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Compaq Computer Corp. of Houston, Tex., bought its way into the high-end of the enterprise late last month with the acquisition of Cupertino, Calif.-based Tandem Computers Inc. The stock transaction was worth about US$3 billion and gives the systems vendor access to a previously unreachable customer base, analysts believe. This puts them in a league with HP, Digital and IBM," said George Bulat, manager of PCs at International Data Corp. (Canada) Ltd. "It allows them to go after deals that they normally wouldn't be able to participate in because they lacked a direct sales force to bring them in there." Tandem, known for its high-end Himalaya servers, brings to Compaq in Canada 24 direct sales reps servicing most of the major banks and telcos, and 65 "high-profile" Fortune 500 level corporations. Through the deal Tandem will become a Compaq-authorized reseller with access to all Compaq-branded products to be sold and serviced by the company's reps. "In the case of a Tandem customer who has purchased Compaq product as part of an enterprise-level sale from Tandem, we certainly intend to have Tandem field engineers support and service that product," said Don Kern, director of sales, government and commercial for Tandem Canada. The level of authorization Tandem will receive will depend on its sales volume, and although he wouldn't say how much volume in Compaq product they expect to push, Kern said the "funnel looks pretty good." Acquiring a company with a direct sales force, however, does not signal a move for Compaq away from the channel, according to Compaq Canada general manager Sue Miller. "It's not the intention of Compaq to sell direct, and this is not a shell game to attempt to do so. It is bringing a much more stronger product line into the enterprise environment and a much better field force to create demand," she said. Compaq Canada resellers will have the opportunity to sell Tandem products such as its NT software set, and could have access in time to the Himalaya servers, Miller said. Both Compaq Canada and Tandem Computers Canada Ltd. will operate as separate, wholly-owned subsidiaries of their U.S.-based parents. Tandem Canada, which has been without a general manager for almost two months, expects to announce a replacement this quarter.