Re: Food for Thought

DR2,

I encourage you to change your perspective.

You say:

They NEVER learned it in school, they didn't learn it coming up
from the ranks...etc...

The IBM Academic Initiative is making inroads to answer this.
http://www-304.ibm.com/jct09002c/university/scholars/academicinitiative/
Stop whining about it, and get engaged.

So what if they have not learned it in school? That is not the only way IT
leaders become aware. The IBM i faithful have it in their power to promote
the platform to the (currently) uneducated. Spread the word, not the FUD.
Stop whining about it, and get engaged.

You say:

You need to realize that IBM has allowed this marketplace to evolve
this way as part of THEIR corporate strategy and frankly I don't
think they give a tinker's damn about your or me, individually....
it's all about services...

If, for IBM, services equal revenue, then let's find some IBM i solutions
that need services, and promote those into IBM. Spread the word!
Stop whining about it, and get engaged.

You say:

As for the rest of us, it's clearly time to evolve...and
I don't have to say I like it...

It would be nice, however, that you stopped spreading doom+gloom. I was told
once that if I discovered a problem, then I should only report it when I had
a solution to offer. Your entire approach to the platform is simply a
multitude of complaints. Can you stop 'reporting' your perceived problems,
and think about ways to solve?
Stop whining about it, and get engaged.

TP1


On 11/18/08 7:43 AM, "Don" <dr2@xxxxxxxx> wrote:

Well, that's a HUGE load of crap. I don't think you've talked to many
people in the market place, Trevor.

What we've found from surveying the current and past members of the DC
user's group and good sample of the current and former user base in VA, DC,
MD, WV and DE is that the new management that's coming in to the company
DOES NOT KNOW the (insert Trevor's latest politically correct name here).
They NEVER learned it in school, they didn't learn it coming up from the
ranks...etc... Uh, we've had this conversation before, you just refused to
listen.

Current management has been trained on Windows, Unix mutations and Mainframe
for the VAST predominance. They have not been trained or exposed to (insert
here) in the least! I've spoken with MANY CIO's and higher level corp
types..and the top two reasons that are taking the vast majority of the
responses are:

I'm moving to (platformx) BECAUSE IT'S WHAT I KNOW.

I'm moving to (platformx) because that's where the APPLICATION is and
MANAGEMENT has made the decision and told me to implement the application,
which runs on (platformx). MANY former (insert here) users have been
directly told by their management something like "forget the (iseries)! If
you want your job, you do what I tell you and implement (platformx)!" Guess
what!? They like being able to pay their mortgage.

This ISN'T my opinion...this is coming form surveying and ACTUALLY TALKING
TO a lot of the user base in mid-atlantic!

This is frankly hard market analysis that we have to deal with in Mid
Atlantic...Now, things may be different for Trevor down in Long Island...
But in the rest of the world, and after talking with my fellow leadership in
the User Group community, our findings are not really much different from
what's happening in the other places.

SO, Trevor, please, stop promoting Trevor and understand the market place.

You need to realize that IBM has allowed this marketplace to evolve this way
as part of THEIR corporate strategy and frankly I don't think they give a
tinker's damn about your or me, individually....it's all about services...

SO, Trevor, I recommend you focus your efforts to getting sytem-I in the
SCHOOLS, colleges and universities, broaden the base of applications,
actually do marketing and education to higher levels of management as well
as to those coming up through the ranks, so that they actually know that
this is the superior environment that we've all known and appreciated....but
also keep in mind, you're fighting a $33 billion market cap company called
IBM...

As for the rest of us, it's clearly time to evolve...and I don't have to say
I like it...

DR2