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|                                                                      |
|     Report prepared by:    Faulkner Information Services            |
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|     Report submitted on:   August 2, 1993                           |
|______________________________________________________________________|

Chapter 8:  IBM's RISC System/6000

Section 8.1:  Introduction

Section 8.1.1:  Product Line Positioning 

IBM's current share of the RISC system market is estimated at 14
percent, up from 11 percent in 1992. This places IBM fourth in the
market, behind Sun Microsystems, Hewlett-Packard, and Digital Equipment.
Analysts further estimate that by 1996, IBM will hold a 22 percent share
and rank second after Sun, indicating high industry confidence in the
RISC System/6000 line.

Section 8.1.2: Product Line Strategies

RISC System/6000 systems are used in traditional graphics workstation
and server installations, as well as in commercial multiuser
environments similar to those slated for IBM's midrange AS/400. IBM has
stated a strategy of providing continuous product line extension both
upward and downward. 
    In support of this strategy, and in order to compete with new
offerings such as Digital's Alpha AXP workstations, IBM has enhanced the
RISC System/6000 line with a number of new models in the last six
months. These enhancements, coupled with dramatic price reductions on
many systems and peripherals, prove IBM's dedication to the workstation
market and help to dispel the vendor's market reputation of blind
loyalty to mainframe computing.
    Specifically, IBM has targeted the following markets with the RISC
System/6000:
   o  Technical:
      o chemical/physical analysis
      o computer-aided design (CAD)
      o computer-aided software engineering (CASE)
      o geologic/geographic analysis
      o graphical visualization
      o process control
   o  Commercial:
      o accounting/financial/banking
      o insurance
      o manufacturing
      o retail/distribution
      o government
      o utilities

Section 8.1.3: Strengths and Weaknesses

    Strengths
    =========
   o  The RISC System/6000 benefits from IBM's dominance in the
      commercial market and its huge support organization.
   o  RISC System/6000 models are easily expanded via Micro Channel
      expansion slots and SCSI/SCSI-2 ports. 
   o  All models are upgradable within the product line.
   o  IBM's RISC-based POWER (Performance Optimization With Enhanced
      RISC) architecture provide the strong floating-point performance
      required in scientific/engineering applications.

    Weaknesses
    ==========
   o  Due to the size of the corporation and the continued enhancements
      to the product line, it can be difficult to find an IBM sales
      representative with current, accurate information on all RISC
      System/6000 models.

Section 8.1.4: Futures

No recent announcements have been made regarding specific future
directions; however, IBM will most certainly continue to enhance the
RISC System/6000 line with new models and capabilities in order to
compete against other new entries to the market, such as Digital's Alpha
AXP workstations.
________________________________________________________________________
|                                                                      |
|     Report prepared by:     Faulkner Information Services            |
|                                                                      |
|    Report submitted on:     August 2, 1993                           |
|______________________________________________________________________|