Re: Casino switches to AIX

Mark,

I know there are people moving from IBM i. And to add to that, there are a
lot of people consolidating their IBM i footprints, reducing the number of
servers. However, the point is that crying and wailing about it does not
make it come back. Doom, gloom and FUD exacerbate the negativity.

On the other hand, I think IBM ~is~ doing something about the platform.
- They made IBM i run on Power Systems, and the logo says "i for business".
- They brought PHP to the platform, and opened up a world for all your
"younger generation". (Check out the YiPs at www.youngiprofessionals.com).
- They have applied resources to the VIP program, focusing on applications
on i. While it is not the nirvana yet that we would like, I am expecting
more to come from this program.
- Did you notice all the IBM executives at COMMON in Nashville? We got their
attention, and I think IBM i has been noticed. I don't think Ross Mauri
would have said 'strategic' otherwise.

I think there are more IBM i systems to be sold in the future, regardless of
the midrange-L doom and gloom.

Trevor


On 11/17/08 2:15 PM, "M. Lazarus" <mlazarus@xxxxxxxx> wrote:

Trevor,

I am seeing more and more companies either moving away or at least
seriously looking into moving away from the i.

This is partly due to marketing and partly to the notion that it's
old technology. All the evangelizing by people who have a major
vested interest in it (e.g. us, the software vendors/developers) will
not convince the younger generation that it's superior. [Note: This
is NOT intended to rewaken the old "what's wrong with the system" debate.]

I'm just reporting on what I'm seeing as the general attitude of
existing (let alone NEW potential) customers. This exists even in
long-time midrange accounts, across industries.

-mark