[Info-vax] HP admits it will kill VMS if merger suceeds

[Keith Parris]

On 10/20/2013 5:09 PM, Alan Greig wrote:
> On Thursday, December 20, 2001 3:50:47 PM UTC, Alan Greig wrote:
>> HP have just sent the following to shareholders. It's a 50 page
>> document and I got sick at page 5 where it says that not completing
>> the merger will leave "multiple O/S and technology platforms" but not
>> if they complete the merger.

Actually, it says that a risk of standing still (not completing the 
merger) would be that it "Inhibits ability to respond effectively to 
changing customer requirements" and then as the first bullet in the list 
of things which need to be responded to it notes the "Need to invest in 
multiple O/S and technology platforms." As I read it, they recognized 
the need to invest in multiple O/S and technology platforms and saw the 
Compaq merger as a way to accomplish that.

>> VMS gets no mention in the
>> document at all except presumably as part of the "multiple O/S" they
>> intend to get rid of.

I'm not so sure. VMS may be referred to in several places:

P. 6: "HP must accelerate and enhance its ability to serve enterprise 
customers - offer best-in-class products across all server segments, 
industry standard to high-end," and VMS is certainly "high-end"

P. 7: Acquiring Compaq (including VMS) "Bolsters enterprise position - 
Enterprise is the primary engine for new value creation; creates 
immediate end-to-end leadership"

P.12: In "High-end Computing" the "New HP" would have "Enhanced IP (e.g. 
advanced clustering" which almost certainly refers to VMS; if it didn't, 
it would have to refer to TruClusters, which got its clustering 
technology from VMS in the first place.

P. 20: In "Areas of Highest R&D Synergy" we find listed first 
"Clustering" with "High Availability" also included. In "High 
Performance Server Design" HP has "SuperDome" while Compaq has 
"Clustering/RAS"