820614 16-bit Marketplace

This internal "Competitive Update" document, Volume 1, Number 8, dated June 14, 1982, is marked "FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY" and serves as a competitive intelligence resource for Digital Equipment Corporation's salesforce and other exempt personnel.

The document's main focus is Competition in the 16-Bit Commercial Marketplace. It provides:

1. Detailed Competitive Analysis: In-depth profiles of major competitors including Data General, Datapoint, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Texas Instruments, and Wang. For each, it outlines general background, software features, hardware offerings, and specifically identifies product deficiencies.
2. Cost Comparisons: Initial cost comparisons of Digital's systems against competitor offerings across various user capacities (2, 4, 8, and 16 CRT/user systems), based on defined "capacity band" guidelines.
3. Market Data and Projections: U.S. shipment projections and 1981 market shares for desktop computers, small business computers (SBCs), and minicomputers, highlighting Digital's position as the premier minicomputer manufacturer in 1981. It also includes tables on top information processing revenue leaders, growth rates, R&D expenses, employment, and revenues by product segment.
4. Specific Competitor Updates:
   • IBM System/38 Model 7 Announcements: Details the new model, purchase price cuts on S/38-5, discontinuation of certain S/38 configurations, and new connectivity options. It also positions the S/38's performance relative to VAX-11, while emphasizing VAX-11's greater flexibility in languages, graphics, and communications.
   • Prime Competitive Review (Europe): Discusses anticipated new systems (the "Rabbit"/2250), software releases (RPG-II, COBOL, PL/I, EMACS), Primos updates, and a commitment to SNA.