All the changes going on in Compaq Computer Corp over the past few years seem to have been consolidated at last: about five years ago, the company professed to having realised that a 35% growth rate in personal computer sales could not be maintained. So, it started looking at other possibilities. Networking presented itself as the way ahead, and Compaq developed an interest in open systems. Then, three years ago, research and development work began on the peripherals side of things, in particular, printers and related products. Meantime the market decided that no-name clones were now so good that the Compaq price premium was no longer sustainable, the numbers tumbled and in October 1991, chairman and co-founder, Rod Canion, was ousted for refusing to move with the times and was replaced by Eckhard Pfeiffer. Canion, by the way, has now set up his own information technology consultancy, somewhere in Houston, Texas. By June this year, Compaq had announced its new server technology strategy, moved into the low-end desktop and notebook personal computer market and mentioned that it had set up a peripherals division to market the printers it was in the process of developing. The first two Pagemarq network printer models were announced last week (CI No 1,997) and are to be the first of a family. Areas of definite interest for the future are said to be colour printing and personal printing, or printers available for use with laptop or notebook personal computers, as well as computer-related peripherals, such as facsimile-modems. Nonetheless, a question that raises its ugly, if somewhat obvious head, is why printers? Certainly, one of Compaq’s stated aims is to become a strong number two behind Hewlett-Packard Co in the field of laser printers, and thus become a nicely rounded information technology company. And the new printers are professed to be a natural extension to an overall networking strategy. The findings of market researchers Dataquest Inc San Jose, do seem to back Compaq’s decision up, however. While the personal computer market is forecast to grow by only 11% a year between now and 1995, network printer sales are expected to reach a growth rate of 25% per annum. From an installed base of 32m personal computers now, some 10m are said to be connected to local area networks. By 1994, out of 40m personal computers, 15m are forecast to be networked. And again, laser printers are seen to be the way forward. Graphical user interfaces are reportedly hastening the decline of dot matrix printers, which find it difficult to reproduce good quality graphics, to the benefit of non-impact printers that can. In addition, the most popular sales channel for buying printers was that of dealers; this was followed by sales directly from manufacturers themselves, although such an option is becoming less popular, it seems. Fortuituously enough for Compaq, it recently extended its traditional reseller channels to include systems resellers, value-added resellers, distributors and retailers. So, all in all, Compaq is convinced that it is well positioned to produce results in its chosen marketplaces. Number two behind IBM Corp in the European professional personal computer sector, with a market share of 11.1%, it is sure that having sold its network products on the back of its personal computers in the past, it will now be able to sell its printers on the back of its servers. – Catherine Everett.
