BHP Bypasses Dealers for PCs

by Peter Young
Computerworld Australia, Friday 25th May 1984

Lloyd Borrett. . . 'cheaper products and faster updates'

BRISBANE — BHP is buying most items for its growing number of IBM PCs directly from US distributors rather than those in Australia.

It has found US suppliers offer cheaper hardware and software plus faster updates, said Lloyd Borrett, BHP's Melbourne-based personal computing co-ordinator.

BHP has standardised on the IBM PC as the only micro recommended to its groups. It has more than 100 PCs and XTs and is buying about 10 a month. Australian distributors have not yet matched the range of products for the IBM PC available on a fly-in basis from the US — a situation that may change when the dealers' shortage of machines eases, Borrett said.

But other products, such as the Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet package that is the single most popular software system with BHP's micro users, are brought in from the US regardless.

"We can get them a lot cheaper that way — many at better than the Australian retailer's cost price," said Borrett.

"And I find I can get product updates from US distributors months before Australian distributors supply them."

The selection of the IBM micro ahead of other systems, such as the Nec APC, has been a success, Borrett told a Brisbane seminar sponsored by Management Technology Education Pty Ltd. The IBM system was given the nod because of the range of third-party hardware and software available on it as well as its ability to link with BHP's major computer systems — IBM mainframe, Data General and Dec minis.

Graphics capability was in most demand by users of the PC, he said.

"The thing they are all pushing for is graphics devices such as plotters and for decision support graphics."

"It's been phenomenal to see how the graphics demand has gone up in the Melbourne part of the group."

"One of the things highlighted has been the lack of quality of IBM graphics. The users want higher-resolution graphics on their screen."

BHP has found cost savings by dealing directly with companies supplying such add-ons as disk drives and extra memory chips rather than buying the same products from IBM, he said.

And to make the most efficient use of the PC's five expansion slots, it had opted for third-party, multi-function cards instead of the single-function cards supplied through IBM.

Borrett predicted any push to Lans employing the IBM micro would be delayed until standards had emerged.

"You can buy five networking solutions on the IBM PC that all use the same hardware, but the software looks totally different."

"Long-term, what you're looking for is applications software that will integrate into the networking software."