At 01:11 PM 5/18/98 -0700, Sletten Kenneth W wrote:
>Phil after me:
>
>> Good grief!  How low did they set their quota expectations?
>
>Yes, I realize there are two possible scenarios here:
>
>(1)  CSY was incredibly pessimistic when they first set their
>quarterly sales target;     <or>:
>
>(2)  They set an objective, rational sales target but ended up
>doing massively better than reasonable expectations.
>
>....oops:  I better allow for the third possibility:
>
>(3)  The report of making 700 percent of quota is wrong.
>
>
>Which one of the above is closest to reality ??....  Only CSY
>knows for sure.  but I would be willing to make at least a small
>wager that (2) is at least closer to what happened than (1) or (3).
>The renaissance of the HP 3000 has been visible for several
>quarters now;  I think CSY has had a pretty optimistic view
>for awhile now.  Note also that I believe Harry Sterling's talk at
>HP World - San Diego in August is going to be titled "The HP
>3000 and the next 25 years"....

Also, don't overlook the enthusiasm HP showed at the recent IPROF
conference.  That, along with HP's commitment to provide more
features (witness more JAVA activity, > 4GB files, etc.) is a
signal that HP Corporate feels that continued investment in the
HP3000 will provide a good return to the company and its shareholders.

In terms of numbers, I don't believe HP has ever given a breakdown
showing how the various computer divisions have performed or what
their forecast was for a particular period. When previously ask,
Harry and his predecessors have declined to share this type of
internal business performance data, primarily due to competitive reasons.

The fact that HP is commiting to some long-term projects for the
future of the platform is a strong sign that indeed there has been
strong growth beyond what was anticipated and HP feels that the
trend will continue, hence the long-term investment.


/jf
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                          Monday, May 18th

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