DEC to buttress Microsoft link

Electronic News, Nov 18, 1991 by Craig Stedman

MAYNARD, Mass. -- Digital Equipment Corp. is scheduled to expand on its burgeoning relationship with Microsoft Corp. this week when it introduces a new version of its All-in-1 office software for Windows-equipped personal computers tied into VAX/VMS servers.

DEC is also expected to add capabilities enabling Windows machines to access a VAX-based workgroup conferencing program through its Pathworks networking software, a move that mimics a deal disclosed last June between IBM and Lotus Development Corp.

The addition of the new software follows the recent confirmation by DEC executives that they would like to have the future NT version of Windows ported to run on the RISC VAX architecture now being developed by the computer maker under the codename Alpha (EN, Nov. 4).

The two events are seen as further signs of the increasing level of teaming between DEC and Microsoft. Their alliance, which first became evident last summer (EN, Aug. 26), has developed in direct counterpoint to the worsening of relations between Microsoft and its one-time patrom IBM.

DEC has long been the largest reseller of Microsoft's LAN Manager software, upon which Pathworks is based. It began trying to expand the relationship last year, with a goal of having Microsoft resell some of its system-level packages along with Windows (Antenna, Dec. 10, 1990).

The All-in-1 release is the first such Windows offering to emerge since then, although DEC is still expected to handle all of the marketing for now. A DEC spokesman confirmed that the package would allow machines with Windows to tie into VAX/VMS systems running the All-in-1 server portion.

In a direct slap at IBM, the All-in-1 for Windows project replaced a planned OS/2 version that DEC had said was in the works when it set an outside porting schedule for All-in-1 in 1989. The OS/2 release is now unlikely to ever ship, at least in its original form, the spokesman said.

The Windows and Pathworks moves are also targeted directly at IBM, according to analysts. All-in-1 would become stronger against IBM's OfficeVision software in the PC area, while the workgroup conferencing features would match capabilities IBM got through its deal with Lotus.

DEC now has the opportunity to tap into the large and growing base of Windows customers, noted Marc Schulman of UBS Securities, "and an indirect consequence is that where you sell software, you can often sell your hardware," especially with a VAX/VMS server still required.

For Microsoft, DEC's embrace of Windows adds an application suite that is already popular, at least among VAX users, to the operating system. "This should help to drive people to use Windows instead of just having it installed," said David Smith, an International Data Corp. analyst.

Mr. Smith expects the DEC-Microsoft relationship "to get stronger over time," given the importance that DEC appears to be putting on Windows and ultimately the NT version. "If you look at their priorities for the desktop, Windows is definitely the highest one," he said.

Further plans for cooperating are expected to be disclosed this week. The DEC spokesman did not rule out the possibility of eventually adding All-in-1 server capabilities to Windows, although that would likely be a lengthy project because of the way the server portion is tied to VAX/VMS.

DEC's TV terminals were the only desktop machines to support All-in-1 until 1989, when the company released a DOS version and set plans for other platforms as well. A promised Macintosh package was also delayed by the Windows project, but the spokesman said that should be out "soon."