc LP models can be upgraded in three ways:  The 386 40
         Mhz model can be upgraded to any of the 486 models; 486 models
         can be upgraded to faster 486 processor speeds, and the speed
         of the 486 models can be doubled through the addition of a
         clock-doubling chip.
              The upgradable systems also include industry-leading
         technology specifically designed to run Microsoft WindowsTM
         four times faster than similar machines without the technology.
         Local-bus video directly connects the video processor to the
         CPU, which allows them to communicate at speeds up to 33 MHz,
         instead of 8 MHz on conventional machines.  The systems also
         incorporate GUI (graphical user interface) acceleration, which
         recognizes commands used by Microsoft Windows and runs them
         faster.  The family's Super VGA video supports resolutions up
         to 1024 x 768 pixels.
              "Windows and menus appear to snap open, and graphs and
         diagrams appear instantaneously," said Roger Matus, director of
         marketing for the Personal Computing Group.
              Ergonomically designed, family models feature a compact
         footprint, offer one of the quietest fans in the industry, and
         support flicker-free 72Hz monitors that reduce eyestrain.  All
         models run under Digital PATHWORKSTM, NovellR NetWareTM, and
         BanyanR VINES PC networking software.

         Strategy Further Detailed
              Liu highlighted several key measures that have enabled
         Digital to realize substantial cost reductions throughout the
         PC business cycle.  These include design modularity of the LP
         family (80 percent of components are common to the family
         members), utilization of the ISO 9000 quality process at its
         MRPII Class A Taiwan facility to ensure high quality and to
         reduce component waste; new packaging techniques, and new
         shipping procedures for system components.
              "We were able to borrow from the 'just-in-time' concepts
         of matching inventory shipments to actual orders," he said.
         "The result is that we can reduce the costs of transportation
         and inventory, while keeping product quality and reliability
         high."
              For example, Liu said Digital's new shipping procedure
         calls for standard bulky components such as monitors to be
         shipped by sea and high-value items such as motherboards and
         daughterboards to be air-freighted. "By setting up the pipeline
         in this way, we enable our regions to mix and match their
         inventories more easily and react to changing local market
         conditions more quickly," he said.

         Franchise Model
              Liu said that Digital has established a franchise model to
         govern the operation of the company's regional marketing
         organizations and the seven integration centers that serve
         them.  "The franchise model ensures that the regions follow
         Digital's worldwide business practices," Liu said.  "As a
         result, customers enjoy major benefits when they buy PCs from
         Digital."
              "For example, large customers can get the same models
         everywhere.  These customers save on testing and training,
         because application software works everywhere, network
         compatibility applies everywhere, the customers' internal
         training is valid everywhere, and upgrades are available
         everywhere," he said.
              The franchise model also provides speedier sales, service
         and support, Liu said, because "each Digital region stays close
         to its customers, and that's better for local customers than
         dealing with large, monolithic suppliers.  On the other hand,
         our regional operations follow world-class business practices,
         and that's better for large customers than dealing with small,
         local suppliers.  In short, our franchise model offers
         customers the best strengths of large and small vendors," he
         said.
              Liu said Digital test-marketed the business strategy
         earlier this year when it introduced a 386-based PC in Asia,
         Australia, South America, and Canada.  "We achieved tremendous
         cost savings using the model, and product quality was superb.
         We knew we were successful when we competed against the Asian
         clone makers and won a major order for 2,000 PCs with the Hong
         Kong stock exchange," he said.

         Recent Successes
              Digital recently began selling PCs through its Desktop
         Direct telephone sales operation and recently acquired
         800-SOFTWARE, a large PC software distributor that handles
         thousands of world-class application packages.
              Digital is seen increasingly as a leading competitor in
         the PC market, according to Liu.  The company has been recently
         rated as the fastest-growing supplier of PCs in the U.S.,
         according to Computer Intelligence of La Jolla, CA.  Also,
         Merisel, Inc., one of the world's largest PC distributors,
         recently expanded its distribution agreement for Digital's PC
         products.  Merisel will carry the new DECpc LP family, Digital
         said.
              Digital Equipment Corporation, headquartered in Maynard,
         Massachusetts, is the leading worldwide supplier of networked
         computer systems, software and services.  Digital pioneered and
         leads the industry in interactive, distributed and multi-vendor
         computing.  Digital and its partners deliver the power to use
         the best integrated solutions -- from desktop to data center --
         in open information environments.
                                      # # #


         Note to Editors: DECpc, Desktop Direct, PATHWORKS are
         trademarks of Digital Equipment Corporation.  Digital is a
         registered trademark of Digital Equipment Corporation.  Windows
         is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.  Microsoft is a
         registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.  NetWare and
         Novell are registered trademarks of Novell, Inc.  Banyan is a
         registered trademark of Banyan Systems, Inc.



         CORP/93/781
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