RE: iSeries vs. Unix vs. SQL Server vs. Oracle

["Joe Pluta" <joepluta@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> From: Booth Martin
> 
> However there is no evidence to suggest that Microsoft runs its
business
> on iSeries either directly or indirectly. In fact Microsoft has spent
> time and energy squashing this particular urban legend.

It is not an "urban legend" that in the not too distant past Microsoft
ran their business systems on AS/400 (*not* iSeries) machines.  There
was an attempt to switch to a pure Microsoft system sometime in the late
90's that failed, although the exact details are sketchy.

Since then, Microsoft has been pretty cagey about what systems run their
business operations.  They have used carefully worded statements that
imply there are no AS/400's owned by Microsoft, or words to that effect,
yet they don't discuss what business has been outsourced, nor do they
categorically state that their business runs on SQL Server or some other
MS product.  From my understanding (completely uncorroborated), both
Microsoft and IBM use SAP software for at least part of their business
applications.

All we know for certain is that on at least one occasion, a business
unit running on a pure Microsoft solution (in this case, MSN) was down
for several hours due to what was described as either a "programming
error" or an "invalid network definition."

That's really all that can be said at this time.  There's no "urban
legend", simply a lack of real facts surrounding the current state of
Microsoft business systems.

Joe