I thought the group might like to read some of the email I sent to HP last
week about the "e-cd", and the one response I received from them.
I was fuming when I got the latest version of "e-cd", as you can probably
tell from the emails I sent to HP.
Rick Gilligan
=================
To: [log in to unmask]
CC: [log in to unmask], [log in to unmask]
Subject: Missing and hopelessly out of date information on July 2000
"e-cd"
On the July 2000 edition of "e-cd", the following information
is hopelessly out of date:
file:///R|/e-cd/products/pdf&ppt/Hp_3000/3000spec.pdf
The version on the web was updated March 15, 2000, when a lot
of new HP e3000 announcements were made. See:
http://www.businessservers.hp.com/products/bussvrs/59689115.pdf
Also, it's been the HP e3000 since March 15, 2000 also, not the
HP 3000. It's now late July, why is this information so far out
of date?
==
Why is there no mention of the HP e3000 on the cardboard surrounding
the July 2000 edition of "e-cd"? I see UNIX, NT, storage, even
printers and PCs, but no mention of the HP e3000.
==
Now, check the "HP Products" page:
file:///R|/e-cd/products/products.htm
Where is says "Click here for a graphical representation of the Servers
from HP:" and has a link to:
file:///R|/e-cd/products/servers_graphical.htm
Where that page has no mention of the HP e3000 servers, only UNIX and
NT servers.
This is the tip of the iceberg, and also the place where references
to the HP e3000 are important.
==
We've been an HP Channel Partner for almost 20 years, exclusively
selling HP e3000s and MPE, and we are appalled at the poor visibility
of the HP e3000 in HP's marketing materials.
==
I especially like the quote 'A-Class joins HP's "Business-Critical
Proven" product line' which appears at the bottom of the inside
cover of the July 2000 edition of "e-cd". I suspect HP marketing
intended that to mean the "UNIX and NT" product line, not the whole
HP server product line (which includes the HP e3000 which has certainly
proven for more than 25 years to be an excellent player in
"business-critical" computing services). When new HP e3000 servers
are announced, they should appear on this inside cover.
===========================
Response from HP:
From: "HEINRICHS,PIERRE (HP-Belgium,ex1)" <[log in to unmask]>
Hi Rick,
first thank you for taking the time to inform us:
we appreciate and will implement your remarks on the next version.
You are right that we have to work as hard in collaboration with HP3000
Team as we do with the other ones. So yes, we want to do so.
best regards,
Pierre Heinrichs.
e-cd Team
======================
And another from me:
To: [log in to unmask]
CC: [log in to unmask], [log in to unmask], [log in to unmask]
Subject: Hopelessly out of date material on July 3000 "e-cd"
Peter,
Thanks for the new copy of "e-cd".
To quote two items from the cover letter you signed:
"Many of HP's strengths are well-kept secrets."
"It's a news brief, because the news is up-to-the-minute."
On the first quote, please increase the visibility of the HP e3000
server in your advertising, including on the "e-cd". It's been a
well kept secret for too long.
On the second quote, the HP e3000 information included is hopelessly
out of date on the July 2000 edition of "e-cd". The HP 3000 was
renamed the HP e3000 on March 15, 2000, plus additional servers
and other products were added to the HP e3000 line on that date.
The information on the July 2000 edition of "e-cd" reflects none of
that information, so the "up-to-the-minute" part of your quote is
not being met by this edition of "e-cd", in my opinion.
My company has been an HP Channel Partner for almost twenty years,
developing software exclusively for the HP e3000 and MPE.
Just so you don't get the mistaken impression that the HP e3000 doesn't
fit nicely into your companies e-services push, our banking application
has an XML-based interface which provides back-end services to some
of our client's Internet-based customer access systems.
==========================
No response was received from HP to the prior email.
==========================
And another sent by me:
To: [log in to unmask]
CC: [log in to unmask], [log in to unmask]
Subject: Q from HP Channel Partner on "NOW" newspaper ad collection
I have a question about one of the ads which appears in the "NOW"
newspaper ad collection which accompanied the July 2000 edition of
"e-cd" which was recently sent to HP Channel Partners.
Two pages in from the back cover is an ad titled "It's a cross-
platform world."...
In your company's ad, there's a line "And remember, HP has over 25
years of experience supporting mission-critical environments,"...
I suspect that at the beginning of that time period HP was not
supporting "mission-critical environments" comprised of UNIX and
NT servers, as HP was not selling any UNIX systems, nor was Microsoft
even in business yet.
I suspect it was HP 3000/MPE and HP 1000/RTE systems. Two HP
inventions.
Perhaps your ads should also mention that the HP e3000 is still a
mission-critical server in many of your customer's businesses.
I'm a bit tired of how little HP advertising mentions the HP e3000,
given that is an important part of your company's success, my
company's success (twenty years developing banking applications
for the HP e3000 and MPE) and our client's success (in managing
their loan portfolios).
==================
that was another message for which I have received to reply from HP.
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