RE: Also Leaving MidRange Equipment -- MIDRANGE-L

> From: Don
> 
> Joe,
> 
> CEO's don't run thier companies with systems...they run them with
> APPLICATIONS.  People don't care what hardware or o/s the stuff runs
on as
> long as the APPLICATION does what they want.

Say this long enough and you might believe it, Don.  CEOs, at least ones
with any brains, run their companies with SOLUTIONS.  They want to know
how much the application COSTS to run, how many people it takes, and
what sort of benefits it gives them as a company.

The fact that they're getting idiotic answers from people, including
people in our community, is part of the problem.


> So, what CFO's, CTO's, etc.O's, are asking me is "why do I have to pay
so
> much to do a disk upgrade on my iSeries when I just added a quarter
> TERABYTE to my mirrored windows server for less than $500...with NO
> additional TIER PRICING charges in the hardware...OR o/s...OR
> application..."?

Because you're getting faster access to data that's easier to back up,
manage and secure.  Duh.  You don't add more disk to your iSeries to
store static images in the IFS or to store PDF files, you update it to
store transaction data that you need the fastest possible access to, and
which you cannot afford to lose. 


> People come out of college with a comfort level based on what they
know.
> They know what they learned in school.  They BUY and PROMOTE systems
based
> on what they KNOW.  They bring the tools to the workplace based on
what
> they KNOW.  And, as many out of work AS/400 folks are learning, they
also
> hire on what they know...   They are not coming out of schools knowing
> what OS/400 is.  Ergo, no reason to buy or promote it in their
workplace.

And if you run your business based on what people in college promote,
you get exactly what you deserve.  This is the old boys network, and it
was always the least work for someone who sells software.  But the SMB
run by a guy who came up through the ranks is unlikely to take the word
of a 23 year old graduate.  We need to cultivate those businesses and
trumpet their success.


> Joe, we've had almost a full IT generation come through the school
systems
> since IBM really stopped promoting midrange in the schools on a
serious
> basis...and I don't consider a handful of PIE community colleges
serious.
> The vacuum left in the schools has been gleefully replaced by
Microsoft
> and unix mutations/dialects...and that will eventually be linux
> mutations/dialects.  THAT TREND IS CLEAR.  Even IBM will admit it and
> has in public futures sessions of user groups.

Frankly, I see Microsoft on the wane for server processing.  I could be
wrong, but I think this is the biggest market penetration Wintel servers
will ever see.  Microsoft is betting the farm on Longhorn, and I don't
believe it's going to be any better than what we have now.  But time
will tell.  Unix/Linux will probably grow a bit as it takes some of the
file serving and/or web and email processing from Windows, but it seems
unlikely that it will take over the ERP market anytime soon.


> Joe, I still think this platform is the technically strongest and
> supported by some of the best folks available.  It is and will be my
> platform of preference to promote and develop on.  However, I'm not
sure
> that alot of the market place agrees with either one of us...which
really
> sucks...

And so it's our job to reach out.  That's part of why I joined my local
user group.  We need to get the word out.  We need to touch those who
have never heard of the iSeries.  At the same time, we need to touch
bases with those folks who were forced to move by the various pressures
you've mentioned and see if they want to get back in the fold and see
how we can help them.

We need to gather the stories, anecdotal if necessary though case
studies would be better, that show how much better the iSeries is as a
server.

IBM just doesn't get it yet.  I don't know if they ever will.  You want
to get services revenue?  Get your server in there, make it reliable and
ubiquitous, and then gather as much revenue as you want on the front
end.  The clients will be bound to you because your data is on their
machine, and as long as you provide quality work, you should stay the
top choice.

Sort of Microsoft in reverse.

Joe