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


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
> midrange-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx
> cc
>
> 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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