Apple Reference & Presen…rary 8 (Internal Edition)/Apple R&P Lib Internal v8.0.iso/3-Presentations/Apple Computer Inc./Industry Competition/ROMs/Software/OfficeVision⁄Summary

Text File | 1990-06-24 | 25KB | 455 lines

OfficeVision, etc., '89
By:  Michael Bobrowicz, Dave Garr, Michael Mace

Summary

OfficeVision:  IBM Comes to Terms With the PC

In mid-May, IBM made a huge announcement of new software.  The most prominent
element of the announcement, called OfficeVision, is designed to link together
IBM computers throughout a corporation.  This document examines the
announcement and the strategy behind it, explores its likely effects on Apple,
and discusses tactics we think Apple can use to sell against the IBM products.

Summary.  In 1987, IBM announced SAA (Systems Application Architecture), a set
of specifications designed to unify the software for all IBM computers, from
PCs to mainframes.  SAA is the centerpiece of IBM’s computing strategy, and
OfficeVision is the first IBM product to implement SAA.  Therefore it received
most of the attention during the announcement.  But IBM also unveiled several
other items:  new versions of Operating System/2 Standard and Extended
Editions, a major revision to the Common User Access (CUA) interface
specification, and a bunch of other miscellaneous software products and
enhancements.  Almost none of this software is available now; it will trickle
out in stages throughout late 1989, 1990, and beyond.

IBM's new OfficeVision will offer workgroup functions like electronic mail,
calendaring, and document storage/retrieval, and will eventually deliver those
functions across the entire IBM product line.  Today, OfficeVision is mostly
just a vision.  IBM won't even begin to deliver product until late this year,
and the first really interesting version won’t appear until March 1990.

OfficeVision adds a new layer to IBM’s software environment for PCs.  Other
versions of OfficeVision will run on IBM minicomputers and mainframes.
Because of its expense, OfficeVision will initially appeal to relatively few
customers, but many will be intrigued by its promise to give access to IBM
computing resources throughout the organization.
The changes to OS/2 Standard Edition will, according to IBM, include a new
graphical file manager that features document and application icons (we haven’t
seen a picture of it yet).  IBM will also add some new developer tools, a more
robust file system, and better support for printer and mouse drivers.  The new
graphical file manager could be a very important change, if it is a significant
improvement over the current version.

OS/2 Extended Edition, IBM's proprietary enhanced version of OS/2, will gain a
series of new communications and database access features.  Taken together,
these additions correct some of the most glaring deficiencies in the current
version of EE.

The changes to CUA, IBM’s official user interface specification, elevated the
personal computer to much greater prominence in IBM's strategy.  The old
versions of CUA had treated PCs and terminals as equals.  In the new CUA,
terminals are de-emphasized in all roles except basic data entry.  The change
is so thorough that the term "personal computer" has apparently been removed
from IBM's vocabulary, replaced by the more strategic-sounding "programmable
workstation."

Other products announced along with OfficeVision include a graphical tool for
3270 terminal emulation, and IBM's version of the Metaphor data manipulation
system.  Ironically, several of the newly-announced products use interfaces
that do not comply with the CUA specification.  At the same time as IBM claimed
to be standardizing its products, it actually announced four different user
interfaces.


Comparisons to Macintosh

Features:  Improvements, not revolutions.  None of the announcements IBM made
were revolutionary.  For instance, most of the features that OfficeVision adds
to IBM PCs are already available for Macintosh from third parties.  Also,
third-party developers are working to give Macintosh a number of workgroup
features that IBM doesn’t have, such as multiuser document editing.  The same
holds true for most of the other IBM announcements—they did not, for the most
part, surpass the functionality of Macintosh.  But they did remove some of the
most obvious drawbacks in IBM’s current products.

Cost:  Dreadfully high.  IBM says OfficeVision requires eight megabytes of RAM
in order to run, plus a lot of hard disk space.  Third party estimates are even
higher:  ten megabytes or more of RAM, and an 80386 or 386sx processor.  This
means that the suggested retail price for an entry-level OfficeVision
workstation will be over $10,000.

Effect on customers:  Could be substantial anyway.  The “vision” part of
OfficeVision is the most threatening to Apple.  IBM is once again promising
customers things that they desperately want.  The difference this time is that
IBM also has a delivery schedule.  As a result, some customers are responding
to OV with a fair amount of interest.  We think Apple will need to articulate
Macintosh’s advantages aggressively.


IBM’s Approach vs. Apple’s

IBM and Apple both want to make the PC the dashboard to corporate computing,
but from different perspectives.  IBM’s approach centers on account control and
mainframe sales.  Apple’s approach is built around empowering the individual.
The IBM emphasis on mainframes often makes its PC products inelegant and
expensive when compared to Apple’s, and IBM’s account control push hinders the
sort of multivendor connectivity Apple offers.  IBM’s approach can be
summarized as “big, blue, bolted, and belated.”





OFFICEVISION

The OfficeVision section of this report is broken into four parts:  An
examination of OfficeVision’s features, an analysis of those features
(including a comparison between OfficeVision and Macintosh), a comparison of
Apple’s and IBM’s strategies, and a Q&A section with typical customer
inquiries.


1.  Features & Evaluation

Overview.  OfficeVision will provide office services—document preparation,
filing, electronic mail, and some other features—for four IBM operating
environments:  DOS and OS/2 PCs on a LAN, AS/400 minicomputers, and mainframes
running the VM and MVS operating systems.  In combination with other SAA
products, it will eventually enable PC users (and to a lesser extent terminal
users) to access data stored anywhere in the organization.  OV embodies IBM’s
vision of how companies using its computers should operate.  It runs on top of
OS/2 Extended Edition in the PC world, and in that configuration functions much
like an extension to the operating system.  In most environments, OV will be
produced in two stages.  The second “release” generally contains the more
interesting features.

The LAN series has by far the largest set of functions, so we’ll list them
here.  The other minicomputer and mainframe versions are small subsets of this.
• Functions supported by Release 1:  E-mail, address book, file system,
correspondence-processing, and upstream connectivity to IBM midrange and
mainframe computers.
• Additional functions supported by Release 2:  Calendaring, document-library,
decision-support, composite correspondence-editing, and third-party
applications connectivity.

Hardware requirements.  One of OfficeVision’s biggest drawbacks is its high
price.  Each OS/2 PC connected to OfficeVision will need at least 8 megabytes
of RAM and an 80286 processor.  We think full functionality will require 10 to
12 megabytes of RAM and an 80386 or 386SX.  Also, the software to run
OfficeVision (OS/2 Extended Edition and OfficeVision itself) will cost more
than $1,000.  Thus the list price of an entry-level OfficeVision PC is more
than $10,000, which we think will limit OfficeVision usage to large firms that
are not price-sensitive.

Availability.  The OfficeVision products will be made available during the next
12 months:

PCs before mainframes.  IBM is offering functionality on the PC platform before
the other platforms.  We think the decision to ship PC functions before the
upstream versions were ready could imply a shift in IBM’s strategic direction
toward an emphasis on PCs and workgroups.  The desktop is the fastest-growing
part of the computer business, and it’s an area where many of IBM’s competitors
have made big inroads.

Applications development encouraged.  Third-party developers are encouraged to
create applications that “snap into” the OfficeVision environment.  Standard
OS/2 applications will probably be launchable from within OfficeVision, but
they will have to be modified in order to interact with OV’s special features,
such as the e-mail system.  We believe that OfficeVision’s acceptance will be
influenced by the amount of support it receives from third-party developers.
If nothing else, we think OfficeVision could speed up the general acceptance of
OS/2 because it will be one of the first OS/2 products to do useful work.


OfficeVision/2 LAN Series

OfficeVision/2 LAN Series requires a PS/2 server (a very high-end machine).  It
includes support for data exchange between DOS and OS/2 computers, as well as
e-mail, address book, file system, correspondence-processing, and upstream
connectivity to IBM midrange and mainframe computers.  This will be available
in September 1989.  A second version, available 1Q90, will include calendaring,
document-library, decision-support, and composite correspondence-editing.
Pricing is $750 for OS/2 machines and $210 for DOS machines.

Enormous hardware requirements.  The PC version of OfficeVision needs about
$10,000 worth of hardware in order to run.  This tremendous requirement should
limit its customers to very large IBM shops, principally the Fortune 1000.

Amazingly enough, IBM states that these enormous configuration requirements do
not assume the simultaneous execution of all provided OfficeVision/2 office
functions and do not take into consideration the inclusion of additional
applications.  So the actual RAM and disk requirements may be much higher than
IBM’s estimates.

At a list cost per user of $12,234, moving to OfficeVision is a very expensive
proposition.

Functions provided by OfficeVision/2 LAN Series.  Below are some brief
descriptions of the office products that are included in OfficeVision/2 LAN
Series.  EE workstations will be able to take advantage of all of these
facilities.  DOS workstations, which will have primarily a character-based
interface, will only have a subset of this functionality, most notably mail
facilities.

Release 1 (September 1989):

Mail.  Allows users to send documents, notes, and data files to other users on
the same LAN, a connected IBM LAN, VM, MVS, or OS/400 system.  This appears to
be a basic mail package.

Address book.  A two-tiered address book; both a personal address book and a
public address book.  The address books can be used interactively while
addressing a mail message.

Correspondence processor.  This is basically a low-end word processor, with a
spell checker and a synonym search.

Telephony.  With the use of a modem, the telephony function allows the user to
automatically dial any number in an address book.  Note that HyperCard already
gives similar functionality on a Macintosh.

Release 2 (March 1990):

Mail.  Some enhancements are made to the mail package, such as the ability to
set up a shared incoming mail basket for a group of users.

Composite correspondence processor.  The correspondence processor is enhanced
to allow the inclusion of images and graphics, style sheets, access to
dictionaries.  It is now much closer to having word processing capabilities
similar to DisplayWrite (although DisplayWrite is still offered as a separate
package).

Calendar.  Users may work with their own calendar and the calendars of others
(both on the local LAN and on other connected LANs).  However, the calendars
are standalone; the calendar facility cannot schedule group meetings by
checking the appropriate peoples’ calendars.

File Cabinet.  Data management of user files is provided by the file cabinet.
Data files are stored within two types of drawers, either the user’s
workstation or the LAN file server.  Data stored in a LAN file server drawer
may be shared with other users on the same LAN.  This may look something like
AppleShare, where the file server appears as an icon on the screen.

Library.  Library support is based on the Document Interchange Architecture
(DIA) element of SAA.  It allows the user to file documents, grant or revoke
access to documents filed in the library, or search for documents based on
keywords and other criteria.  A separate product called SearchVision will allow
documents to be searched by any word in the text.

Decision Support.  This component provides functions such as business charts,
data entry and validation, and data import/export.

Online help and tutorials.  Release 2 provides indexed help and tutorials on
the different aspects of OfficeVision/2.

Application platform.  This release offers programming interfaces to help
developers integrate OS/2 applications with IBM OfficeVision/2 applications.
This platform will allow developers to perform functions such as triggering the
invocation of application code at a future time or at given intervals.  IBM
will begin providing the application platform information to developers in
3Q89.

Future functions.  IBM states that it will continue to enhance OfficeVision/2
and provide features such as folders, which will allow the user to work with a
group of objects as one unit.  That group of objects can be “printed, mailed,
stored and shredded” as a single entity.

Is OfficeVision the future of OS/2?  IBM has also indicated that it may allow
some OfficeVision functions to eventually trickle down into OS/2.  By doing
that, IBM will be giving incentive to its customers to move to OfficeVision if
they want to be on the leading edge.  Furthermore, developers might feel that
by supporting OfficeVision they are getting a jump on the future of OS/2.


OfficeVision/400, VM, and MVS

IBM also announced OfficeVision products for MVS, VM, and OS/400 operating
systems.  These products appear to be very similar to each other.  They allow
OS/2 EE and DOS workstations to connect to those host systems.  They provide
some office functions for those workstations, and for non-programmable
terminals (“dumb” tubes).  The office functions provided on these host systems
are initially a small subset of what is provided by OfficeVision/2 LAN Series.

As shown in the diagram below, OS/2 EE and DOS workstations can be directly
connected to the host, or they can be connected via the OS/2 LAN Series server.
When the OS/2 EE workstation is directly connected to the host, IBM recommends
30 MB additional disk storage and a minimum of 10 MB of memory.  (This is 2 MB
more memory than an EE workstation connected to the LAN Series.)  Again, these
configuration requirements do not assume the simultaneous execution of all OS/2
office functions and do not take into consideration additional applications.
Availability on most of those products is very late 1989 or 1990.


Applications  for OfficeVision

Although standard OS/2 applications will run under OfficeVision, they must be
rewritten in order to take advantage of its special features.  IBM is
encouraging third party support for the OfficeVision platform in order to help
it become a standard, but it is not clear how many developers believe OV will
be successful enough to merit extra programming effort.

Developers mostly mainframe shops.  IBM said 14 developers have announced plans
to make OfficeVision-compatible software products.  All but two of them are
mainframe developers, not PC software companies.  They include Microsoft,
Lotus, American Management Systems, Comshare, Integral Systems, McCormack &
Dodge, and Tesseract Corp.  Lotus showed a prototype version of 1-2-3 that will
run on IBM mainframes (1-2-3/M), as well as a prototype of its spreadsheet for
OS/2 Presentation Manager (1-2-3/G).  We expect that other developers will
eventually offer applications as well, but we don’t expect many of them to
appear before 1991.

Lotus has stated that it will offer two versions of 1-2-3/G, one which requires
OfficeVision (and is sold by IBM), and one that is just written for
Presentation Manager.  Microsoft, on the other hand, will probably just offer
one version of Excel, which will not require OfficeVision, but will take
advantage of OfficeVision if it is present.

We think that most developers will follow Microsoft’s example, if they support
OfficeVision at all.  For example, a Presentation Manager spreadsheet written
for OfficeVision would work normally without OfficeVision.  However, if that
user is running OfficeVision, that spreadsheet might have another item added to
its menu, such as “Mail this Spreadsheet.”

IBM’s specifications for OfficeVision won’t be formally released until
September, so IBM has given a leg up to these 14 developers.  Other developers
who weren’t included in this preview may be disturbed by IBM’s favoritism.

Unique Distribution Method.  One of OfficeVision’s most intriguing features is
its delivery system.  In what seems like the ultimate site-licensing scheme,
IBM has enabled a single host to automatically install the OV software
throughout a workgroup.  IBM will also employ this capability to deliver
upgrades to the software, perhaps as often as every six months.

Favorable Reactions to OfficeVision.  Thus far, analysts’ assessments of
OfficeVision have been generally positive.  For example, Dataquest states that
“through OfficeVision, IBM has at last fulfilled its SAA commitment, promised
more than two years ago, to provide a consistent platform for the development
of easy-to-use, well-connected systems and applications.”  Responses from the
Fortune 1000 have also been favorable, albeit slightly more varied.  Some claim
they will begin piloting OfficeVision as soon as it’s available, while others
have no plans to move to OfficeVision, saying they are wary of being locked in
to an IBM-only solution.


Summary

IBM's announcements articulate a vision for computing that will appeal to many
customers, especially the Fortune 1000.  But most of that vision remains
unimplemented today.  IBM has a history of making compelling promises in the PC
world, but then failing to deliver on them.  We may find that the more real
OfficeVision becomes, the less impressive it looks.  This could be especially
true as other vendors start to respond to OfficeVision by delivering hardware
and software that fulfills the same needs.


2.  OfficeVision Analysis

OfficeVision doesn’t break a lot of new ground in computing.  Most of its
features were already available from other companies.  However, it will be a
significant improvement over IBM’s existing products—and, because it comes from
IBM, it is attracting the sort of attention in the industry that only IBM can
generate.


OfficeVision Features vs. Macintosh

The “vision” part of OfficeVision is its most seductive element, because it
promises to solve many of the problems of MIS directors and corporate managers.
In the past, IBM has often successfully used such promises to maintain customer
loyalty, and fend off competitors.  The way to combat that is to make customers
understand the truth about IBM’s products, not just the hype.  In reality,
OfficeVision still has a number of attractive features, but it is not the
overwhelming winner IBM tries to portray.  Here are some of its strengths and
weaknesses...

•  Workgroup software.   The office services provided by OfficeVision appear to
be solid but not extraordinary.  IBM's collection of workgroup tools cover most
of the most popular applications today.  Third-party Macintosh developers
already offer many of the features promised in the future for
OfficeVision—things like calendaring and electronic mail.  One important
unknown at this point is the quality of the IBM tools, and the degree of
integration between them.  IBM does not have a history of producing
leading-edge applications.
   Macintosh e-mail products already on the market include Microsoft Mail, InBox
(TOPS), QuickMail (CE Software), DaynaMail (Dayna), and Mail Center (Videx).
Macintosh calendaring products include software from Jam Technologies and PMC
Telesystems.  All range in price from $30 to $200 per user.  Of course, we
won’t be able to compare functionality until OfficeVision actually ships.

•  Single standard interface.  IBM claims that with OfficeVision, it will
deliver a single, unified graphical interface on its entire product line.  But
IBM’s actual products tell a different story.  IBM actually introduced four
different graphical interfaces along with OfficeVision, and plans one or two
more for its workstations.  IBM is still far from reaching the level of
standardization found among Macintosh applications.

•  Connectivity with host systems.  Current Macintosh solutions do not provide
the degree of application integration with AS/400 and S/370 systems that
OfficeVision promises to give.  However, we suspect that Macintosh will
eventually become a full participant in an OfficeVision environment.  Macintosh
has great strengths in connecting to non-IBM equipment (such as DEC VAX), a
capability OfficeVision does not offer.

•  Cost.  This is one of the most important factors affecting OfficeVision
acceptance.  We think the extremely high RAM requirements of OfficeVision will
make it unattractive to small and medium-sized businesses, which are
price-sensitive.  To these companies, Macintosh will be able to offer very
appealing workgroup solutions.  OfficeVision has the most appeal to large
companies with a big installed base of IBM hardware, for which price and
multivendor support is not as large a concern.
   The high cost of OfficeVision also helps Apple indirectly, by showing how
much it costs to get Macintosh-like features on a competitive machine.  The
true economy of Macintosh is revealed now that the competition is attempting to
build something similar.

•  Macintosh software runs on a broad product line.  Macintosh software runs
across a wide range of platforms, from the economical Macintosh Plus to the
high-end Macintosh IIx.  OfficeVision, on the other hand, only runs on very
expensive machines.

•  Graphical interface.  It won't be possible to say anything definitive until
the product ships, but OfficeVision's object-oriented graphical interface will
clearly be an improvement over DOS and the terminal command-line.  OfficeVision
promises to offer some direct manipulation capabilities not found on the
Macintosh.  For instance, to print a document, the user would drag its icon
onto the printer icon.  More detailed comparisons to Macintosh at this point
would be fruitless.  But as is the case with OS/2 SE, we need to help customers
understand that the Macintosh experience involves a lot more than the pictures
on the screen.

Overall.  OfficeVision is aimed at maintaining IBM account control in the
Fortune 1000.  Its greatest strength relative to Macintosh is its promise to
unify the entire IBM product line (with the exception of Unix workstations).
Its greatest weaknesses are its cost and its failure to support non-IBM
minicomputers and mainframes.  Other factors which will influence OV’s
long-term success include performance and third party support.




Effect on other systems vendors

For years, IBM has suffered by comparison with other office system vendors
(DEC, Wang, Data General, etc.) in terms of functionality, openness and
compatibility across systems.  IBM has suffered in a similar way in terms of
user interface.  On paper, OfficeVision pulls IBM even with other office
vendors from a feature standpoint (mail, calendar, similar services on
different hardware platforms, etc.), and ahead of those vendors in terms of
user interface (icons, mouse, direct manipulation).

IBM has also defined and begun to implement its vision of distributed
computing.  Relational database is the infrastructure for accessing
information, while the document content and interchange architecture is the
infrastructure for exchanging and creating the documents that contain the
information.  The information is transported and accessed via other IBM
protocols.

IBM profits from this because it is the first vendor to explain how it will
implement distributed computing across all three hardware tiers (not
surprising, since IBM is the only North American vendor that needs to).  More
importantly, IBM has given its customers a clear idea of what they will need to
do to play in this distributed environment.