$2M+ Slides

This document is an internal Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) interoffice memo dated April 15, 1986, from Anker Berg-Sonne to the distribution list. It contains overhead presentation slides regarding a study on the "$2M Plus price band" market for mainframe computers.

The document includes:

• Market Analysis: An overview of the $2M+ market, which is dominated by IBM and other plug-compatible manufacturers (PCMs). The market is characterized by traditional commercial production applications (93%) and a low growth rate (7% CAGR).
• Strategic Evaluation: An assessment of Digital's opportunity in this segment, noting that successful entry would require a long-term, billion-dollar investment.
• Scenarios: The presentation outlines three hypothetical competitive scenarios for the 1990 market, ranging from "Business as usual" (Scenario 1) to "Serious competition" (Scenario 3), and analyzes the impact of these scenarios on IBM's pricing and market strategy.
• Investment and Requirements: A summary of the investments required to compete, focusing on applications, transaction processing, vector performance, mass storage, and system reliability, while acknowledging that Digital's reputation for poor hardware reliability is a significant barrier to success.