In 1982, the world was beginning to realize that without technology, powerful forms of industry and business would be beyond its grasp. Revolutions such as computer aided drafting brought engineers and developers to the desktop computer when Carol Bartz’s company AutoDesk released it’s most popular product, “AutoCad” (AutoDesk). AMD, in an agreement with IBM and Intel Corp., began creating chips built on the x86 architecture, and started a power and legal battle that would rage on for almost 20 years(Dow Jones Online). During this time of technological upheaval, Benjamin M. Rosen decided to put together a company designed to create world-standard computers for business and home use. In February of 1982, Delaware gave birth to Compaq.

In the third quarter of 1982, Compaq began sending test machines to various companies, in an effort to gain a market by showing off their “better” technology. In 1983, Compaq literally burst onto the market with sales of $111 million, which was a record for first year sales. Compaq continued to offer workstations for business use, as well as personal computers for those wealthy enough to handle it. If this was all the company had to offer, it would soon be outclassed by Advanced MicroDevices or Intel. To keep competitive, in 1986, Compaq began pushing the 386-chip based desktop computers. Where Compaq differed from everyone else, however, was that the company chose to use more proprietary cases, in some cases discarding the AT Form Factor for computers almost completely. While upgrading most Compaq machines now means purchasing extra parts directly through the company, proprietary parts allows a better-looking, and in some cases, better-performing machine. If Compaq develops all its own major hardware, then it also has full control of drivers and implementation. This style and power, coupled with lower prices through mass production, led to the companies millionth sale of a personal computer in 1987, the same year that it reached $1 billion in sales. Compaq set a new record for that as well, reaching the billion dollar mark in only 4 years of open market production(Compaq).

While all of this was great, it really only benefited individuals and companies that could afford spending three to six thousand dollars on a single computer fast enough to be useful as more than an adding machine that could play games. Compaq spent years trying to figure a way to lower the cost, and accomplished it by pushing its global market. Creating more revenue from sales in Europe, as well as opening Japanese subsidiaries, allowed the company to break new ground in 1992. Pushing the price down, Compaq strove to make a computer for the every-day man, and it was this philosophy that brought the Compaq Presario line of desktop machines into existence in 1993. The Presario, with enough power to appease most mid-grade users, and enough elegance to allow it to be seen in the home, allowed Compaq to do what no one thought possible: in 1994, they became the largest global suppliers of personal computers (New York Stock Exchange).

Now it would seem that Compaq had neglected its origins as a business supplier in order to please the masses. This is simply not true. 1995 brought the acquisition of the Thomas Conrad Corp., as well as Networth Inc. With these companies under its ownership, Compaq began marketing new server hardware, as well as a new model of business workstation. Still pushing what would now be called “e-solutions”, Compaq offered businesses network hardware and answers. The company really got back into the business place when it introduced it’s newest models of low-priced, industry-standard workstations in 1996. By 1998, Compaq had bought out Microcom as well as Tandem Computers Inc., allowing them to do even more networking, problem solving, and general business solutions. Compaq now had deep roots in both the home and office.

This company isn’t all well mannered tech-heads, unfortunately, and Compaq has seen many changes in its executive staff. While some argue that it is because of the unstable nature of computer companies, a more plausible reason would be that those with the ideals and means to incorporate new ideas into their plans for success naturally rose to the top. The current Chairman of the Compaq Board of Directors is Micael D. Cappellas. Compaq’s web site offers various information about all of the board members, but its write-up of Michael is superbly done.

“Michael D. Capellas was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of Compaq by unanimous vote in September 2000. Mr. Capellas was elected Chief Executive Officer of Compaq and appointed a director in July 1999. Prior to that time, he was Chief Operating Officer of Compaq, a position to which he was elected in June 1999. Mr. Capellas joined Compaq in August 1998 as Senior Vice President, Information Management, and Chief Information Officer. Prior to joining Compaq, he was Senior Vice President and General Manager of the global energy business of Oracle Corporation from 1997 through 1998, and Director of Supply Chain Management for SAP America from 1996 through 1997. From 1981 through 1996, Mr. Capellas held several management positions at Schlumberger Limited, including serving as head of worldwide information services.”

Other interesting officers of the Board include Judith Craven, who was the president of the United Way of the Texas Gulf Coast, as well as the dean of College of Allied Health Services at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Women take a strong presence at Compaq, as represented by Lucille Salhany, Director since 1996 and also Chair of the Corporate Governance Committee(Compaq).

Compaq serves the business world under the New York Stock Exchange symbol CPQ, selling stock like most other companies. Since its inception, Compaq has split its stock 4 times, reflecting the exponential growth of the company since the boom of economic computers and the Internet age. They are doing so well in fact, that the Fortune 500 web site lists them as number 20 on the 2000 edition of the list. Even though its headquarters lies Houston, Texas, Compaq has manufacturing plants in Houston, Texas; Erskine, Scotland; Singapore; Jaguariuna, Sao Paulo, Brazil; and Shenzhen, China. Annual earning reports, though possibly biased from the source, are available at http://www6.compaq.com/corporate/ir/fd/irfd.html

These days, Compaq continues to offer its popular Presarioline of computers, and with the new Presario 5500 home machine, it bridges the gap between low-cost and gaming-goodness computers. Not only will this keep several thousand computer owners and potential buyers happy, but it will also do much to increase Compaq’s earnings as well. As far as proprietary parts, Compaq still plans on using them. While this stops techies from ripping the machines up for parts or doing a proper job of upgrading them, it still keeps the cost down and looks better than a rectangular beige box. With more and more of daily life revolving around consumer electronics and computers, Compaq seems to have a very bright future indeed, and anyone that purchases one of their systems will more than likely be very pleased.

Comments:
you forgot to leave out that compaqs are peices of crap

Name: Grant
Year: Senior
Major: English
Comments:
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