State of the Midrange

 >> Can we really blame IBM if we won't step up to the plate and try out
the new stuff they are offering??

Bless you Booth - I was beginning to feel I was the only one who felt that
way.

For years I blamed IBM (yes even when I worked for them!) but for some time
now I have been convinced that it the "good enough" mentality among
customers that is the greatest threat to the platform. Sure IBM don't help,
but in some ways we don't help even then.

Look at all the options in the market (from CGI to Lansa, to Seagull, to
Jacada, to Magic, to VARPG, to Visual RPG, to Java - need I go on?  We have
many, many choices, yet even when IBM drop the price to a point where it is
no longer a factor in the decision ( $300 for VARPG or free for CGI ) we
still hear the same old song.

I'm delighted to say that since IBM dropped the price on Code400/VARPG all
of my current customers have ordered/installed the products and are moving
ahead.  Green screens have a place (heads-down data entry and some shop
floor applications come to mind) but that is where they should stay.  In my
opinion, anyone who thinks they are adequate for all business tasks is a
likely candidate for being taken over by an NT "solution".

We have met the enemy and they is us!

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