Re: Unix

>

HI Al Mac,

Excuse my belated response to this.

When I mentioned SAP and the 400 on this list the other day, I was actually
referring to many of the topics you address here: What are the costs of changing
platform, not just app?

The cost of 're-tooling' your network, peripherals, infrastructure and IT staff
(programmers,etc). This excludes the support load placed on your IT staff due to
the fact that the users (FD, etc.) no longer know how to acces the DB, due to 
the
fact that Client Accident data transfer is all that they know. They were never
trained on the new tfr functions, as this type of service was never identified 
as
'needed'.

Too often the financial types focus too much on the tangible and quantifiable
aspects of the platform change that they lose sight of those that they cannot
quantify! More often than not, these are then where you experience 'scope 
creep'.
Once the intangibles and non-quantifiables are brought into line, it will be
realised that the original budget (thumbsuck?) actually grew exponentially!

There is so much more on this issue, but seeing as I am talking to the 
converted,
why be more verbose?

Cheers.

Jan.



>
> How are all your devices connected to the 400 today?
> Do they use twinax or some other system that will not work on Unix & will
> have to be replaced?
> Do you have any dumb terminals & printers that will have to be replaced?
> What kind of cost associated with that?
>
> Every time I have done a conversion, the biggest cost is the retraining of
> the personnel of the company on the new system.  Figure several weeks worth
> of classes times the number of people who work for the company.
>
> Weigh that against the alleged benefits of switching to the 400.
>