WinTel allies Compaq Computer Corp., Intel Corp. and Microsoft Corp. launched a frontal assault on the Internet market on June 21. Combining their solutions in the framework of a program called speedStart, the triumvirate offers packaged solutions that help small businesses get on the Internet quickly.
The collaborative effort's primary goal is to shore up the WinTel franchise in the small-business market. The true target of the attack, however, is dot-com platform leader Sun Microsystems Inc. The speedStart program is a "competitive alternative to our friends in Mountain View, Calif. (i.e., Sun) who are trying to lay claim" to the SMB e-business marketplace," says David Parsons, Compaq vice president, eBusiness Solutions, North America.
The result of six months of collaboration between Compaq, Intel and Microsoft, speedStart offers a lineup of products, services and resources, including:
Services on tap from speedStart sponsor groups such as eBusiness Vision Workshop for customer strategy development; Velocity Engagement Workshop for business objectives planning; Readiness Review for assessing a start-up Web site before deployment; Proof-of-Concept-Lab-Testing for performance testing; Microsoft Business Internet Solution Centers for e-business solutions integration consulting; Microsoft Developer Network for developer services and technical assistance; and Support Services for after-launch Web performance and features updating;
Preconfigured solutions based on Compaq ProLiant Servers with Intel processors, Compaq's DISA architectures and Microsoft's Windows DNA 2000 platform;
Referrals to Web integrators, consultants and application service providers skilled in rapid deployment. Leading ASP Exodus Communications will play a significant role in the speedStart program;
Financing from Compaq Financial Services, an organization that announced a $600 million commitment to support the development of Internet companies through lease programs; and,
Information resources such as the speedStart portal at http://www.compaq.com/solutions/speedstart.com/ monthly mailings for those who register at the portal, and a speedStart information hotline at (800) 244-1407.
"We believe the platform provides acceleration, ease of use and simplicity to help customers get quickly to market," says Peter Boit, Microsoft vice president of U.S. eBusiness Solutions. "It works with what they have to build on new value opportunities. The simplicity and integration across the platform provide huge value (by helping) dot-com to get up and going quickly."
