RE: Say Hello to IBM System i5

> I'm not clear on what it means to "cultivate mindshare" when the mindshare 
> that's being cultivated seems often to be "Oh, AS/400; that old thing."
>
> Perhaps the best direction is _not_ to try to link iSeries or i5 or System i5 
> back to AS/400s.
>
> I'm looking at an article in the June '97 issue of Midrange Computing, titled 
> 'Rebranding the AS/400'. The article argues for dropping the 'AS/400' brand 
> name in favor of a new one plus aggressive marketing of the new name. (Author 
> was Al Barsa, Jr.)

Granted. Good idea. OK. We did that (the name anyway). "iSeries." Done deal. 
NOW LET IT GROW!

In a public forum, I can't say everything I want to without getting myself in 
trouble, but let's just say that in a multi-platform, largely non-Blue shop, it 
can be challenging to keep the iSeries (or whatever it is) relevant. 
Fortunately, we have a large enough AS/400 customer base that it makes good 
financial sense for the company to continue to embrace it.

I may be looking at this from the opposite point of view of your "AS/400; that 
old thing" statement.

After convincing management that "iSeries" was a viable platform on which to 
implement new products, we were able to make a go of it thanks to the new 
technology put in the box by IBM. Still, many of our tech people consider it a 
nuisance because it is not just another UNIX box. Most had no previous exposure 
and many even thought that AS/400 = IBM mainframe. 

Now, a few years later, they sort of know what "iSeries" is and they are even 
beginning to think it is a good thing. We *are* cultivating mindshare. We have 
begun to build a positive reputation under that name and I do not want to lose 
that ground. I don't welcome ANOTHER name change.

When I talk to people and mention "i5", they don't know what I am talking 
about. I explain that it is the iSeries (or the AS/400, depending on the 
audience). They make a face, or a noise, or a gesture. I am not making this up. 
This is how real people react to these name changes.

That is where I'm coming from.

-Marty