Re: iSeries (non-) Marketing - part 24,566

["M. Lazarus" <mlazarus@xxxxxxxx>]

Hans,

At 9/10/03 02:58 PM, you wrote:
> But then again, lower cost may well be the deciding factor between two 
> similar solutions. The "best" solution may well be the cheaper one for a 
> particular customer, all other factors being more or less equal. Sure, you 
> can indeed argue that the iSeries is the "best". But why buy a Cadillac 
> when a Chevy will meet the requirements, even though we all know the Caddy 
> is better?

 Then maybe we can request that IBM level the playing field.  Since the 
hardware is so similar today, can't they charge pretty much the same?  Yet 
the iSeries seems to be more expensive.  I suspect that they do AIX to 
other Unix system comparisons to come up w/ a price for the pSeries, but 
the iSeries gets "niche product pricing," so we lose sales.  This seems to 
be true even after you add in all the Unix "extras" (DB, security, etc.)

 Unfortunately, the classic 5 year ROI value comparisons don't fly 
today.  It's "how cheaply can you get me set up on day one."  And the /400 
often loses on that one.  When you combine it w/ the lack of proper 
marketing and brand line recognition, the deck is stacked against us.

 -mark