Compaq Computer Corp is trying to pick up some late Y2K deals across the Europe, the Middle East and Africa region, using the ‘Small Business Inspect’ a Y2K remediation tool of UK software developer Greenwich Mean Time Ltd (GMT).
The Small Business Edition of GMT’s Check 2000 allows companies to test hardware, software, and documents that have been created and edited by outside suppliers for compliance with the millennium date change. Compaq will package the software and provide support and services, distributing the product across Europe, the Middle East and Africa through four channels, Ingram, CHS, TechData and Computer2000 as well as its network of 15,000 resellers.
Compaq’s estimated 10 million desktops represents a lucrative market for GMT, said company vice-president and managing director David Marshall. Compaq offers something slightly unique, he says, with its provision of services and support. Compaq customers can use the supplier to provide services ranging from building in additional memory to replacing the whole machine.
GMT is also talking to other hardware manufacturers, says Marshall. Small Business Inspect is currently available and costs $270, less than GMT’s retail price of $295. Marshall denies that this price differentiation worries GMT, explaining that Compaq’s ability to sell the product directly to a far wider community, rather than having to wait for interest from businesses with Y2K problems, makes it an enhancement to its channel.
