By William Fellows
What is Compaq Computer Corp? That’s the question we’ve been asking ever since the PC supremo acquired Tandem and DEC to propel itself into the top tier if IT suppliers. The DEC acquisition stuck in its throat, a schizophrenic channel strategy got resellers hopping mad, decision making slowed to a crawl, and buyers became confused. Blood on the street. CEO Eckhard Pfeiffer took the fall; CFO Earl Mason saw the writing on the wall and quit for an unknown destination; and worldwide sales and marketing chief Michael Heil decided to go for glory as CEO of wireless venture CommcoTec Corp. Captain Ben Rosen is looking for a new crew and has taken the opportunity to rearrange the deckchairs. Reporting lines have been simplified following Heil’s departure. Compaq reinstates a three region global sales force, eliminating a global sales organization which commentators saw as unnecessary. US and Europe now report directly to the CEO’s office, which should offer a better perspective and faster decision making. A simple strategy highlighting competitive advantage is required in short order: focus, focus, focus. At the moment it’s caught between servers and PCs with its internet pants down. It should be an opportunity. This is the owner of AltaVista, not that you’d know it. Compaq clearly needs to define internet strategy and image. It lacks what Wall Street brokerage Merrill Lynch & Co calls an internet aura. Start as you mean to go on: the brokerage hears Compaq has gone casual dress with the view: How can we move at the speed of the internet if we don’t dress like it?
