RE: A plea to IBM Marketing with regards to User Group input. -- MIDRANGE-L

Jerry,

If you get any kind of response, you might also like to ask why a post, as
important as asking for this kind of input, was AFAIK only posted over on
the IGNITe/400 listserv.  Subject was: "iSeries Nation"
(http://ww2.ignite400.org/Lists/ign_list/Message/11844.html).  I searched
the M-L archives of the recent past, so if I missed it I apologize, and
stand corrected.

But if I didn't miss it, then I'd wonder why something like this wasn't
posted here, or on the M-L Non-Tech list, or even better still, on the M-L
list that is dedicated to the iNation.

To those thinking this is payback for my getting banned from IGNITe...
Pfffft...  That happened about 6 months ago, and my reaction at the time and
since has been quite subdued.  I'm merely pointing out an apparent fact that
exists.

If you got a reply to my question, Jerry, and eliminated the contradictions
and "weasel words", I'm afraid it would net out to "politics as usual".


James Jay Toran (jjt)
Columbus, OH  USA
E-mail:  jt@ee.net



"Have a GREAT day...!  And a BETTER ONE TOMORROW~~~:=)" (sm)


> -----Original Message-----
> From: midrange-l-admin@midrange.com
> [mailto:midrange-l-admin@midrange.com]On Behalf Of Gerald Kern
> Sent: Tuesday, November 06, 2001 1:36 PM
> To: midrange-l@midrange.com; interlug@midrange.com
> Subject: A plea to IBM Marketing with regards to User Group input.
> Importance: High
>
>
> During the recent Common Conference in Minneapolis, I attended the LUG
> luncheon, where, again, I was asked for input on how IBM can better sell
> iSeries. The following is my offline response to the IBM
> representative who
> attended the meeting and was soliciting input from user group
> representatives. This was on the heels one of our local iSeries shops
> abandoning the 400 for Unix, which meant the loss of our
> President and Vice
> President of our local user group.
> ------------------------------------------------
> Dear IBM Rep....
>
> During the Lug Luncheon in Minneapolis, you were soliciting for
> ideas on how
> IBM can better market the iSeries. Forgive me if comments in this
> email this
> sound a bit blunt, or rambling, but rest assured I understand you are only
> one person at IBM, and my comments are not directed towards you
> but towards
> the people responsible for marketing (and the lack of it).
>
> First off, at each LUG Luncheon I've attended over the last three
> years, you
> repeat the request for ideas of how to market this system. If IBM doesn't
> believe in the system (evidenced by the lack of marketing) how can you
> expect your customers to believe in it? That is why customers abandon the
> platform. If IBM won't "sell" it, why then would anyone want to buy it?
>
> I'd like to re-iterate the point I made at the luncheon, that in
> New Orleans
> last spring Buell Duncan said that we could expect to see a major
> marketing
> campaign for iSeries. As I said at the luncheon, I saw one ad in
> Computerworld, and nothing else. In this light IBM's marketing efforts
> haven't changed at all and as I'm sure you've heard at Common in the past,
> the slogan, "It's The Marketing". Hopefully you can start a
> 'squeaky-wheel'
> syndrome.
>
> Another point I'd like to submit regarding IBM's marketing strategy, those
> 'blue bar' TV commercials to me are blatantly arrogant. To me
> they make your
> customers look like a bunch of idiots. It seems that the
> marketing strategy
> is to show a group of corporate people gathered together who point fingers
> and/or don't have a clue about what their needs are. And then IBM
>  tells us
> "We Are So Ready for IBM". Why would we want IBM, if we don't know what we
> want? Using that logic tells your customers to blindly follow IBM's lead -
> why should I be that loyal when IBM isn't even loyal to iSeries?
> I feel this
> sounds like a vague description, but please, IBM needs to focus on reality
> and not that 'vision thing'. I know IBM can solve problems, but
> you need to
> sell the steak and not the sizzle. Codernauts? Please - those are cheesier
> than Velveeta..... I don't understand for the life of me how a
> company with
> so much talent can use sitcom mentality when so much is at stake.
>
> Now the commercial I'd like to see, in 30 seconds, would be one where the
> situation revolves around a system administrator going to the CFO (of a
> multinational Fortune 100) on Monday morning to explain that a hard drive
> crashed on the server over the weekend. The CFO looks terrified
> and asks how
> long it will take to get the system back up, and whether any data
> was lost.
> The system administrator says "Relax, we're already up." The CFO says "How
> can that be?" The system administrator replies "We use iSeries, and the
> drives were mirrored, and the system called and reported the
> problem to IBM
> and they were here to replace the drive on Saturday. IBM replaced
> the drive
> and we didn't even need to re-boot." Then during the fade, a
> voice says, for
> more info on the only system that has never had a virus, has never been
> hacked, has the scalability of a supercomputer (starting at around $10K),
> can do web serving, supports java, support Notes, Domino & Linux, runs NT
> natively, supports real programming languages like SQL, Cobol, RPG, C and
> has the best database bar none, along with the lowest Overall
> Total Cost of
> Ownership,AND a bunch of users more loyal than Apple users, that can be
> backed up with one command to one tape... call 1-800-IBM-SERV (or whatever
> the number of the day is). Also, it wouldn't hurt to mention that 90+%? of
> Fortune 500 companies use iSeries.
>
> Finally, on a personal note, last Christmas I was laid off as a consultant
> for a local IBM business partner. It took me three months to find
> a position
> (for which I was overqualified and underpaid) on the iSeries
> platform. This
> was clearly the result of a shrinking iSeries market. Fortunately, I've
> since found a better position, but have heard again of another
> local iSeries
> shop laying off staff this coming Friday. What all of the
> corporate decision
> makers hear is what they hear on the golf course (and they
> discuss what the
> ad's say during the Sunday morning news and weekend sports shows -
> especially the golf tournaments - they all watch golf - hint - hint - this
> is where the above commercial should be aired, not just once but ad
> nauseum). They don't know what an iSeries is and only know that the AS/400
> is old technology - why? Because it's not marketed - and without marketing
> there is no visibility. After all, if it was new technology, IBM would
> surely market it. (That's what those who don't know anything about iSeries
> or computers in general tend to think.) That is why the iSeries market is
> shrinking.
>
> If IBM won't start marketing specific platforms to the public in
> general to
> get the word out that the iSeries does web serving, does support
> java, does
> support NT, does GUI and Visual Basic, and can be backed up with
> one command
> to one tape, there will be no future for iSeries. It's really that simple,
> advertising sells, and if you don't believe that just look at
> what it's done
> for Microsoft. Their (MS) products are junk compared to iSeries.
> But if IBM
> can't see that, it proves my point. If IBM won't even sell its
> best product
> then you need to stop asking the user group for ideas on how to market the
> product. You can tell your boss I said so."
>
> Regards, Jerry Kern
> IBM Certified AS/400 RPG Developer,
> 15+ year veteran of the industry,
> Past President & Current Director of NWOMUG.
>
> gkern@buckeye-express.com