Re: "Webulating" RPG

Jon wrote

> Our marketing is obviously not as good as it should be, but discussions
with
> others such as Aldon (who market Flex/Edit) lead me to believe that the
AS/400
> crowd as a whole are difficult to reach, and even harder to sell to.  It
would 
> be interesting to survey those on this list (obviously among the leaders
in
> AS/400 technology!) to see just how many are still using SEU as their
primary
> editor (which as I've said in the past I regard as being the equivalent
of
> using a sharpened screwdriver to do fine woodcarving!!)

Jon,

I sat in on a lab session on Code/400 at a BP conference some years back,
and it is a very nice product.  But... I have been consulting in the
Milwaukee area for 10 years, and I have never run into it anywhere.  I
don't know of anyone who uses it.  It may as well not exist. I personally
do not like to become dependent on tools that are not likely to be at the
next client, no matter how wonderful the tool is.  

IBM's marketing strategy is either insufficient or just not working.  So
here is a suggestion, for whatever it's worth. 
IBM is using the selling point that this tool will increase programmer
productivity, and therefore will lead to cost savings.  In this labor
market, that should have some appeal, but the real appeal may be in its
ability to help attract and retain programmers.  Getting and keeping staff
is becoming a big issue with my clients.  IMHO, creating the kind of
environment that programmers want to work in is a step in the right
direction.  Giving them up-to-date tools is one thing they can do to help
accomplish this.
 
Then get the schools that are teaching RPG to use it.  Give them copies. 
Create an inexpensive 'learning edition'.  What if a student with no prior
knowledge of SEU had a choice of editors?  Which would they chose?  Just
the amount of time saved on compiles would be a big factor in that choice,
I would think.  

Get programmers hooked on it, and they will sell it for you.

Just a few thoughts.

Kathleen Kostuck   
__________________________________________
pager (414) 402-0820       fax (414) 495-4986
kkostuck@execpc.com
AS400 Solutions
__________________________________________

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