The Guild

70% of computer makers seek Guild certification

Butterworth's TechTrade Insider

Seattle, WA - A recent industry survey conducted jointly by the Federal Trade Commission and Butterworth's reveals that a full 70% of all computer industry manufacturers seek Guild compliance for their hardware. Currently, some 60% of the equipment marketed in the industry actually meets the qualifications to get the cherished stamp of approval.

"It is a good start," says Guild Mage Remus, "but we still have a way to go. Unless we can get our hands on every piece of computer equipment before it goes to market, there will always be room for problems."

Some products have been retooled as many as six times before achieving Guild certification. Such was the case with the MagiPlex line of servers manufactured by Talisman Data.

"There were some issues with the design," says Talisman's CTO Roger Mittinger. "I can't mention specifics per our agreement with the Guild, but we added a few things from their design."

It turned out to be an important move. Brisk sales for the MagiPlex live have allowed Talisman to completely recover from near backruptcy. Earlier Talisman models were repeatedly identified as the weak link in a series of high profile network intrusion. The company's reputation was nearly destroyed and their sales plumeted.

But that was before Guild certification rescued them. Now Talisman is poised to become the top seller of enterprise servers. "We did what we had to do," says Mittinger. "It was that, or close up shop."

Other manufacturers seem to have learned from Talisman's lesson, racing from the design shop to the Guild's certification labs before the virtual ink is dry.

"It's simple," says one industry analyst. "Operating without the Guild's blessing is just inviting trouble."