Re: AS/400 Gasping For Air ??

[nina jones <ddi@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> What I am not at all sure about is the AS/400 shops.  Are they stumbling and 
>fumbling with green screens and being bypassed by parallel staffs in their 
>organizations that are installing the NT solutions?  Are the managers that 
>understand and appreciate the AS/400 being replaced by managers that are 
>determined to make Windows the solution for their organization?
>
> Or has the Windows client/server solution already happened and failed on to 
>many ocassions at too many large shops, but GG missed those signals?
>
> In short, I wonder if in the end, the Windows solution will fail just because 
>it isn't ready and because too many times the boss is embarrassed  by some 
>unpredicted event, failure, takedown, or over-budget expense.

i think you've hit it pretty close here.  on all fronts.

there is a perception out there that ibm=expensive, legacy, cumbersome
and p/c's=inexpensive, modern, easy

we have/had a client in oklahoma city, that has a 36 that has very legacy 
software (not ours) and they have been wanting to go to something more modern 
for several years.

when the 150 came out, it appeared that there was an as/400 that was 
inexpensive enough to win board approval.  with the y2k close on the horizon, 
they decided late 1998 was the time to move!

well, the board meet a couple of months ago, and was very upset they were given 
an ibm proposal.  they wanted a p/c proposal.

so, they got a p/c vendor gave them a proposal, with a quote to rewrite their 
software in access for $2000.  the total p/c proposal was about 1/2 of the 
as/400 one.  so the board went with that.

but i wonder - they do billing, accounts receiviable, membership tracking, and 
training programs.  how on earth can anyone rewrite all that for $2000?  are 
those wizards that good?

nj

begin:          vcard
fn:             nina  jones
n:              jones;nina 
org:            Data Design Inc 
adr:            2408 Tee Circle;;;Norman;Oklahoma;73069;USA
email;internet: ddi@datadesigninc.com
title:          Chief Programmer and bottle washer
tel;work:       405-321-0354
tel;fax:        405-360-9202
tel;home:       405-364-8960
note:           IBM Business Partner
x-mozilla-cpt:  ;0
x-mozilla-html: FALSE
version:        2.1
end:            vcard