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Hank, In a message dated 98-01-18 14:04:59 EST, you write: <<snip>> > In other words, from a customer perspective they have already lost their > investment in the machines they are now using. They are stuck with an aging > infrastructure. [Try to sell a machine that you own, or get out of a lease > early.] They have legacy code that they are being told is no longer > competitive. They have a technical investment in people that has to be rebuilt > every six months. [Try to go six months without retraining. I dare you.] They > are losing their best people. > > Being a consultant, I say, "GREAT!," of course. A real opportunity for those > of us who thrive on problems, er, opportunities. But I forsee even more chaos > in the midrange market before things can start to even out. > > Agree? Disagree? I agree 100%. The market pressures on hardware prices (coupled with better security on software) have finally brought about the long-foretold ascendence of software as the main product, replacing hardware. For years, CE/FO's questioned why they should pay $80K+ for a software package, when they could get Lotus 1-2-3 "for free". Today, any company purchasing hardware under more than a 3 year lease is purchasing obsolescence. So-called "cutting edge" businesses have forced this reality upon those that could still do well in your stated 4-7 year timeframe. The US employment picture has changed as well. With the shortage of skilled programmers and a return to "family values", fewer programmers are willing to travel -- let alone work every single 3-day weekend performing long-running (but necessary) system administration tasks. Between corporate America's abandonment of their traditionally paternal role, coupled with an ever- changing computer marketplace based on skill set, programmers are finally realizing that training is everything. Small companies that used to be able to keep 1 or 2 programmers on staff now find that they can no longer afford to do so. Programmers, both good and great, now leave any company that doesn't provide adequate training "at the drop of a hat". Us consultants are doing well, but shouldn't count on this environment lasting forever. Corporate America, if sometimes slow, has always eventually caught onto these trends. While I've attended more COMMON conferences as an independent than I _EVER_ did as an employee, I'm already seeing a reversal in the trend of customers not sending their employees to these events. The computer is no longer the infrastructure, the software is. Choose wisely, grasshopper... IMHO, Dean Asmussen Enterprise Systems Consulting, Inc. Fuquay-Varina, NC USA E-Mail: DAsmussen@aol.com "Where there is an open mind, there will always be a frontier." -- Charles F. Kettering +--- | This is the Midrange System Mailing List! | To submit a new message, send your mail to "MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com". | To unsubscribe from this list send email to MIDRANGE-L-UNSUB@midrange.com. | Questions should be directed to the list owner/operator: david@midrange.com +---
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