SYS21 - RE: SYS21 - Alliance 2002

OK Steve...  I wasn't going to respond, but since you called me out I feel
compelled to say something...!!!

First just let me say - GO WINGS...!!!  I guess the Hurricanes have been
downgraded to a tropical depression...!!!

But I digress...

Lest anyone accuse me of lurking or censoring my opinion or varnishing the truth
as if I was worried about what someone might think of me if I really said what I
thought or felt...
I prefer my truth unvarnished, thank you very much...

I am reminded of one of the most famous speeches in human history, made by the
16th (and arguably the greatest) president of the United States of America, on a
solemn occasion, the dedication of a Civil War cemetery on November 19, 1863 at
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

http://lcweb.loc.gov/exhibits/gadd/  (you can read more about this famous speech
at this wonderful web page)

The part that I can't get out of my head is this: "The World will little note,
nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here."

Now you may say that I'm being melodramatic.  And you may be right, but the
message is the same...

It doesn't really matter what I say here about what geac has chosen to do with
their System/21 package...
But we cannot forget the people who made/make the package work...

The fact that they terminated the vast majority of their staff was a business
decision on their part.
I am personally saddened for the people affected, and for our loss of their
talent, experience and dedication.
These are qualities that are difficult to measure and even harder to replace.
They will be missed and I wish them all well.
I'm sure many of them will be picked up by third party consultant agencies or
individual customers.
As one door closes in this universe another one opens, I truly believe that.
I am pleased for all of the people who were retained, many of whom I saw at the
conference.
>From what I could gather there are about 30 people left in the System/21 area 
>in
the States.

I try to be positive in things I say and feel and do, so I did not expect geac
to focus in on the people who were terminated or the offices that were and are
being closed.  (Most of the remaining people will apparently be working out of
their homes...  I think the Mt. Laurel, New Jersey office is one of the only, if
not THE only, office to remain open...  I guess it had the longest lease.  I
think there are tax advantages for being incorporated there as well.)  So I was
not surprised at all about the positive spin they attempted to put on their
strategic plan for System/21.  "GLOBAL" is the key word you will hear regarding
that strategy.  I don't know why the support could not stay in the States, after
all we're part of the GLOBE aren't we...?  From what I could gather they will be
rolling out ANSWERLINK for the folks in England that will be taking over
day-to-day operations in the support arena.  Cheers for ANSWERLINK it's a
wonderful tool...!!!

Let's face it they are trying to cut costs as much as possible.  So cutting
people and closing offices makes perfect business sense...  But the human cost
is hard to swallow.  Times are hard for everyone, and hopefully they are
improving...

I was there in the Detroit office in 1994 when the JBA help desk was born...
Clayton Fortna and Christine Reuter were the first ones to start the help desk
in the States and it was the model for what evolved into what we have today
under the capable control of Michelle Hobbs.  I'm just wondering what my
maintenance fees are really paying for...  I thought the help desk was part of
the bargain...  My biggest fear will be that we in the States will be treated
like Cinderella, the unwanted step-child, when it comes to having our problems
addressed.  The support team we had in place here in the Americas really went to
bat for us many times to get problems accepted that might not have otherwise
been considered legitimate problems from the British perspective.  So who will
be our advocate across the pond when there is a clash of cultures in terms of
getting our problems addressed.  Will our voice, our American perspective, still
be heard and seen and accepted as loudly as it is today.

I gather there will be no more Americas Solutions Packs...  And what about the
fledgling development team under Peter Quinn that was so long in the making...
What will the future hold for their effort to get our American perspective
reflected in the standard code...?  It remains to be seen.

Maybe I'm being too egocentric, too selfish...  Maybe I'm spoiled because we've
had it so well for so long.  I just don't want to settle for anything less...
After all it's a really big GLOBE and there are System/21 users all over the
GLOBE...  So it seems reasonable that the support should be GLOBAL as well...
It's ironic that they're taking the best support organization they have and
trying to reinvent it in England...  It's the people that make the help desk
work...
How do you pencil in dedication and passion into a business model or a flow
chart...  I'm sure they have wonderful people in England, but we've lost a
wealth of experience and dedication that will be hard to mimic...

Mind you I don't avail myself of the help desk's services very often but I'm
sure other customers do.  And how will England respond to their urgent cries for
help.
Will we have to get up early if we want to speak to an actual human being about
our problem or simply play voice/e-mail tag with them...?  Will we all have to
learn the Queens English...?  And the prefix to England is 01144 just in case
you have never dialed a direct international call to England...

On the more positive side, geac claims to have 2 new System/21 customers near
the end of the sales cycle so that should help their profitability...  They'll
need to keep going though...  I don't even know if they have any sales staff
left...

The conference as a whole I'd say went very well...  I really enjoyed the
facilities...  The Swan/Dolphin Resort is a terrific spot to hold the
conference...
The Disney World attractions are a real plus...  That was my first visit and I
was amazed at how big the place is...  I did not have enough time to do all the
things I wanted to do and the good news is it will be held there for the next
two years...  It's in May next year so hopefully it will be slightly cooler...
If I am fortunate enough to go next year I will want to spend more time before
and/or after the conference to do more recreating...  They have several
championship golf courses right at Disney World...!!!

One of the funniest things that happened was when a person (who shall remain
nameless, they know who they are) crashed the conference e-mail/message server
by sending out an e-mail to everyone in the United States saying "GO
WINGS...!!!"  I just wish I'd thought of it...  For those of you who think the
greatest sport in the world is football (soccer) the Detroit Red Wings are the
next National Hockey League - Stanley Cup Champions...  Hockey, the coolest game
on ice...  Hockey may be too fast paced for you soccer fans though...  Many
places in the world are too hot to make ice...  So I understand...
http://www.detroitredwings.com
http://detnews.com/wings/

Unlike this great country in which I live (The United States of America) geac is
not a democracy of the people, by the people, for the people...  It is a
Canadian business with a board of directors and share holders...  And their
bottom line goal is to make money for their shareholders...  (Don't forget that
Canada is still a subject of the British Monarchy)  So, consolidating the help
desk in England must make economic sense to them but if I had a vote I'd vote to
keep it where it was born, and where it is the best working model they have
anywhere on the GLOBE...  Right here in the good old US of A...

And as I said, it doesn't matter what I say here...  Many things will change...
The only constant is change...
But we cannot forget the people who got us to where we are today.
Let's just hope this is not the death knell of System/21.

I hope you're glad you asked...