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workstation4 on which to run its CAD/CAM software. Its customers
desired a computer workstation with an “open system environment”
that would enable its user to run software other than CV’s. To
CV, the change to such a system was a significant strategic
change because CV previously had sold products based only upon
its own closed proprietary operating systems. An additional
significant strategic change for CV was the decision to purchase
its workstations from a vendor, rather than to manufacture them
itself, because manufacturing workstations had been its primary
activity up to such time. Due to its large investment in
manufacturing assets, however, CV needed be able to continue
manufacturing. CV sought to establish a long-term relationship
with a supplier for the design and manufacture of its new
workstation.
Two manufacturers, Apollo Computer, Inc. (Apollo), an
established firm in the computer workstation industry, and Sun
Microsystems, Inc. (Sun), a smaller competitor, submitted bids to
CV for such a workstation in response to a solicitation by CV.
In a May 9, 1983, letter to CV, Sun acknowledged that it might
not be able to produce workstations in quantities sufficient to
meet CV’s demands, and indicated that it would be willing to
4
A computer workstation is a desktop computer utilized by
scientists or engineers that performs complex computing tasks
using its own computing power rather than that of a central
computer shared with other users. Workstations, however, may be
linked together to form a network.
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