The 3000 rebound is only beginning to bounce in the UK

October 1998

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The 3000 rebound is only beginning to bounce in the UK
Light attendance at this year’s HP User conference in Telford, England during September was one indication of the state of the HP 3000 market. Although the conference offered training and tracks for all HP computing platforms, the HPCUA Association membership is still heavy with companies using HP 3000s. The HP channel partners and resellers on the show floor said that the message of new IA-64 technology for the 3000 still hasn’t been heard in the UK customer base, which some estimate at about 300 companies across the British Isles. The system is still in steady use at manufacturing concerns and employed to manage financials in midsize companies. But customers and their resellers at the show said the typical HP 3000 customer is more attuned to immediate application availability than 64-bit technology that won’t be available for more than three years.

Applications were on the minds of more than a few 3000 customers searching for a future after Baan announced it won’t be enhancing the Coda financials it acquired earlier this year. Users of Coda’s Integrated Accounting System (IAS) got letters saying that new owner Baan would be focusing on the open systems market and only doing limited enhancements and bug fixes for Coda users on AS/400, Digital and HP 3000 platforms. The software is running at about 80 companies in the UK, and rumors were starting to swirl about a channel partner buying out the IAS HP 3000 customer base and code.

The Coda news was not what HP hoped to hear as it started circulating its message about new life for the HP 3000 at the show. Only two of the five target markets for new HP 3000s have much relevance in the UK, although a third has some potential in Europe, a place where about 25 percent of the HP 3000 business takes place. Credit unions simply don’t exist in Europe, so the prospect of Summit Information Systems winning new customers there is nil. Euro healthcare is organized so differently that the HBOC/Amisys solution selling many new 3000s would need major revamping to work in a part of the world where national healthcare is the common denominator. Airlines hold some prospect outside of the UK, but several observers said that British Air was really the only significant UK airline — and the HP 3000 is already running at BA’s new low-cost carrier, Go. That leaves manufacturing and direct mail as the most immediate targets for new 3000 installations in Europe. HP didn’t have quick answers for how to improve three-fifths of its growth strategy to suit Euro sites.

One prospect for new installations may lie in Riva’s RivaStore distribution software, already up and running after a handful of installations at places like the exclusive warehousing service for the UK’s 51-store House of Fraser retail chain. Riva’s John Petersen said the application is ready for installation in greater volumes now that Riva, the biggest distributor of HP 3000s in the UK, have worked out feature sets with several early customers. He also gave a talk to attendees entitled “The HP 3000: Alive and Kicking Ass.” Another bright spot for the system in the UK was a fresh resource for supplying the system. HP has opened up the 3000 supply chain in the UK by authorizing Nike Computing to distribute the system to resellers. Nike is hosting “HP 3000 Revival Part II” on Nov. 12 at HP Pinewood to spread the word about 3000 improvements — and pass along HP’s renewed respect for the system. Fax your business card to 0192 566201 to register for the Revival.
Copyright 1998 The 3000 NewsWire. All rights reserved




		Click here for SolutionSoft sponsor message
		The 3000 rebound is only beginning to bounce in the UK Light attendance at this year’s HP User conference in Telford, England during September was one indication of the state of the HP 3000 market. Although the conference offered training and tracks for all HP computing platforms, the HPCUA Association membership is still heavy with companies using HP 3000s. The HP channel partners and resellers on the show floor said that the message of new IA-64 technology for the 3000 still hasn’t been heard in the UK customer base, which some estimate at about 300 companies across the British Isles. The system is still in steady use at manufacturing concerns and employed to manage financials in midsize companies. But customers and their resellers at the show said the typical HP 3000 customer is more attuned to immediate application availability than 64-bit technology that won’t be available for more than three years. Applications were on the minds of more than a few 3000 customers searching for a future after Baan announced it won’t be enhancing the Coda financials it acquired earlier this year. Users of Coda’s Integrated Accounting System (IAS) got letters saying that new owner Baan would be focusing on the open systems market and only doing limited enhancements and bug fixes for Coda users on AS/400, Digital and HP 3000 platforms. The software is running at about 80 companies in the UK, and rumors were starting to swirl about a channel partner buying out the IAS HP 3000 customer base and code. The Coda news was not what HP hoped to hear as it started circulating its message about new life for the HP 3000 at the show. Only two of the five target markets for new HP 3000s have much relevance in the UK, although a third has some potential in Europe, a place where about 25 percent of the HP 3000 business takes place. Credit unions simply don’t exist in Europe, so the prospect of Summit Information Systems winning new customers there is nil. Euro healthcare is organized so differently that the HBOC/Amisys solution selling many new 3000s would need major revamping to work in a part of the world where national healthcare is the common denominator. Airlines hold some prospect outside of the UK, but several observers said that British Air was really the only significant UK airline — and the HP 3000 is already running at BA’s new low-cost carrier, Go. That leaves manufacturing and direct mail as the most immediate targets for new 3000 installations in Europe. HP didn’t have quick answers for how to improve three-fifths of its growth strategy to suit Euro sites. One prospect for new installations may lie in Riva’s RivaStore distribution software, already up and running after a handful of installations at places like the exclusive warehousing service for the UK’s 51-store House of Fraser retail chain. Riva’s John Petersen said the application is ready for installation in greater volumes now that Riva, the biggest distributor of HP 3000s in the UK, have worked out feature sets with several early customers. He also gave a talk to attendees entitled “The HP 3000: Alive and Kicking Ass.” Another bright spot for the system in the UK was a fresh resource for supplying the system. HP has opened up the 3000 supply chain in the UK by authorizing Nike Computing to distribute the system to resellers. Nike is hosting “HP 3000 Revival Part II” on Nov. 12 at HP Pinewood to spread the word about 3000 improvements — and pass along HP’s renewed respect for the system. Fax your business card to 0192 566201 to register for the Revival. Copyright 1998 The 3000 NewsWire. All rights reserved