Abstract
This study finds that the most profitable short-term, add-on Terminal Emulator (TE) products are Data-Stream-To-Disk, Multi-Session, and Net-Work Printer capabilities. In the longer term, as fixed costs become avoidable, the same products remain the most profitable, only their rank changes. In the long term Multi-Session is the first, Net-Work Printer is second, and Data-Stream-To-Disk is the last. The selection of appropriate features for TE products can be very difficult for both manufacturers, as well as for end-users. This study describes an interactive microcomputer based Feature Selection System (FSS). The Feature Price Contribution Margin (FPCM) measures to what degree a specific feature meets end-user needs, and measures how profitable they are for the developer and the manufacturer FSS produces a segmented income statement of possible future product lines. It also compares the outcome of integrating and bundling a feature into a product, versus marketing this feature as a separate “add-on” product line to a TE. In such context, it could also be used for litigation support to quantify the damages that result from the absence of a feature to either the vendor or the end-user.