Mountain View, California-based Metaphor Computer Systems Inc the company that got eaten up by IBM Corp after its Patriot Partners joint venture with the Armonkeys was sidelined by the collaborations with Apple Computer Inc, is very much still in business, and has announced a new enterprise pricing and packaging strategy aimed at broadening the market for its Data Interpretation System client-server decision support product. The new packaging rebundles the workstation components of the system into modules tailored to the needs of different types of users, from data-reliant analysts to administrative and executive users. Pricing for the local network services portion of the Data Interpretation System has also been restructured to reduce the cost of entry and to accommodate incremental growth. Where previously customers paid a flat price for local network services, regardless of the number of users on the network, plus an additional fee for each workstation supported, the pricing will now be tied to the number of clients on a network. Basic services for up to 10 clients begins at $10,000. Additional Client Packs for 1, 10, 25, 50 or 100 users range in price from $1,000 to $10,000. At the workstation end, which previously cost $5,000 per user, the company now has several mix-and-match modules that range in price from $825 to $4,100.
