Competitive Update Special Issue

This document, dated January 28, 1985, serves as a competitive marketing report from Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC). It argues that VAXclusters provide a superior, more cost-effective, and flexible alternative to the IBM 308X mainframe family for large-scale information processing.

Key points include:

• Strategic Positioning: The report highlights VAXclusters as a "full-range" solution that supports corporate decentralization strategies, contrasting this with the batch-oriented and increasingly cumbersome nature of IBM’s S/360/370 architecture.
• Cost Analysis: A five-year cost-of-ownership analysis is presented, claiming that the IBM mainframe approach costs 76% more than the VAXcluster solution, driven by higher hardware and software maintenance costs, as well as significantly higher personnel requirements.
• Operational Advantages: The VAXcluster is described as offering cost-effective incremental growth, whereas IBM's migration paths (e.g., to System/38) are presented as costly and disruptive for customers.
• Environmental Requirements: Detailed analyses show that IBM mainframe configurations require approximately 55% more floor space and have higher power and air conditioning needs compared to VAXcluster configurations.
• Appendices: The document includes detailed appendices providing configuration pricing, cumulative cost rollups, and computer room layout schematics to support these competitive claims.