Late 1980s diversification The PDP-11 and VAX lines continued to sell in record numbers. Better yet, DEC was competing very well against the market leader, IBM, taking an estimated $2 billion away from them in the mid-1980s. In 1986, DEC's profits rose 38% when the rest of the computer industry experienced a downturn, and by 1987 the company was threatening IBM's number one position in the computer industry."Digital Equipment Corporation", International Directory of Company Histories, Volume 6, St. James Press, 1992 [Note this link is to answers.com, not the International Directory of Company Histories] Not long thereafter came IBM's "VAX killer" offerings, at a time when DEC had twice the sales of IBM in the mid-range computer market.
Late 1980s diversification The PDP-11 and VAX lines continued to sell in record numbers Better yet DEC was competing very well against the market leader IBM taking an estimated $2 billion away from them in the mid-1980s In 1986 DEC's profits rose 38% when the rest of the computer industry experienced a downturn and by 1987 the company was threatening IBM's number one position in the computer industry"Digital Equipment Corporation" International Directory of Company Histories Volume 6 St James Press 1992 [Note this link is to answerscom not the International Directory of Company Histories] Not long thereafter came IBM's "VAX killer" offerings at a time when DEC had twice the sales of IBM in the mid-range computer market