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One of the refreshing things about the annual IFRA show is seeing the European attitude toward system development. Unlike vendors in the U.S., where "proprietary" is a dirty word, European […]

IFRA '95 in Amsterdam reflected an industry with a somewhat split personality. In Germany, newspapers appear to be doing well in traditional paper-based publishing, while they evaluate at the same […]

The digital Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) will become the standard cellular telephone system under the unified European Economic Community, and the standard could expand further. The system was supposed to go into effect Jul 1, 1991, but equipment and service was not ready for the unified market of 300 million people. Several companies promise limited service by 1992, and GSM should begin eclipsing older cellular technology by 1994. Europe is three years ahead of the US and Japan in development of the digital technology; those two countries are working on their own digital standards. Europe, however, hopes to sell the standard in Asia. GSM allows travelling users to carry a plastic card to access cellular phones in more than 15 countries and be billed on a single account. Benefits to consumers will not be immediate, however, as new phones will initially be expensive, bulky and will have less geographic range than conventional cellular phones.

IBM seeks to reorganize its European operations so that it can flourish in a computer market that is growing more competitive as the advent of the Single European Market nears. The computer maker reports a slowing down in sales growth for the 1st qtr of 1991. Some industry observers blame lagging sales on the general economic climate in Europe and to the rising value of the US dollar against foreign currencies after the end of the Persian Gulf war. The results are distressing to IBM nonetheless and pressure is mounting for the company to more successfully implement its decentralization strategy, which began poorly in 1990. IBM will focus on reorganization as a gradual process so as not to lose control of the large European market.

IBM begins an advertising campaign in Europe that focuses on creating a single image of the computer maker across the entire continent. The number-one computer maker believes the 1992 Single European Market will make it important to have consistent offerings; confusion and a loss of sales will result if different countries have different images of IBM. IBM's Pan-European marketing strategy has been a gradual one: it began with creating a single corporate image in the late 1980s and involves using consistent advertisements across the continent in early 1991. Industry observers note that IBM's global marketing strategy is indicative of a trend in the computer industry as a whole.

Japanese companies are investing in the European computer industry, anticipating the fall of European trade barriers, which is scheduled for 1992. Japanese investments range from real estate purchases to faltering companies, and Japanese investors are increasing sales forces and setting up manufacturing subsidiaries as well. Japanese suspect that the European computer market will be more protectionist than the US market, and the Japanese worry that Europe will resist the import of Japanese goods. Investing in Europe will allow Japanese companies to sidestep a potentially protectionist market and cash in on a potentially lucrative one.

L.M. Ericsson Telefon AB's revenue for the 1st qtr of 1990 rose by 30 percent and the company expects 1990 profit to rise by 25 percent. A stock split of five to one is scheduled during Sep 1990. The Swedish telephone switching equipment company, which derives 70 percent of its $6 billion in annual revenue from Western Europe, expects to face difficulties in the 1990s because of falling prices in the world telecommunication equipment market and the formation of a single European market in 1992.

****EC Single Market Comes Into Being - Nobody Notices 01/05/92 PARIS, FRANCE, 1993 JAN 5 (NB) -- For European telecommunication and computer manufacturers, the New Year, which brought in the […]

SPA RELEASES EUROPEAN COMPUTER SALES FIGURES PARIS, FRANCE, 1990 OCT 08 (NB) -- According to figures just released by the Software Publisher's Association, North American software firms sales increased 48 […]

MEAD DATA CENTRAL OPENS NEW LIBRARIES ON WAR AND PEACE DAYTON, OHIO, U.S.A., 1990 AUG 21 (NB) -- Mead Data Central has opened two new files on its Nexis service, […]

COMPUTER PURCHASES EASIER AS EC CONTROLS RELAX BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 1990 JUNE 20 (NB) -- The Netherlands, Belgium, France, West Germany and Luxemburg have agreed to abolish border controls with a […]

AUSTRALIA: FIRMS TOLD NOT TO DELAY TARGETING EUROPE MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA, 1990 MAR 29 (NB) -- Austrade, the Australian government department responsible for advising exporting Australian companies, has told Australian information […]