The Boston Globe from Boston, Massachusetts • 25

i THE BOSTON GLOBE TUESDAY. MAY 20, 1986 25 TODAY'S NEH6 Where is that Railroads lay off thousands of workers software magic As many as 2,500 sympathy strikers found no Jobs were waiting for them on Massachusetts and New York jailroads owned by Guilford Trans With the flash and dazzle history, companies turn to the long, hard sell portation Industries despite a back-to-work order by President Reagan. Guilford said it accepted back about 800 workers who had been striking its third railroad, Maine Central, but immediately laid off several hundred of them, too. Page 45. By Douglas M.

Bailey Contributing Reporter Growth rate for software sales Rate in percent wasn't long ago that computer software makers were the sexiest, craziest, glitziest members of corporate America. They possessed money and magic and a seemingly limitless future. The parallels with the pop record industry i were unavoidable. Hot-selling 0 Large scale I I Personal I Med.small 80 'j hardware computers 1 hardware Brock tells Teamsters they must clean house Labor Secretary William E. Brock, in a dramatic speech to the International Brotherhood of Teamsters convention, called on the nation's largest union to "clean house" in the cases where criminal interests have dominated the union.

Flanked by Teamster President Jackie Presser, who was indicted Friday after an investigation initiated by the Labor Department, Brock delivered a surprise call for reform within the 1.6 million-member union, whose leaders have strongly backed the Reagan administration. Page 45. Lotus LOTUS DEVELOPMENT CORP. Nearly 70 percent of all computer spreadsheet programs sold are Lotus products Installed base of almost 2 million users Nearly tripled in size between 1983 and 1984 44 percent rise in sales in 1985, earnings up just 6 percent Perceived as a one-product company despite introducing a i family of products in last two years Last month cut $200 off the price of its Jazz program in response to competition New product called HAL expected to be a minor hit. 1982 1981 1983 1984 1985 1986 Source: International Data Corporation.

Globe chart computer programs were the Industry's hit records. Programmers who could make computer screens light up and dance were; its brightest stars. Venture capitalists were its Col. Parkers. But almost overnight the industry changed.

Slumping sales, a jaded public and some spectacular failures forced the nation's computer software industry to grow up in a hurry. It skipped puberty, shed its flash and dazzle and donned a business suit. "It's still a good market," says Frank Dodge, president of McCormack and Dodge of Natick, a Dun Bradstreet Corp. subsidiary that makes financial software mostly for large computers. "But it's on a beginning cycle of disillusionment." While hardly struggling, the $15 billion industry's glory days are apparently over for now.

Mergers, acquisitions and bankruptcies have shaken out the lesser contenders, consolidated the power of a few software giants and virtually frozen out newcomers, analysts say. While the sha-keout has brought a needed stability to the industry and helped Investors identify the long-term players, its glitter Is gone. And good riddance, say some industry officials. "The flash and dazzle wasn't real anyway," says Richard Rabins, president of Alpha Software of Burlington, publisher of business software for personal computers. "The game was raise as much venture capital as you can and see how fast you can spend it.

It wasn't based on good common sense." Some software executives continue to believe that Improvements In technology will restore an edge of excitement to what has suddenly become a mundane business. Salvation for them lies In speedier microchips and bigger electronic brains. Others, however, have started to de-emphasize the technical aspects of their business and have adopted more fundamental, long-term strategies for improving market share. Those include establishing closer relationships with customers and better addressing their needs. "There was a technology overdose in the early days," says Jim Manzl, president of Lotus Development Corp.

of Cambridge, the nation's largest microcomputer software company. "Now there's a fair degree of jaundice in the customer' base. They don't want to hear that a new product is 20 percent more powerful. 'Gee-whiz' technology is not the most important thing on customer minds." Rabins is more emphatic on the point: "People don't give a damn about the technology," he says. "It's like washing machines.

People don't care what's inside one, they just want clean clothes." SOFTWARE, Page 34 Energy stocks rise in lackluster session The stock market showed little change, drifting through its quietest session in four months. Energy stocks were one of the day's few strong spots as the price of oil extended its recent rally. The Dow Jones average of 30 Industrials, off 29.63 points last week, slipped another 1.62 to 1758.18. Some other, broader measures of the market recorded small gains. Page 37.

Oil prices climb above 817 a barrel Oil prices shot up by $1 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange and closed above the $17 mark for the first time In more than three months. Page 29. AshtonTate ASHTON TATE CORP. Dominates the personal computer database market with its dBase II and Framework Last year acquired Multimate of East Hartford, maker of a leading word-processing program expected soon to release several new products 1986 sales of $82 million combined with Multimate's $21 million makes it the second-largest microcomputer company in the world behind Lotus. TO LICENSE, OR NOT TO TODAY'S EXTRAS 26 Robert Melz By Ronald Rosenberg Globe Staff Personal computer software firms such as Lotus Development.

Ashton-Tate and Microsoft are facing a problem. Their corporate customers have be GM's plan to offer home mortgages in Michigan Is evidence of the auto Industry's shocking loss of market. Robert J. Sam nelson 28 David Stockman and Michael Deaver. who exploited covernment MICROSOFT.

MICROSOFT CORP. Inventor of MS-DOS, the operating system in all IBM personal computers and their clones Only microcomputer software company with a real diversified product line of programs such as The Word, Excel and Basic programming language Went public last year at $21 per share, now trades in low 30s, about 20 times earnings Founded by a teenaged dropout from Harvard. jobs for their personal gain, appar come so dependent on their spreadsheet, database and word-processing programs that they want the freedom to Internally copy and distribute software. This software-on-demand concept Is called site licensing and it has pitted big business against some of the best-known names In personal computer software. At Issue Is how software should be distributed In a large company.

Instead of buying Indlvldudal shrink-wrapped packages from computer retailers, often at a discount, large companies want to make copies of programs. Including software updates. In their offices and reproduce the manuals as needed. In short, they want "the golden disk." Corporate customers are willing to pay a fixed fee for this privl- LICENSING. Page 36 ently never neara oi puouc service.

Juliet F. Rnulney 33 Day care might best be left out of a Site licensing Job Interview, but don't be afraid to ask about bcnclits In general. has pitted big business against some of the best-known names in computer software. Massachusetts Port Authority Figures are for year ended June 30, 1985 In millions ol dollars $147,242 Total revenues: Pheasant Lane Mall Nashua, N.H. Tolls, fees and Miet otMrvKM: $6 690 Parking New N.

II. mall a ihorn for Mass. $2 million in sales tax loss seen Income on Invtaments: $13,187 Rentals: $29 202 ConotMions: $41,118 Lechmere V. Parking -Other; $2,045 Total Expenses: $97.846 Insurance: $1,604 Operations end meintenance: $52,640 Pennon corn $1,760 Interest: $17 605 Administration: $18 662 In lieu of mm: $5,535 Parking By Michael Kranlsh Globe Staff NASHUA William MtCabc, New England's most prolific mall develop, figured he had a perfect plan, tlulld a sprawling two-story mull Just Inside the Ixirdcr of New Hampshire, which has no wiles tax. Build the parking lot In Massachusetts, which has a 5 percent sales tax.

Then let the hordes of Massachusetts shoppers walk a few feet across the border and save millions In sales tax. murh to the chagrin of the Massachusetts Deportment of Revenue. A plan any frugal Yankee could love. But then McCabe learned from architectural drawings that four reel of the JC Penney store were to sit In Massachusetts. Potential disaster.

"If four feet of that store Is In Massachusetts, then maybe everything In that store could he taxed by Massachusetts." McCabe said. "The lax consideration was very Important to the proect." What Is developer to do? In this case, on orders from JC Penney Co. build a building by MALL. Page 32 Source Mmpot Oiutoctwt Massachusetts Port Authority is A corner of the JC Penney building was eliminated when it was found to be inside the Massachusetts boundary. best known as operator of Logan International Airport, which serviced 20.4 million passengers in NEW HAMPSHIRE 1983.

Massport also oversees Ilanscom Field, Port of Boston, Tobln Bridge qnd the Boston Fish ner. Globe Map 1.