Competitive Update, Vol. 2 No. 6

This document is a February 14, 1983, edition of Digital Equipment Corporation's Competitive Update newsletter. The publication serves as an internal resource for Digital employees, providing competitive intelligence and analysis on major industry rivals.

Key contents include:

• Computer-Based Controller (CBC) Market: A detailed analysis of competitors in the industrial controller market, including company profiles, product specifications, and competitive weaknesses for Computer Automation, Data General, and General Automation.
• Disk Drive Price/Performance: An update on the competitive positioning of Digital's disk products (RA80, RA81, RA60) against IBM's offerings, incorporating cost-of-ownership calculations that factor in software overhead and pre-allocation wastage.
• Corporate Software: Information on selling VAX-11 APL against STSC’s APL*PLUS/2000.
• Engineering Systems Group (ESG): A position paper on the Hewlett-Packard HP9000, analyzing its market strategy and positioning relative to Digital's VAX line.
• IBM Updates: Analysis of IBM's October 1982 price reductions, a repackaging overview of the 4300 series, and maintenance policies and pricing for the IBM Personal Computer compared to Digital's service offerings.
• General News: A "Competitive News" section covering product announcements from various industry vendors in personal computers, terminals, and printers, as well as recent organizational announcements and distribution news.