Compaq increasingly important, says VCS
Compaq's machines on show at Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay on
Friday night
Compaq, which according to one study was the leading PC
(personal computer) supplier in the world in 1994, is becoming increasingly important as a
business partner to its local dealer Victoria Computer Services (VCS).
Speaking to Business Nation on Thursday evening at a
presentation on Compaq machines at the Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay Beach Resort, VCS managing
director Marc Houareau said Compaq's presence in the region, support to dealers,
reliability, warranty on parts and labour, even to a small market like Seychelles, were
factors which make the global company better than its competitors.
"Compaq's reliability, warranty and price competitiveness
surpass all the rest," he said.
With regional representation in Nairobi, Kenya, and back-up
support coming from Germany and South Africa, Mr Houareau said VCS in Seychelles got as
good a service from Compaq as a dealer in any other country.
"This kind of service is unheard of from a company,
especially in this small (local) market," he said. Because of these factors, he
pointed out, Compaq's PCs, notebook computers and servers were becoming increasingly
important to VCS specifically and to the country generally.
VCS also sells Gateway computers as a lower-end machine, which
carries a one-year guarantee.
The company signed up with Compaq two-and-a-half years ago, and
since then, has sold over 400 Compaq PCs, notebooks and servers.
"Most of our co orate clients are running Compaq servers,
such as Seychelles Breweries, UCPS, Masons Travel, SBC and all three Berjaya
properties," Mr Houareau said.
The presentation, probably the first of its kind by an
international supplier, was attended by about 80 local managers, business owners and
corporate computer personnel. It showcased the latest Compaq products, some of which were
hooked onto the Internet information highway. The presentation included an audio-visual
briefing by Ms Ricarda McFalls, Compaq's East Africa regional consultant.
Ms McFalls said Compaq, which stands for
"compatibility" and "quality", was in more than 100 countries.
According to data presented, in the first quarter of 1996, the
company led the world PC market share with 10.1 per cent, followed by IBM (7.5 per cent)
and Apple (5.8 per cent). At the end of 1995, Compaq was the undisputed server leader with
36 per cent of the market.
Ms McFalls said Compaq's ProLiant and ProSignia lines could meet
any demand for servers in Seychelles.
Mr Houareau said the one hour presentation was an eye opener for
the company representatives who attended it, as it showed the technology and manageability
of Compaq computer systems, in addition to introducing them to multimedia, servers and the
Internet information superhighway.
"We also got quite a few orders tonight (Friday
night)," he said.
Noting that the future success of Seychelles depended on
technology, he said VCS hoped to organise a technology fair in the future in collaboration
with its suppliers, to show the latest computer, office and communications products and
services, to the Seychelles public.
