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Volume
3, Number 4
August/September 1984
Engineering
Fine
Tunes Product Strategy Process
Digital
Introduces
MlcroPDP-11/73
In The Press -
Customers Rate Digital Tops In Software
Managing
Complexity
— A Competitive Imperative
Digital
Creates
New California District
Westminster
Business
To Change
Major
Digital
Computer Network Launched At U. Of Houston
In a recent interview, Jack in Engineering. He
noted newly-created position of Architecture, will expedite
Smith talked about product strategy development
that the appointment of Bill Strecker to the manager of
Engineering Product Strategy and and put synergy into the planning
process.
"As the company grows, it becomes more and more
difficult to define product strategy and the product vision for
the company. Bill's job is to involve the whole engineering
community in developing product strategies. He, in turn, will make
these very clear to the rest of the corporation, especially to our
marketing and sales people, who will have an opportunity to
influence them before they are finalized. We have to make sure we
address the product issues that are important to different market
segments.
"In other words, through Bill's new position,
we are trying to involve the pertinent parts of the company in the
development of strategies and, by so doing, get synergy and energy
behind them.
"We are fully committed to this new process for
developing product strategy and vision. To date, we have
determined where we are going in the next year or two and how to
get there. That's not enough. We now have to develop an
infrastructure to support the strategy. This organizational
structure will make the strategies work and play together.
"Bill's job also requires that he clearly
communicate the final plan and that he ensure cross-group
architectural issues raised by the strategy are identified and
resolved."
The MicroPDP-11/73, a new top-of-the-line
microcomputer with performance approximating that of a midrange
minicomputer, was recently introduced. It is the second member of
the MicroPDP-11 family, and incorporates Digital's J-ll
microprocessor chip set.
The MicroPDP-11/73 is targeted for both end
users and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) as a low-cost,
high-performance microcomputer with multi-user capabilities. A
12-user system using VT220 terminals would have a per-terminal
cost of less than $2,400.
The new system is compatible with the full
range of PDP-11 computers, and offers 10 operating systems,
including all major PDP-11 operating systems. This software
compatibility offers OEMs access to nearly 2,000 application
packages and software tools developed for the PDP-11 family over
the years.
Business Week's July 30, 1984, issue reports
the results of an opinion survey of computer users conducted by
Stuart Kirkland, a Bellevue, Wash., research company:
"Some 3,000 U.S. companies and universities
ranked 12 major computer vendors on the quality of hardware,
software, service, and general amiability. Industry kingpin
International Business Machines Corp, ranked a tepid fourth in
overall performance. Hewlett-Packard Co. won the highest accolades
for overall excellence, followed by Amdahl Corp., which was also
rated easiest to work with and tops in hardware. Digital Equipment
Corp, won the No. 3 ranking overall and took top honors for its
software. Users said Data General Corp, was the most difficult
company to deal with, though its applications software won praise.
Both Burroughs Corp, and Wang Laboratories Inc. were cited for
poor service."
Digital's industry-leadership position in the
software quality category is noteworthy. In August 1981, Bill
Johnson (BJ) , then vice president of Software Engineering, set a
goal for "Digital to be the industry software quality leader by
FY85." A set of strategies and a rigorous process for achieving
this ambitious objective were publicly explained at that time. The
above survey and other research indicate that this goal has been
a- chieved a year ahead of schedule.
"Now, new challenges lie ahead," says BJ, now
vice president, Systems and Clusters Engineering. "This study
reveals that Digital is not perceived to be the leader in system
reliability and customer interaction. These areas are becoming
increasingly important to Digital as the company expands into new
markets."
Therefore, he has established a new quality
challenge for Systems and Clusters Engineering. "Our goal is for
our computer systems to be perceived as the industry leader in
reliability by FY88. To reach this objective, we must focus on
four key areas: people and teamwork, constancy of purpose, a
rigorous design process, and customer information."
LARRY CABRINETY has been appointed manager of
the Boards business, including External Boards Business (EBB)
operations, as well as Greenwille. New to Digital, he comes from
Control Data Corp., where he was vice president for Automation. He
now reports to Jeff Kalb, vice president, LSI.
CECIL DYE has been named Corporate Sales
Programs manager, reporting Corporate Sales. reporting to Jerry
Paxton, manager, Corporate Sales. Cecil will work closely with the
Field Engineering and the Market groups to provide programs to
support new product introduction and existing product sales. His
group will also provide sales and technical support to the Field
for low-end and office rpoducts. A Digital employee since 1970.
Cecil most recently was the Ohio Valley District Sales manager.
JOEL SCHWARTZ has been appointed to the newly
created poistion of president of Educational Marketing, reporting
to Ed Kramer, vice president, Technical Group. In his new position,
Joel is responsible for optimizing Digital's efforts in
educational markets, with direct responsibility for the
Educatinoal Computer Systems (ECS) group and chairmanship of the
Edcuatinoal Investment Review Board. Bob Tocchi remains as Product
Group manager of ECS reporting to Joel.
BOB SUPNIK has been named Digital's fifth
Corporate Consulting Engineer. From his new positino, Bob will be
able to consult within the corporation on a variety of advanced
technology and product issues.
Bob, who has been with Digital since 1977, most recently
has been the group manager and strategist responsible for leading
the MicroVAX CPU chip and many LSI development efforts in process
technology and CAD/CAM. During his tenure at Digital, he has made
significant contributions in the advancement of technoloyg in Mass
Storage, Microprocessor design and development, and in helping to
set directions for semiconductor process technology.
The COMPUTER INTEGRATED MANUFACTURING
ENGINEERING group (CIM), which is managed by Steve Gutz, will
report to Pete Smith, CAEM group manager, effective immediately. This organizational
change is being made to provide a strong marketing and engineering
linkage for the CIM products under development and to assure
management continuity.
Under a new OEM agreement, COMOPUTERVISON
CORP., Bedford, MA is using Digital's VAX computers as the
computer resource for its new Medusa computer-aided design
systems. They will sell Medusa software and workstations as
add-ons to existing VAX installations.
A new group in Manufacturing, SYSTEMS AND
SUPPORT ENGINEERING (SASE), combines several previously separate
Engineering resources. Responsible for designing improvements to
current products (PDP-11, MicroPDP-11, MicroVAX and VAX systems)
and for providing general system technical support, SASE is
managed by Bill Kent, who reports to Lou Gaviglia, manager,
Computer Systems Manufacturing. This move is intended to help
Digital better meet customer expectations for quality products and
responsive technical support, as well as to increase profitability
through product cost and reliability improvement.
The following article is based on a portion of
a paper John Manzo gave in late May to the American Association
for the Advancement of Science. The paper deals with international
technological competition and the importance of an engineering
infrastructure. This portion of the article focuses on problems of
managing complex engineering products. John is Corporate manager
of Engineering Processes at Digital.
"The most powerful force driving us into the
information age is microelectronics technology. Unlike older
technologies that the human mind could manage in total,
micro-electronics now confronts us with a technology far beyond
the reach of unaided human abilities. For example, the complexity
of silicon devices has reached hundreds of thousands of components
per chip - all interconnected right on the chip with a million or
more conductors.
"In order to achieve market share in our
industry, one must deliver leadership products into the
marketplace ahead of the competition. However, the major hurdle
faced in the construction of products with increased performance,
sophistication, and function is a 'complexity barrier'. The
ability to manage complexity, inherent in good engineering
process, is a key to capturing market share, and is therefore a
key to growth.
Herb Simon defines a complex system made up of a large number of parts
that interact in a non-simple way. The whole is
more than the sum of the parts.
Given the properties of the parts, and the laws
of their interaction, it is not a trivial matter to infer the
properties of the whole.
John's concerns center on three things: 1) A
tendency on the part of engineers and scientists to ignore the
subtle but important connection between complexity management and
competitiveness; 2) a disposition to continue to work only on the
immediate problems, and not the processes that have caused the
problems; and 3) a growing estrangement from long-range
infrastructural solutions on the part of the majority of our
industry.
The Role
of Education
" Time-to-Market: The mission of engineers, we
were taught, is to achieve maximum utility with least means. When
human capital was relatively inexpensive, and component costs
were dominant, tradeoffs were always made to favor minimization in
the material dimension. This is no longer true.
"Today, the dominant cost is comprised of
time-to-market and labor components. A delay of one day in
delivering a major computer product can easily result in missed
revenue of more than one million dollars. Yet we see countless
instances of engineers, who in their zeal to achieve 'elegance'
in their design, unwittingly add weeks, even months, to a
development sched ule.
"Teamwo rk: The high degree of specialization
and the requirement to partition the design, mandate teamwork
among project participants. Interestingly the very nature of our
current technical training programs stresses individualism - we
don't award advanced degrees to teams. Certainly, a spirit of
competitiveness is the motivating force of progress, but our
engineers and scientists must also be prepared to work together
cooperatively.
"Project Management; On a related issue,
today's scientists and engineers are the products of a four-year
experience which implicitly teaches them that most problems can be
framed and solved in the mind of an individual. Very few real
problems can. The sheer complexity of today's development
projects, the resources devoted to them, their pioneering nature
and the limited time available for their completion make optimum
progress - and consequently optimum project management -
absolutely essential.
"Design Aids: Finally, we see a shift from a
world in which an engineer's tool kit contained nothing more
complicated than a handbook and slide rule, to one that includes
the use of sophisticated computer-based tools to perform now
commonplace, but otherwise impossible, design functions. This
suggests a strong need for educational experiences which encourage
effective use of design aids.
"Industrial life in the new age demands
engineers and scientists who: understand the nature of complexity
and are sensitive to the economic implications of time-to-market,
are sufficiently grounded in engineering fundamentals to allow
effective intersection of their knowledge base with that of other
product developers, and have the necessary communication and team
skills - as well as attitude - to allow effective performance as
part of a team."
Digital has formed its first aerospace
account-foe used sales organization by reorganizing two of the
largest districts in California into a Southern California
Aerospace/Government District. The new district, which will handle
all aerospace and federal government accounts from what was
previously the Los Angeles and Southern California districts,
will be headed by Shel Sherman, the former L.A. district sales
manager.
"With this reorganization, we will be able to
develop a more focused, coordinated approach in the
aerospace/federal government marketplace," said Shel. "It should
also improve our ability to coordinate with our Washington office
and with the government and industry marketing groups in
Massachusetts and New Hampshire." Only the sales function will be
moved into the new aerospace district, which will be headquartered
in Culver City.
Dan Hassett, formerly regional Industrial
Distribution manager for the Southwest, will move into the
district sales manager position for the L.A. district, and Al
Pires will continue to manage Southern California.
Recently, Bruce Ryan, manager, VAX Base Product
Marketing, joined the staff of Bill Johnson, vice president,
Systems and Cllusters Engineering, as part of the continuing efort
to improve the interworkings of the Engineering, Manufacturing,
Marketing and Field organizations. In a recent interview Bruce
explained the role of his group.
"The strategic marketing gruops -- OEM, CAEM,
TEchnical, BOS, Large Systems, Business Computers -- look at a
product as a means to an end, as a solution to a customer's
problem. In Base Product Marketing, we focus on the products
themselves -- through their entire life cycle. We do this through
the phase review and long-range planning processes. We help to
define markets, opportunities and trends before products
are announced. We analyze the competitiion on a product basis,
consult with customers to understand user needs, and work with the
engineering groups to understand what can be done, and then
develop a product plan.
"We then take the product through the
announcement process including recommendations for pricing and
positioning. We make sure the supporting material — advertising
and sales promotion aids -- is ready and available. Once a product
is announced, we track its revenue stream against plan and,
eventually, we retire it.
"We think of the strategic marketing groups as
our customers. They take our products, add application software,
and provide information to the sales force about how to sell to
customers in a given industry. They establish strategies for
specific vertical markets and keep track of progress from a market
rather than a product point of view.
"In the future, we will put additional emphasis
on long-range planning and VAXcluster marketing. The long-range
planning process will provide a framework for the engineering
community to integrate specific product plans.
"The VAXcluster program is going very well.
Customer reaction has been very positive. We installed over 800
VAXclusters during the last fiscal year. This was above our
original forecast. With the recent announcement of the next
version of VMS and planned major product announcements, we expect
FY85 to be an even better year for VAXclusters."
Over the last few years, Digital has been
experiencing a shift in the way it ships products to customers
from one that required a significant amount of final assembly and
test to one that allows for the shipping of equipment directly
from the Point of Manufacture (POM). In July the first steps were
taken to change the business in Westminster, Massachusetts
(Digital's last exclusive domestic FA&T plant) .
"Over the next 12 to 18 months, we will be
changing the role of our Westminster Manufacturing Plant from one
of FA&T to a multi-purpose site that will be the new home of
our Software Distribution Center, CSM Options Group and CSM ISE
Development Center," explains Lou Gaviglia, Group manager of
Computer Systems Manufacturing.
Instead of going to WMO for FA&T before
shipments to customers, the systems will be shipped from their CPU
and POM site (11/750's from Burlington, Vt., 11/780's from
Franklin, Mass, and 16-Bit machines from Salem, N.H.).
"The Software Distribution Center in Northboro
and Westboro, Massachusetts will move to Westminster as space
becomes available. As businesses change locations, Digital will
ultimately vacate five leased facilities. By doing this and by
making better use of the Westminster facility, Digital expects to
save $40 to $50 million. The company expects the cost of the
transition to be in the $4 to $6 million range," Lou notes.
"About 500-600 people will be directly impacted
by this change in business with most of these employees being
relocated. However, we have talked to the affected employee groups
and expect the transition to be smooth.
"One of the difficult things we run into in
changing our businesses around is the way it impacts the lives of
some people. We are aware of this and try to work these issues as
sensibly as possible," Lou adds.
Software
Copyright Dispute Continues by Bruce Holbein, Manager,
Government Relations
U.S. trade officials and Japan-watchers are in
disagreement over the intent of Japan's Ministry of International
Trade & Industry (MITI) to file legislation that would remove
software from the protection of Japan' s copyright law.
Some observers believe MITI will back from its
proposal because of opposition to it from Japan's Ministry, which
currently has jurisdiction over copyright matters, and because of
concern over U.S. reaction during an election year.
Other observers disagree. They claim MITI's
concern over catching up with U.S. software is so great that it is
willing to risk U.S. retaliation. These observers believe that
MITI is now planning to introduce its legislation at an
extraordinary session of the Diet beginning in September.
Some
background
At the beginning of this year, MITI created a
storm of protest among U.S. trade officials and high technology
representatives by proposing legislation that would allow
compulsory licensing of software if MITI determined it to be "in
the national interest," or if one firm developed software which
relied upon another firm's software to be operational.
Moreover, the proposed legislation would give
firms greater freedom to modify and then market variations of
software developed by another firm.
Finally, MITI's legislation would shorten the
period of protection of software from 75 to 15 years.
CBEMA and the American Chamber of Commerce of
Japan (ACCJ) quickly denounced MITI's proposal. CBEMA complained
that it would allow Japanese firms "to raid the developed software
around the world," and noted that the Universal Copyright
Convention, of which Japan is a signatory, would allow the U.S. to
retaliate by denying copyright protection to Japanese software.
CBEMA also noted that present U.S. law establishes a procedure by
which foreign products which infringe U.S. copyrights can be
denied entry and sale in the U.S.
At the beginning of May, U.S. Trade
Representative William Brock announced that MITI had assured him
it would not introduce this legislation during the current session
of the Diet. Brock also claimed that MITI would "consult closely
with us before submitting any legislation on software program
rights.'
Digital and the University of Houston have
announced plans to create one of the largest and most advanced
computer-intensive educational environments in the nation. The
major multi-campus, high-speed computer network, with a potential
value of $70 million, will be implemented over a four-year period.
The University, with grants of up to $35
million from Digital, plans to utilize, during the first two-year
phase, up to 4,500 Digital Professional 350 and Rainbow 100
personal computers and clusters of VAX superminicomputers
distributed throughout the University's four campuses. Digital
will also provide full-time technical personnel to assist in
on-site network design and development.
Through the planned network, many academic and
administrative computing tasks will take place at personal
workstations. The network will be designed to support up to
20,000 personal computers for instruction, research and
administrative activities. Faculty and administrative offices will
house about a third of the workstations, with another third
located throughout the campuses in clusters for student use. The
remaining third will be made available to faculty, staff and
students.
The Ethernet* local area networks on all four
campuses will interconnect the workstations through a high speed
microwave channel capable of transmitting over a million
characters per second. Workstations in student and faculty homes
throughout the area will have access to the network via telephone
1 inks.
The University of Houston System has a total
enrollment of more than 44,000 students, with 6,000 faculty and
staff members.
♦Ethernet is a trademark of Xerox.