Re: Problems with moving IBM software form one machine to another

Rob,

we're in final imact analysis this week to take my kid's school to linux.
The only things left on Windows would be a few teacher desktops that have
to run a proprietary client program to use th emain house server stuff...

As you eluded to, the licensing and pricing issues just got to be too big
of a pain....but they were a few parsecs second distance from security and
stability issues.

Don in DC

On Fri, 28 May 2004 rob@xxxxxxxxx wrote:

> You ought to try dealing with Microsoft and keeping track of their
> licensing.  We do things on the up-and-up here but the boss is seriously
> moving the user desktops to Linux after that last Microsoft audit.
>
> Rob Berendt
> --
> Group Dekko Services, LLC
> Dept 01.073
> PO Box 2000
> Dock 108
> 6928N 400E
> Kendallville, IN 46755
> http://www.dekko.com
>
>
>
>
>
> glea@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Sent by: midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx
> 05/27/2004 06:26 PM
> Please respond to
> Midrange Systems Technical Discussion <midrange-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
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> To
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>
> Subject
> Problems with moving IBM software form one machine to another
>
>
>
>
>
>
> This might be something to add to the ongoing saga of why the iSeries is
> losing market share.  Our company has been running on S/38 and AS/400
> since the S/38 was a puppy.  Recently the building that houses our AS/400
> went up for sale.  Instead of shipping our AS/400 to our Chicago office
> and facing a certain amount of downtime, we decided to buy an identical
> machine and have it installed there, then move the entire operation to
> that machine.  There is absolutely no difference between the two machines,
>
> each is a mod 620 with the same amount of memory, the same amount of DASD
> and the same processor.  We had a little trouble with one of our software
> vendors getting the business software relocated but it was fairly easily
> resolved.  The only piece of IBM software that we want to move there is
> Query/400.  Somehow they don't believe that we really own it.  We have
> been running everything on the "new" machine since early March but have
> only been able to run Query/400 due to obtaining temporary keys.  We have
> provided them with proof but they keep asking for more.  Somehow
> I don't understand why they can't look up our original order, invoices and
>
> any other documentation in their own computers.  At least I would assume
> that they have some kind of history in their computers.  This has not won
> them any points with our execs.
>
> Earlier we had a problem with IBM because they had our name wrong on the
> billings for our hardware Maintenance agreements.  We had been part of a
> large corporation which sold off it's divisions to several different
> entities.  The corporate headquarters was sold to another company and
> completely changed the name.  We were no longer a part of that entity.
> Somehow they changed our company name to the new name of the company we
> never had anything to do with.  We were fortunate enough not to need to
> change our name and had never purchased anything from IBM under any other
> name but our own.  However, when I pointed out their error, the
> representative that I spoke to insisted that we had changed our company
> name, demanded to talk to my manager and demanded proof that we were who
> we said we were.  I finally told him I only wanted them to correct their
> error and that they could keep billing us under the wrong name if they
> really insisted on it.  This has also been a thorn in the side of our
> execs.
>
> The two problems are probably part and parcel of the same thing but,
> instead of admitting that their records are incorrect and working with us
> they insist on making it difficult to do business with them.  Now the
> perception is "Why Bother?".
>
> Many of the execs have a perception of the AS/400/iSeries as being
> obsolete technology.  We have been looking for new software to run the
> business and I have been trying to convince the powers that be that the
> AS/400 is the better way to go due to higher resistance to hackers,
> viruses, reduced need for multiple servers, etc.  It has been an uphill
> battle but IBM's arrogance on these points has served to knock the props
> out of whatever gains I was able to make.
>
> Unfortunately, by the end of the year we will be running our business from
>
> a Microsoft platform.
>
>
> Gary S. Lea
> Applications Group Manager
> Dexter Magnetic Technologies, Inc.
> Tel: 510-668-4645
> Fax: 510-668-5425
> glea@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
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