Java and the AS/400

Now for the big issue, what does Java mean to the AS/400?

I have often wanted to give a seminar called "What the Hell is Java
and why should I care?" for AS/400 managers.

Java is often maligned on the midrange circuit. Usually (no insult),
it is because midrange managers don't bother to look into Java any
deeper than they look into any other PC based technology. Java get's
labeled "Language of the month" or "World Wide Web fluff."

The AS/400 is currently the finest business machine available in the
world. It has a host of feature rich applications and a large
installed base of faithful users. 

But the days of the AS/400 are numbered. Why? Because it cannot
evolve to give consumers what they are buying. 

We all know that they cornerstone of the AS/400 is reliability. I use
the pacemaker analogy all the time. When you buy a pacemaker, do you
want the shiniest, or the most reliable?

But what is happening is that the market is evolving into buyers who
are not aware that a higher level of reliability exists. At the same
time, this group of buyers is funding Microsoft's development of an
operating system that will someday be able to compete with OS/400 on
it's own ground. 

IBM has tried to push back by trying to convince application
developers to create AS/400 based applications with GUI front ends.
But this is a losing battle. 

First, midrange developers are very slow to invest in new
technologies. They tend to ignore them and hope they will go away.
Failing, the technologies sooner or later do fade away, becoming
yesterday's "Flavor of the Month" and the AS/400 sits with
no new look. 

Second, the applications which do get developed actually defeat the
purpose for which they are intended. Rather than bridge the gap from
green screen to multi-platform and give AS/400 apps more appeal, they
make the AS/400 application as unreliable as the PCs used to connect
to them. In order to give the AS/400 the "new look" we have to take
away it's primary feature.

New application developers have a choice. They can build a new AS/400
based application and hope to somehow wedge into the market now
controlled by a very ingrained set of AS/400 Business Partners, or
develop for the lower end "shrink wrap" market. 

The shrink wrap market is less demanding, since buyers in that market
are accustomed to applications which crash. A developer can ship a
product much earlier in the development process. Why wait until it's
done if you can have a revenue stream at the 90% mark?

So new applications are going to other markets. 

What does Java change in all this?

Java is _the_ answer to all this. While no solution is perfect, Java
covers a lot of ground. One of it's chief winning points is that it
is not an IBM product. As a result, it is not susceptible to being
destroyed in the press as simply another of IBM's attempts to unify
platform development. 

Instead, IBM can take a technology that is being accepted in the
marketplace, and utilize it fully for their own purposes. 

Java is an object oriented language. That gives it a big boost in
development speed. This is something that midrange developers have
needed for a long time. Most of them are more afraid of change than
willing to embrace it, so they won't move to OO development unless
forced. That's okay, because Java opens the door for bringing
developers in who are otherwise PC developers. So, midrange coders
can either adapt or be replaced.

The Java virtual machine is a unique opportunity for IBM and midrange
developers. If IBM can see to it that there is a Java workstation
that is as solid as a green screen terminal, then midrange developers
have the ability to create C/S applications which allow their
customers decide whether they want Win95 PC front ends, or
workstations. 

It also allows developers to decided to go after all markets, shrink
wrap and bigger. An application developer that today wants to start
developing a new app can start out developing the app in a shrink
wrap format. If they should sell enough copies to grow enough, it
might be that they would want to customize that app to deal with an
enterprise and expand. 

Java still needs growth. The Java workstation still needs
enhancement. IBM still needs to entice enterprise developers to move
applications to Java. 

So, you see IBM spending $200,000,000 per year on developing Java
tools and products. The Java workstation is one of those products
getting a lot of attention. VisualAge for Java, another. Plus, the
San Francisco project add incentive. 

Darn, here it is late at night again. 

Any comments?

Chris Rehm
Mr.AS400@ibm.net

How often can you afford to be unexpectedly out of business?
Get an AS/400.
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