RE: Software Subscription strikes again. -- MIDRANGE-L

Was that 70,000 for 3 years?  You mentioned 3 as400s but only listed a 640 &
170, what is the third.  Can you upgrade the 640 to a 730 with less
interactive feature, still get a performance increase and drop a cpu level.
We went from a 510 @ 77.7 to a 720 @ 420 /w 120 interactive and dropped from
a P30 to a P20.  Saved a bundle on software subscriptions and got us the
performance we needed.  In fact the savings on a 3 year software
subscription for the 720 over the 510 almost paid for the hardware upgrade.
The way I look at it is we got a CPW of 300 for batch free, only paid for
the interactive increase from 77.7 to 120.

Christopher K. Bipes     mailto:ChrisB@Cross-Check.com
Sr. Programmer/Analyst   mailto:Chris_Bipes@Yahoo.com
CrossCheck, Inc.                 http://www.cross-check.com
6119 State Farm Drive    Phone: 707 586-0551 x 1102
Rohnert Park CA  94928   Fax: 707 586-1884

If consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, only geniuses work here.
Karen Herbelin - Readers Digest 3/2000


-----Original Message-----
From: eric.delong@pmsi-services.com
[mailto:eric.delong@pmsi-services.com]
Sent: Wednesday, March 08, 2000 5:39 AM
To: midrange-l@midrange.com
Subject: Suftware Subscription strikes again.



     I just had a rather frightening conversatioon with the VP of IS. It 
     seems IBM wants to charge us $70,000 or so to maintain our licensed 
     programs on our three as400s. He says he'd be interested in finding 
     alternatives to the as400s and is ready to sever all ties with IBM 
     over this issue. Kinda gives me cold chills........
     
     As I understand it, we purchased one year of SS when we upgraded to 
     the 640 and 170 last year. It seems as though this years charge for 
     maintenance has more than tripled, though it's hard to know for sure 
     as he was raving mad when he told me this. Assuming that this is the 
     case, how does IBM expect anyone to remain loyal, let alone satisfied 
     with the cost effectiveness of the AS400. Am I missing something, or 
     is IBM intentionally trying to drive loyal customers away kicking and 
     screaming. 
     
     I'm very concerned about this as my job here entirely depends on the 
     as400. Is there any relief on the SS pricing? What (if anything) can I 
     tell my boss to keep him from looking into a platform shift? Are the 
     charges he told me about correct, or could he have misunderstood the 
     account rep? YIKES!
     
     I'm not too familiar with this aspect of the AS400, as I'm technically 
     inclined, not administrative. Any comments or suffestions would be 
     very helpful.
     
     TIA
     eric.delong@pmsi-services.com
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