We’ve been suggesting since last October that analysts’ projections for AS/400 sales for this year looked over-optimistic on the grounds that such a large proportion of 1988 sales were to the much smaller System/38 base, while the enormous System/36 base was proving more resistant, and IBM seemed to confirm that there has been a slowdown in demand yesterday by announcing two special offers on AS/400 software in the US. Systems 32, 34, 36 5360 and 5362, and 38 users can have a 20% discount on the one time licence for the OS/400 operating system – in cash terms, that’s $1,100 off for B10 buyers, $11,000 off for B20 buyers, for those who order by the end of September for installation by the end of the year to replace a machine with a qualifying operating system – that the user must destroy – installed by April 3 this year. There is also a Software Super-Saver Promotion giving a 30% discount on a long list of AS/400 applications to people ordering and installing an AS/400 in the same timeframe. The list includes Mapics II and Mapics/DB software, the Order Management System suite, and software for hotels and attorneys.
