A Case Study of the Failure of Digital's Workstation Vision

This internal report from October 1989 documents the decline of Digital Equipment Corporation's (DEC) competitiveness in the workstation market, using Structural Dynamics Research Corporation (SDRC) as a key case study. The authors argue that DEC's workstation "vision"—centered on VAX workstations and clusters—is failing due to poor graphics performance, high cost-per-seat, and reliability issues compared to competitors like Hewlett-Packard, Silicon Graphics, and IBM.

The report highlights that these technical and strategic shortcomings are causing DEC to lose significant internal and leveraged business, as customers migrate toward more cost-effective X terminal configurations and superior graphics platforms. The authors conclude by urging DEC to abandon its reliance on slow, internal development efforts and instead acquire "world-class" graphics technology, specifically proposing a partnership or buyout involving Jupiter Systems to restore DEC's market leadership. The document concludes with a table summarizing similar challenges across several other major accounts, including McDonnell-Douglas and GE Aircraft.