RE: Help required to stop this company replacing their iSeries

Implementing a new platform is a major migration effort involving a huge
up-front cost. The danger I see is the current system should be in-line with
their business processes and requirements.

Have management provided any deficiencies in the current system?
Do they not want to maintain an in-house system? 
Have management performed a year over year analysis ROI, including
maintenance costs and staffing?
Does management believe the new system would require less customization and
headcount? 
Is management ready to change their business processes to accommodate new
software?

If the current system has no major deficiencies, the cost comparison is
between modernizing the application vs. system replacement. Do they want to
get to the web? A quick way to the web might be Joe Pluta's software.

Either solution involves manpower, time, and money. It boils down to what
management thinks they need.


Loyd Goodbar
Senior programmer/analyst
BorgWarner
E/TS Water Valley
662-473-5713

-----Original Message-----
From: Raby, Steve [mailto:agnictsr@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] 
Sent: Friday, June 30, 2006 03:48
To: midrange-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Help required to stop this company replacing their iSeries

Hello Chaps and Chapesses,

I was on this list last year, and left the company I was with to go
contracting for GEAC, not knowing of the imminent take over. But I digress,
that is not the problem, I have recently taken a contract here in the
Netherlands at a place that has a fairly new iSeries(year or so old I think)
on 5.2. The system they have was written in house over the last 10-12 years
in RPGIII and I am in the process of helping them bring it up to date and I
am trying to help that along further using what little I know of RPGIV/ILE.
The guy here is really enthusiastic to learn all he can from me (in exchange
he is teaching me ASP and HTML), the problem is now they had a meeting here
yesterday and horror of horrors they are talking of replacing the iSeries
with some other system, oracle or some such rubbish, over the next couple of
years.

So the help we require is how do we convince them not to replace the
iSeries? We need to build up a business case (I think money is the biggest
consideration for them) and any help anyone can give us would be most
appreciated. It is not that I am scared for my contract, there is enough
work to keep me going for a few years even if they do decide to change, I
just dont want to see another iSeries shop bite the dust.

I hope this is the right list to mention this on and my apologies if not.

Thanks in advance

Steve Raby