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Articles
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Volume
7, #8
December, 1988
U.S.
Team
Adopts Long-Range Business Plan
Worms,
Viruses
And Systems Security
Digital Expands Its Video Network by Pat Cataldo, vice
president, Educational Services
Visas
For
Temporary Business Visitors To The U.S.
Upcoming
Changes
In Benefit Programs
There has been a lot of discussion lately,
within Digital, in the press, and by our cusÂtomers about the
concept of the "integrated enterprise" and the role of information
techÂnology in making it a reality. This article deals with
Digital’s approach to providing solutions for the "enterprise"
customer, and how we are uniquely positioned to be sucÂcessful.
One can think of an "enterprise" as an
organizational entity, bound by a common mission or set of
activities. Some examples might be a corporation, an educational
institution, or a charitable organization. It is also possible to
consider a single department or division an "enterprise" within
the context of this definition.
Many enterprises are recognizing three
important phenomena today:
o
today’s business environment is dynamic, relative to both the
nature and methods of accomplishing work;
o the traditional
boundaries of the enterprise are becoming less clear as
strategically important relationships are formed with customers,
suppliers, and partners; and
o that the ability
to share information across this expanded concept of the
enterprise is critical to success.
Obvious results are
that information technologies are key and that integrating these
expanding enterprises requires operating in a multi-vendor
environment.
The word
"enterprise" can also imply that an organization is innovative and
forward thinkÂing. Digital has always taken pride in helping
customers use computing in enterprising ways - ways which enable
the customer to create competitive added value. From the
beginÂning, Digital has said that computing ought to be
accessible, usable, and useful, enabling people to solve their
problems. We introduced timesharing and distributed computing to
get computing power out to where people need it. Then we added
networking so people could share ideas and information.
"Integrating the enterprise" is a natural next step in this
evolution.
Our approach to
integrating the enterprise is based on several key, inter-related
ingreÂdients:
o Digital’s "single
system architecture,"
o a commitment to
industry standards efforts,
o creation of a
software environment that provides a stable platform for
applications and is easy to use,
o a comprehensive
set of strategic alliances with selected hardware and software
vendors with whom we work closely to ensure a tight integration
with Digital’s architectural components, and
o comprehensive
service capabilities designed to support the needs of the
enterprise.
Digital’s
architectural approach is a key element of continuity in how we
have provided solutions to our customers. Historically, this
architectural approach has meant our VAX/VMS product family which,
coupled with DECnet, has established Digital in the foreÂfront of
providing distributed computing. Customers are able to write
applications once, and implement them anywhere in the network, on
whatever size system is appropriate. As their requirements and
priorities change, they can reconfigure their network, redefine
their application strategies, and upgrade their systems as needed.
It is inappropriate,
however, to limit the definition of Digital’s architectural
approach to VAX hardware and the VMS operating system. When we
designed the VAX family, we had an overall architecture in mind
which not only included the hardware and operating system, but
networking, data management, application integration, and
application services as well. Only when you have designed each of
these architectural components together do you truly have a system
architecture.
An architectural
approach focuses on defining the specific interfaces and
relationships between these components so that we can evolve,
change, replace, and/or add components without violating the
integrity of the architecture. It is this approach which has
enÂabled Digital to add capability such as DECtp, a rich
environment for transaction procesÂsing, add additional components
such as the ULTRIX operating system and the RISC hardware
technology, and to evolve DECnet into full compliance with OSI
standards.
The capabilities
that allow enterprise integration result from a product strategy
and product architecture which was established more than a decade
ago, and has been under continuous, focused development since
then. It is also this disciplined, architectural approach which
will enable us in the future to continue to evolve and introduce
new comÂponents to our system architecture in response to new
technologies and changing customer requirements.
As stated
previously, the reality of today’s enterprise is a multi-vendor
environment, and customers require that our products integrate
with those from other vendors. Standards helD facilitate this bv
addins stability to the comnutins environment. Some neonle focus
on UNIX as the means to achieve this stability, but the Open
Software Foundation (OSF), of which Digital is a founding member,
recognized that an operating system alone does not provide a
complete standard software platform. Thus OSF is defining
standards for user access, data interfaces, and more.
It is Digital’s goal
to ultimately provide a smooth, seamless computing environment
where users need not know what operating system they are using. A
good example of this software transparency is our Network
Application Support (NAS) strategy, a key element in providing
enterprise integration. Through NAS capabilities, we are able to
bring consistency to applications access (DECwindows and
ALL-IN-1), information sharing (Compound Document Architecture,
SQL, Postscript), and business communications (mail, conferencing,
and videotex) for the many different desktop devices customers
have today and will invest in tomorrow. NAS enables users of video
terminals, industry standard PCs, Macintoshes, as well as users of
powerful workstations running VMS or ULTRIX, to use applications
that have a consistent look and feel, as well as the ability to
exchange information.
While constantly
improving the software environment which we provide to our
customers, another critical element of enterprise integration
entails a close technical, as well as business, partnership with
other software as well as hardware vendors. Our cooperative
marketing programs have evolved to ensure that our CMPs are
provided with the tools and support to make it easy for them to
write applications that take full advantage of the capabilities of
our computing environment.
In addition, we are
expanding these relationships with programs like the Distributed
CMP, where we will distribute, and as importantly, support the
CMP’s software. This is a critical customer requirement in many
large enterprise integration projects.
Through strategic
alliances, with companies such as Allen-Bradley, we are jointly
develÂoping solutions to complex integration problems, in this
case, tightly integrating proÂgrammable controllers on the shop
floor with material planning and scheduling systems in the plants.
Customers are able to tailor their support from Allen-Bradley and
Digital to best suit their specific needs and working
relationships.
The last major
element mentioned was a comprehensive support capability to
complement the technology Digital provides. As highlighted at the
Enterprise Services announcement at DECworld ’88, Digital is
committed to work with our customers to understand their
requireÂments and to assist in the design and implementation of
the optimal solution supporting their business objectives.
Furthermore, Digital can do this on a worldwide basis, proÂviding
the sophisticated, on-going support so critical to our customer’s
success.
In conclusion,
Digital has clearly stated its mission to help our customers build
and sustain competitive advantage by managing information
technology the way they choose to work. More importantly, Digital
has a design to accomplish this, which entails a coorÂdinated
implementation of our product strategy, our business strategy, and
our service strategy. It is the powerful combination of these
strategies, the "integration of our enterprise", which uniquely
positions Digital in the industry today.
The U.S. Country
Team has adopted a unified long range business plan that sets
objectives and strategies for the next five years and beyond. This
is the first time that the U.S. functions, working together as a
management team, have tried to craft a common set of goals. It
represents an important step toward greater coordination and
cooperation among the various U.S. Field and Manufacturing
organizations in providing customers with "seamÂless service."
The Country Team
includes: Chick Shue, vice president, U.S. Sales; Don Zereski,
vice president, U.S. Field Service; Bill Ferry, vice president,
U.S. Software Services; Lou Gaviglia, vice president, U.S.
Manufacturing; Joe Fabrizio, manager, U.S. Educational Services;
Mike Kalagher, manager, U.S. Administration; Donna Blaney,
manager, U.S. Field Personnel; Steve Behrens, manager, U.S. Field
Finance; and Tom Grilk, acting manager, U.S. Law.
The objectives are:
o to double U.S.
revenues over the next five years, while meeting or exceeding
corporate margin goals;
o to achieve 51% or
greater share in selected accounts;
o to achieve
preferred vendor reputation in selected industries and
applications;
o to be the number
one place to work;
o to establish the
U.S. as an integrated business entity; and
o to be positioned
for future success.
"Growth for the sake
of growth is not our goal," explains Chick Shue. "We are striving
for customer satisfaction and investment return, as opposed to
just revenue growth. This is the premise that drives our business
model and our organizational structure.
"We intend to
achieve that growth by targeting our resources to increase our
marketshare in selected accounts," says Chick. "IBM may be five
times bigger than us, but we can be ten times more focused in
selected accounts. With the help of Industry Marketing, we have
identified accounts that are growing rapidly. These are companies
that are likely to be winners in their respective industries. We
will position ourselves by building full service, fully
integrated, business relationships with these customers. We have
to step beyond the supplier relationships we have had in the past
to become a true business partÂner.
"We will strive to
become number one in those accounts. This doesn’t mean that we
will necessarily have more Digital computers on site than IBM, but
rather that we will get the larger share of new purchases."
"The groundwork for
this approach was laid with the Corporate Account Program, which
began modestly with 25 accounts," explains Bill Ferry. "An account
management team which inÂcluded Sales, Software Services and Field
Service account managers, was measured on the
common goal of
increasing customer satisfaction and penetration in the account.
In these accounts, customers wanted more from us, and we enjoyed
more business and grew as they succeeded.
"We increased the
number of corporate accounts, and later we provided the same kind
of focused attention to a broader base of Digital Named Accounts
(DNA). Using the accountÂteam approach enabled us to more easily
provide ’seamless’ service -- coordinating the efforts of Software
Services, Field Service, Sales and Manufacturing for the benefit
of the customer."
"Basically, we
target our resources not only to maximize our return on
investment," adds Chick, "but also to achieve a higher level of
customer satisfaction, higher managementÂlevel contact with the
account, and a higher degree of interdependence between our two
companies. We become more than just a supplier of hardware,
software and service. From that relationship comes not only
increased growth, but also increased profit. At the same time, we
are setting the stage for the future, building relationships that
will be imporÂtant for a long time to come.
"Now we are
developing application and industry plans that tie together not
only our sales and product strengths, but also our application
strengths, the needs of the account and the industry, and a
strategic view of the competitive position of the account in its
industry. We are considering not just the market today, but where
the market is going to be. As opposed to pursuing every large
opportunity, we want to pursue the large opportuÂnities that are
going to increase our position not only in the account, but in the
marÂketplace."
"We aren’t just
saying to the sales force, ’Go prospect in this account.’ Our
effort is more focused than that," says Bill Ferry. "What matters
is not just winning in the acÂcount, but rather winning the right
thing at the right place because that’s where our strength is. We
are relying on our growing expertise in specific applications, and
we are relying on industry marketing leadership to help us achieve
our goals.
"For instance, we
select global trading in the banking industry not because a
particular bank wants to spend $50 million with us today, but
because we believe this is a strategic application in the rest of
the industry and we will be able to sell this application to ten
other banks and become a world leader in providing this kind of
expertise."
"For partner
relationships, cross-functional teamwork is paramount," emphasizes
Don Ze- reski. "Whether the installation is a single site in a
remote geography, an international node in a worldwide network or
a centralized hub of a customer’s business-critical appliÂcation,
Digital’s Sales and Services functions must refuse to compromise
on customer satisfaction.
"Increased focus and
more detailed planning should result in tighter links between
Sales and Manufacturing plans," notes Lou Gaviglia. "By planning
more discretely what we sell, we can also plan more accurately
what we should build, resulting in lower inventories, faster
shipments to customers, shorter receivable periods and overall
increases in cusÂtomer satisfaction."
"Our people are
extremely important to us as we try to achieve the customer
relationships we need to maintain our position as the number two
computer vendor," says Don Zereski. "Sales and services involve
lots of customer interaction, and so by nature are very
peoÂple-intensive. Our people are our number one asset.
"Looking ahead, we
have to determine the kind of organizational structure we need to
make it easier for customers to do business with us. If a customer
in Des Moines, Iowa, has a problem, we have to have someone close
by who has the skills, the motivation and the authority to solve
that problem quickly, in a manner that reflects the company’s
goals and is right for the customer."
"We’re going to have
to focus a lot more attention on developing our present people for
both present and future roles, so we’ll have the right people in
the right places at the right times," adds Donna Blaney. "The Long
Range Plan gives us a clear idea of what needs to be done."
"We want to inspire
all employees to focus on the needs of the customer," adds Mike
Kala- gher. "As a complement to that, we want to recognize
employees for their excellent work and reward them in meaningful
ways for the outstanding contributions they make."
"We will continue to
move operational controls to the Field — as close to our customers
as possible," notes Chick. "This should mean opportunities for
individual development and advancement. It should mean that more
people will be given greater responsibility and have the chance to
take more risks.
"As we undertake
larger and more complex, critical business solutions for our
customers, we will be expected to deliver increasing levels of
value-added service that will be priced with the total solution,"
adds Bill Ferry. "Our recent movement into the systems integration
business is an example of bringing more focused service to our
customers while increasing operational responsibilities in the
Areas."
"The creation of a
single integrated business entity for the U.S. is essential for us
to deliver high-quality, seamless service to customers, especially
for the large enterpriseÂwide customers where we are targeting our
efforts," says Bill. "These customers don’t want to have to deal
separately with our Sales, Software Services, Educational Services
and Field Service organizations. Basically, we have to operate as
a single entity so we can build enterprise-to-enterprise
relationships with these key customers.
"As we simplify and
integrate our own business practices in the U.S., we are gaining
valuable experience in using what we sell," notes Mike Kalagher.
"That experience will then create more opportunities for us to
sell what we use."
"Today we face
economic uncertainty, an industry in transition, increased
competition, advancing technology, and a changing market with more
diverse and disparate customer expectations," adds Steve Behrens.
"The need to understand the business, provide finanÂcial
leadership, control costs, improve productivity and manage change
is greater than ever."
"With this long
range plan, we are beginning to act more as a single company here
in the U.S.," concludes Bill. "The management team approach helps
us look more at what is good for the customers and good for the
company, rather than what is good for one particular function."
Implementing
Digital’s values gets harder as we get bigger. It’s more of a
challenge to us to create an environment that feels as open and
free and enticing as it was when we were smaller.
It’s just as
important today as it was 20 years ago for employees to feel the
freedom to create ideas, communicate them, and test them with
their peers. It’s just as important that we hire the most
competent people and that we communicate clearly with all of them.
The fundamental goal
of the company is to do well for our customers. We can only thrive
as a company when our customers think highly of our products and
services and enjoy doing business with us.
Each individual in
the company must understand how his or her job impacts our
customers. The relationship is easier to understand in functions
that deal directly with customers, such as Sales and Service. It
is also clear in Manufacturing, where the product is used directly
by customers. But people in departments that are more remote from
customers also need to make the appropriate connection. For
example, when Personnel helps to create an environment for people
to be innovative and productive and feel motivated, then those
employees will increase customer satisfaction. In Finance and
Administration, those who prepare information to send to customers
can have an enormous, positive impact on cusÂtomers by the quality
of the information they produce.
We always have been
in the business of building relationships with customers. In the
past, it wasn’t as formal. In the 1960s, we were successful
because we understood the markets we were dealing with. Those
customers were engineers and manufacturers, just as we were. So we
built products that we liked to use. It was intuitively obvious
what products would be successful.
Now we have entered
new markets where customers have other expectations and require
other things of us. So we have to put more explicit emphasis on
understanding customer needs.
Back in the early
1960s, we would sell hardware for the customer to add other
hardware, software, service and applications. As time has gone on,
we have provided more of those other components; until today we’re
in the position of providing the customer with comÂplete
integrated solutions. To integrate all of the components properly,
we’ve got to be experts in the customer’s business as well as our
own.
Many customers want
computer systems to be an integral part of their business. In this
environment, customer satisfaction means trust and confidence. It
requires that these customers believe we are a very trustworthy,
ethical, competent supplier and partner.
I like to think of
these people as our "clients" rather than customers. The word
"cusÂtomer" implies a buyer-seller relationship, whereas "client"
implies a professional relaÂtionship in which two people come
together because one of them has an expertise that the other
needs. In our case, that expertise is how to provide networked
information systems that will meet the customer’s business needs.
A few years ago, Ken
came up with the theme of "one company, one strategy, one
message." It helped us develop a strategy that enabled us to go to
the customer with an integrated approach. Back then, we criticized
our customers for having little islands of automation, but we had
islands of our own. Customers often had to deal with four or five
separate individual organizations inside Digital. So we have been
striving to make ourselves relate to the customer as one
coordinated team.
We also have to
remain technically excellent in every one of our disciplines. This
means that within the company, there has to be an environment
where creative risk taking and initiative can thrive. Otherwise we
don't get better, and people don’t improve. To achieve that
excellence, we often generate internal competition. That is
healthy in any organization. In a sense, we’re all competing for
the company’s investment dollars. Not
every product we
begin to develop can go into final production. There are always
twice as many ideas and programs proposed as we have funds to
invest. We simply have to say no to a lot of good ideas.
Sometimes people
proposing new programs get confused and frustrated trying to get
their programs accepted. We’ve gotten large and need to simplify
the processes by which we decide our annual investments.
We want to hear all
of the good ideas from our people. We always have to consider how
the proposed product or service will interact with other
departments that also have relationÂships with the customer. Each
product and program has to connect with the core Digital strategy
and with the architecture and the standards that have been
accepted, because that’s what holds us together as a company.
Customers should see one united Digital focused on serving their
interests.
It is a challenge
for the management of the company to keep our values strong as the
company grows. We all know that there are times when these values
appear to have been forgotten. We have to keep chiseling away at
and resisting the unnecessary steps which any bureaucracy tends to
create. Most of all, we have to be sure that all of our people
know the company values and can help to preserve them no matter
how large we grow.
Beginning on
November 2, a computer program quickly copied itself to over 6,000
computers on the Arpanet, an open network that researchers and
scientists use to freely exchange information. This deliberately
written software included instructions to distribute itself by
electronic mail to any computer it could reach over a
communications network. Once inside the individual computers, this
program repeatedly copied itself, causing the computers to
overload their memory, slow down or even stop working. Within a
few days, the problem was under control. Fortunately, no lasting
harm was done; files were not destroyed. But it took considerable,
costly efforts to find and eradicate this "worm."
According to Ed
Maguire, program manager, Network Security, the worm never
penetrated the gateway computers which link Digital’s internal
Easynet network with external networks such as Arpanet. He also
noted that the computers affected by the worm all used certain
variants of the Unix Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD)
operating system. ULTRIX versions 2.2 and 2.3, which Digital ships
to customers and uses internally, do not have the weaknesses the
worm needed to propagate itself.
Government systems
running classified information were not affected by the Arpanet
worm because they are not on that network. There is no
connectivity between those government systems and the systems that
were infected.
Interviewed in a
taped segment on the ABC show "Nightline" with Ted Koppel, Ken
Olsen, president, expressed concern that this incident could lead
to restrictions on the use of open academic networks like Arpanet.
"The worst thing that could happen is that they clamp down on free
flow of academic information. That should be preserved at all
costs," he emphasized.
"A runaway program
of this kind, that reproduces itself automatically and
proliferates through a network, is a rarity," notes Steve Lipner,
manager, Secure Systems Development. "But there are people who
would like to break into our networks to sabotage our efforts,
steal our information or both."
The exotic and rare
kinds of computer break-in and sabotage that catch the attention
of the press are known as: worm, trapdoor, logic bomb, Trojan
horse and virus. Steve desÂcribes them as follows:
o A worm copies
itself across a network to another workstation or system, intrudes
itself in the target and then replicates across. Often it’s a
prank or experiment that goes out of control. Once started, this
normally doesn’t involve human intervention.
o A trapdoor is a
piece of code left in the core of a piece of software by someone
who was involved in writing or modifying it. This code will allow
anyone who knows about it to by-pass the system controls and do
something for that person, unbeknownst to the authorized users.
For example, in the movie "War Games," a programmer modified the
log-in program so he could always get in with the password JOSHUA.
o A logic bomb is a
piece of code buried in a program or command procedure that, when
triggered by some time or sequence of events, will do something to
erase or damage software or data on the same system.
o A Trojan horse is
a program deliberately hidden within another apparently useful or
amusing program. Somebody sends you this program; you file it in
your user space and run it. Once it’s run, unbeknownst to you, the
program embedded in it can take control of your user space, with
access to any information that you have access to. It could, for
instance, take all your proprietary files and mail them out the
Arpanet gateway to the perpetrator. Or, similarly, it could
automatically forward all your incoming or outgoing mail to that
person.
o A virus could be
thought of as a composite of a Trojan horse and a worm. It finds
other computer programs to which its host has access and modifies
them by including the key elements of the virus. It changes other
programs, rather than just spreading copies of itself over the
network. Then each affected program could pose the same kind of
insidious threat as a Trojan horse.
"The discipline and
quality of Digital’s software development provide a high level of
protection against these exotic kinds of problems," notes Steve.
"Digital also offers customers and internal users a variety of
software products, such as encryption packages, which can
significantly enhance system security. But overall systems
security depends largely on people, not just products — on systems
managers and individual users.
"Employees who use
our Easynet network must exercise responsibility in managing
passwords, protecting files and staying alert to notice signals of
unusual activity. Those employees who have contact with customers
have an additional obligation to help the customers use our
systems effectively and securely.
"People also should
be very careful about using software they get anonymously off
public computer bulletin boards or from outside networks," he
advises. "If you don’t understand everything that’s in the code,
don’t risk putting it on a system connected to our network.
"The biggest systems
security problem today is password abuse," adds Steve. "Those who
wish to break in might run programs that systematically try all
common words in the dicÂtionary. On a VMS system that the system
manager has set it up properly, after a certain number of
unsuccessful tries to log into an account, even the correct
password will fail. But as an extra measure of security on any
system, passwords ought to be either non-words (like ESQUIB) or
nonsense combinations of words or words and digits (like
DOOR8HILL). Users should also change passwords regularly and not
use the same password on multiple systems.
"VMS users should
pay attention to the protection of files that contain proprietary
inÂformation to make sure they can’t be read, copied or changed by
unauthorized individuals. Programs and command procedures should
also be protected to ensure that they can’t be altered.
Protections for individual files can be set to allow access to
everyone on the network (World), the local work group (Group), the
system manager (System), or the user (Owner). If you have
sensitive information, you should find out what protections you
have in effect and make sure that they are appropriate. Don’t just
assume that the default setting chosen by your system manager is
the right setting for all the information you use and store."
Digital’s most
visible computer link to outside networks is the Arpanet gateway
at the Western Research Laboratory in California. That connection
is very carefully and cauÂtiously structured. It only permits
mail.
The numerous X.25
links into the company (packet switched networks like Tymnet,
including our TSN connections) are more problematic. Many Sales
and Service offices use those because that is the only way they
can connect from a particular location or because they are more
cost effective than a dedicated line. Those links have sometimes
allowed addiÂtional interconnections to the world without the
tight controls present at the Arpanet gateway. "It is very
important that business and svstem managers at sites where X.25
gateways are installed follow the security guidance available from
Digital TelecommunicaÂtions for setting up the gateway software,"
says Steve.
"Digital encourages
open networks because that free flow of information is so
important for business," he continues. "But, at the same time, we
quietly, unobtrusively, in the background, take appropriate steps
to guard our information and computer system assets. You wouldn’t
protect a bank the same way you would protect your home or vice
versa. Likewise, we match our security measures to the risks
involved.
"Just as alert
citizens and neighbors can help local police prevent break-ins to
houses and businesses, alert and security-conscious employees are
important to our efforts," he observes. "When you log in, the
system displays if there have been failed attempts to log into
your account and when you last logged in. It can also display when
a file was last altered or observed. Those kinds of clues can let
you know that something strange has been going on. If that is the
case, talk to your system manager or people in Information Systems
Security."
"Digital products
can provide a very high level of security. However, it is our job
to make sure that the proper security features are enabled and
used correctly," adds Ed Maguire. "VMS has evasion detection
features that can frustrate would-be intruders. But evasion
detection and other VMS security features must be installed
properly. Security is more effective if layers of security are
provided to safeguard Digital Proprietary InforÂmation. For
example, the terminal server password feature can provide an
additional layer of security for dial-in or other forms of remote
access.
"Our security
programs use our technology to protect our technology. We provide
up to date information security policies and standards on VTX. We
conduct security tests on our internal networks to detect and to
correct security weaknesses before they can be exploiÂted by a
would be intruder. Technical security solutions, no matter how
cleverly contriÂved, depend upon people to be effective. We need
the support of every Digital employee to secure our networks and
our proprietary information."
To signal the change
of our business from just peripherals to products that are closely
integrated to the company’s overall computing strategy, we’ve
changed the name of our organization from Storage Systems to
Storage and Information Management.
We have brought the
Database Management Group into our organization. And even our
traÂditional storage hardware organizations — which design and
build tape, disk and memory devices, controllers and boards - now
strive to provide complete solutions to customers with both
hardware and software. This emphasis on delivering storage and
information management solutions is aligned with the company’s
efforts to be the leader in enter- prise-wide solutions,
distributed computing, distributed databases and information
manageÂment. The mission of our group is to help make information
readily available to everybody in the customer's organization.
Information
management will be at the center of the systems battles of the
1990s. Our storage and information management products should give
us a unique opportunity to optiÂmize the performance costs and
availability of information to our customers, locally on any
system and distributed across networks. Also, being able to
effectively store and retrieve customers’ data will be important
in our efforts to integrate applications, through our Application
Integration Architecture (AlA).
There are a broad
range of applications that will benefit from significantly
enhanced storage performance. Many of these are commercial
applications, but we also see increasÂingly large requirements for
data storage in scientific applications with heavy computaÂtion
needs.
Transaction
processing, in particular, stresses the database software and the
communicaÂtions capability, and also the ability to operate at
high rates. These are all areas in which our product architecture
excels.
In July, together
with DECtp products, we announced a number of advances in our
storage capabilities, including the SA600 disk array, which offers
two times the gigabytes per square foot as IBM, and performance
levels equivalent to their largest systems.
Our objective was to
make a storage subsystem that was state-of-the art in terms of
data reliability, integrity and availability. We spent a lot of
energy insuring that the bus system was robust and could be
extended to handle the large storage configurations that we think
customers will need.
In October, we
announced a new family of storage elements with the MicroVAX 3300
and 3400 computers. Using advanced (VLSI) semiconductor
technology, we have included all the controller functions in the
storage device itself. This increase in the "intelligence" of
these storage devices greatly improves the input/output (I/O)
performance of the total system. In fact, the MicroVAX 3300 and
3400 systems offer I/O capabilities that are about three times the
performance of our competitiors.
Basically, we
extended technology that previously only operated in our larger
systems to our MicroVAX line. This extension of our Digital
Storage Architecture gives us the capaÂ
bility to improve
overall computer system performance when multiple storage devices
are operating. It was a major step forward in small systems I/O
technology.
Use of our storage
and information management products and our distributed computing
capablities internally will allow our manufacturing organizations
at different sites around the world to share product and process
information. This sharing is key to inteÂgration of the work in
engineering with manufacturing. We are looking at a common
dataÂbase that extends through our suppliers. Electronic document
interchange is a start in this direction. But ultimately, we want
to add access to one another’s databases regardÂing products and
forecasts and our business relationships. This experience is
important in helping our customers who are asking us for such
capabilities today.
Meanwhile the
Service organizations will be able to use our database
capabilities to access product specific information, so they can
take appropriate corrective actions. In fact, many of the strides
we have made in improving the quality and reliability of our
products has come from the ability to share this information.
Satellite-distributed
business television networks are a relatively new concept, and
effective application of them is an increasingly important
strategic challenge.
Our Digital Video
Network (DVN) started in 1985 with 20 downlink sites (facilities
that can receive the signals). It now includes over 70 sites in
the U.S. and additional sites have been approved for installation
in the next year. With additional sites, 98% of Field employees in
the U.S. will be within one hour’s drive from a DVN site.
Programming has grown steadily from 17 programs with 3,674 viewers
in FY86 to 48 programs with 23,675 viewers in FY88.
This network allows
large numbers of geographically separated employees to hear and
see their company leaders, fellow-employees and outside experts
train, inform and discuss key issues. It can also allow the
audience to participate in televised training presentations via
two-way audio connections. And the programming can be encrypted
for privacy so only designated sites can decode the scrambled
signal.
News conferences and
product announcements distributed over satellite TV allow media
representatives, customers, employees and other key audiences
across the continent to see the event as it is happening and
actually participate in the discussion. The network can also be
expanded to include international sites by using ad hoc
installations.
Although costs are
greater outside North America, technology advances and scheduled
new satellite launches will likely spur installation of additional
world-wide business TV networks in the near future. There are a
few in existence now, but they are used sparÂingly because of
international transmission costs.
The DVN is now used
primarily for product training and updates, saving the company the
cost of travel, lodging and food expenses. As the network expands
to reach more employees it will be increasingly used for key
management messages, company/industry news and mesÂsages deemed
strategically important for immediate and widespread distribution.
Managers who learn how to effectively use this new communications
resource will be able to stay in closer touch with their
employees, while reducing their travel schedules and time spent
away from the office.
Since Digital has a
number of foreign nationals coming to the U.S. on a special visa
intended for business or on-the-job training (B-l), it is
important to keep in mind that this visa is issued for short
periods — no more than six months at a time. To qualify for a B-l
visa, a foreign national must:
o enter the U.S. for
a limited duration,
o intend to depart
the U.S. at the expiration of the stay,
o maintain a foreign
residence while in the U.S., which he or she has no intention of
abandoning,
o have adequate
financial arrangements to travel to, stay in and depart from the
U.S.
o engage solely in
legitimate activities relating to the business or on-the-job
training (in other words, no separate, gainful employment in the
U.S.), and
o remain on the home
country payroll.
Foreign nationals
coming to the U.S. on business must come on a B-l visa and not on
a tourist visa (B-2). They can be denied entry to the U.S. if they
have the wrong visa. B-l visas are issued to foreign nationals at
U.S. Consulates abroad.
Foreign employees
who come to the U.S. on B-l visas should keep in mind that the
white card which is attached to their passport when entering the
U.S. (form 1-94) governs the length of time they are allowed to
say in the U.S. If the 1-94 expires and the foreign national is
still in the U.S., He or she cannot obtain an extension of the
visa.
Foreign nationals
seeking B-l entry can be challenged and/or denied entry for
reasons of questionable "intent." Therefore, one should not assume
that previous uneventful entries are a reliable basis for
presuming that future B-l entries will be problem-free.
Family members
accompanying the foreign national should enter on a tourist (B-2)
visa, which also is obtained at a U.S. Consulate.
In addition, many
foreign nationals do not have medical coverage while outside their
home country. Therefore, it is important for them to speak to
their incoming U.S. Personnel Deparment to secure medical
coverage. Section 4.25 of the Benefit Administrative ProÂcedures
in the U.S. lists the coverage that is available to them. Other
procedures must be put in place to allow for the business expense
payments due to the foreign national.
For more information
regarding B-l visas and related matters, contact Corporate
ImmigraÂtion at DTN 251-1483 or 251-1286.
Fran Barton
has been named European Area controller, reporting to Earl Mason,
European Finance manager. In this position, he is responsible for
all area controllership funÂctions, area financial planning and
analysis functions. Fran joined Digital in 1974 and has worked in
Manufacturing, the Field and corporate, most recently as manager
of CorpoÂrate Financial Planning and Analysis.
Peter Brown
has been named manager of the newly created Strategic Technologies
Group in Digital Information Systems (DIS). He reports to Bel
Cross, corporate manager, DIS. The new group will provide
worldwide business solutions to the corporation through the
develÂopment. integration, and application of information and
telecommunications technologies. Peter joined Digital in 1977.
Most recently, as Telecommunications manager, he developed the
company’s telecommunications architecture and strategy, and was
responsible for proÂviding Digital’s voice, data, and video
communications technologies. He also has worked in Storage Systems
and Distributed Systems Manufacturing.
Tom Colatosti
has joined Corporate Finance as assistant corporate controller,
reporting to Bruce J. Ryan, vice president, corporate controller.
In this role, he is responsible for managing the Corporate
Financial Planning and Analysis organization. Tom joined Digital
in 1973 and has held financial management positions in the product
lines, at corporate and as Finance and Administration manager in
Canada. For the past five years, he has been manager of U.S. Area
Finance.
Leo Quinn has
been named DIS Controller, reporting to Bel Cross, manager,
Digital InforÂmation Systems, and Harry McKnight, manager,
Corporate Operations Finance. In his new role, Leo will assume
financial responsibility for all of Corporate DIS in the areas of
accounting, budgeting, forecasting, management reporting and
internal Controls. He joined Digital in 1977. Since then he has
held senior financial management positions in the U.S. Field and
in Manufacturing. Most recently, he was the Group Audit manager
for European Subsidiaries, Manufacturing and Engineering.
Jim Schweitzer
has joined Digital as corporate manager, Information Security,
reporting to Ray Humphrey, manager, Corporate Security. He comes
from Xerox where he had held the senior corporate information
protection position since 1977. In that capacity, he was
responsible for worldwide policy development and program
implementation. An authority in the field of imformation
protection, he is the current or past chairman of several
indusÂtry committees charged with computer security issues and has
written five books on the subject.
In response to
increasing health care costs and to provide employees with more
choices for access to quality care, Digital is making a number of
changes to the medical plans offered to employees. Employees will
now have three choices: Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs)
and two Digital Medical Plans.
Digital Medical Plan
1, with weekly premiums of zero for a person with single coverage
and $7 for dependent coverage, pays 80% of reasonable and
customary in-hospital and surgical expenses and 80% for outpatient
services.
Digital Medical Plan
2, with weekly premiums of $3 for single coverage and $16 for
family coverage (including the employee), pays 100% of in-hospital
and surgical expenses and 80% for outpatient services.
Plans 1 and 2 both
require the employee to pay a deductible before the Plan begins to
pay.
Under both Plans,
the deductible will be increased from $125 to $150 per person per
year for single coverage and from $375 to $450 for family
coverage.
The various HMOs
have not yet determined what benefit or rate changes they may wish
to make to their individual plans. Details on all these changes
will be mailed to all empÂloyees in the U.S. in February so they
can make their choices before April 1, 1989.
At the same time,
Digital is enabling employees to benefit from U.S. tax laws.
Medical and dental insurance premiums will automatically be
deducted from employees’ paychecks before federal and most state
and local taxes are calculated. Depending on income, the tax
savings could range from about $200 to $500 per year.
Digital will also
offer another program allowed by U.S. tax law that enables
employees with dependent care expenses (such as child care and
elder care) to set aside a portion of their income (pre-tax) in an
account earmarked for payment of such expenses. A number of
government restrictions apply to this program; so carefully read
all the plan details when they are published.
Information on the
medical changes and dependent care programs will be available soon
through many channels, including newsletters and group meetings.
The level of detail will range from a short video to a complete
enrollment kit containing detailed plan provisions as well as an
individualized comparison of the HMOs that are available to each
employee.
The name "Petty
Cash" has been changed to "Employee Expense," to describe more
accurately the service being provided. Several procedural changes
in this operation will take effect Jan. 3, 1989:
o Cost center
managers/approvers are accountable and responsible for the
content, accuÂracy and appropriateness of approved Employee
Expense vouchers.
o Internal Audit
will continue to put more emphasis on auditing the business
groups/- approvers for adherence to Petty Cash Policy.
o New policies and
procedures will be implemented whereby Employee Expense will
verify at the window arithmetic and appropriate approvals only.
o Employee Expense
will perform after-the-fact audits, reporting the results back to
the Controller/Finance organization and/or the cost center
manager/approver.
These changes
reaffirm that the accountability and responsibility for adhering
to policy lies with the cost center manager or approver. The Petty
Cash Manual is the focal point for Corporate Petty Cash policy and
procedures issues.
For further clarification, please consult your local Finance Support Group, and/or ConÂtroller, your local Disbursements manager, your local Employee Expense office, or the Corporate Accounting Policy manager, Ted Bitensky, AKO1-3/Q3, DTN 244-6294.