Re: AS/400 Gasping For Air ??

Nina, 
OK Ask yourself the following questions, and ask this FAST!
1)      The software doesn't exist on the PC - Warning!  They could easily 
spend a year doing this (and give up I must add - it doesn't sound like 
complete specs were drawn up!
2)      Unless they have frameworks in place, and just replace the front 
end (like the San Francisco project from IBM) how will they create an 
entire software package within a reletively short period of time
3)      Building a new software package from scratch for an enterprise is 
like building a skyscraper - normally if this is servicing a group of 
larger then 20, this will be an enormous undertaking
4)      They wanna do it for $2000 - make them do it for a fixed cost - 
I've seen similiar projects go into the $400,000 cost range...and NEVER be 
completed! (This was when PC's were cheeper too!
5)      Ask yourself - does the current software work on my platform?  If 
the answer to this is "Yes, but it needs tweaking"  TWEAK IT!!  You'll 
spend much time replacing the software - and remember you have to convert 
the data from the original software package.
6)      Does a solution exist in the software world that will do this (as 
in already written) then modify modify modify!  Projectes that start with 
nothing will be EXPENSIVE!!!  Minimum timespan and cost I see for your 
project is 6 months to a year, and cost of about $200,000 to $400,000 - now 
doesn't looking for a new software package for about $100,000 look like a 
bargain!

-Andrew Borts
Systematic Control, Inc.
Fort Lauderdale, FL


>>Date: Sun, 03 Jan 1999 23:23:37 -0500
>>From: boothm@ibm.net
>>Subject: Re: AS/400 Gasping For Air ??

>>This sounds like one of those *wink, wink* quotes where everyone involved 
knows ahead >>of time who the winning bidder will be.  The winning bidder, 
unlike all of the other >>bidders, will not be required to keep to his bid 
price so of course he can low-ball the >>deal. 

>>Later, when the real bills start coming in it will be explained as "Well 
we needed a >>more modern solution.  Thank goodness they were willing to do 
all of the extra work so >>cheap, eh?  Can you imagine what IBM would have 
charged?"

>>I've gotten caught up in those kinds of quotes before Nina (not in the 
computer world) >>and I can tell you, the best thing happened.  You do not 
want that business.  It would >>have savaged you.




In <36902F37.A49B406E@datadesigninc.com>, on 01/03/99 
   at 09:02 PM, nina jones <ddi@datadesigninc.com> said:

>well, the board meet a couple of months ago, and was very upset they were
>given an ibm proposal.  they wanted a p/c proposal.

>so, they got a p/c vendor gave them a proposal, with a quote to rewrite
>their software in access for $2000.  the total p/c proposal was about 1/2
>of the as/400 one.  so the board went with that.

>but i wonder - they do billing, accounts receiviable, membership
>tracking, and training programs.  how on earth can anyone rewrite all
>that for $2000?  are those wizards that good?

- -- 
- -----------------------------------------------------------
boothm@ibm.net
Booth Martin
- -----------------------------------------------------------


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