Re: Saving the System i: Fight Rather Than Switch

["Trevor Perry" <tperry@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Mark,

What you are referring to - about age and 70s/80s - is OS/400. That has been 
renamed to i5/OS. BUT - it is only a small part of what a System i can do. 
The pillars of a System i include i5/OS (which has more 
feature/functionality than OS/400), Linux 64-bit native, AIX 5L, Windows and 
Linux with ix integration.

It IS our responsibility for getting the word out. If we are going to have a 
future with this server, we are responsible to market this incredible 
platform to everyone. We have left it to IBM for a long time, we have whined 
about what they have done - and if you want it to have a future, step up. As 
has been mentioned, iSociety is a means to that end.

Or, we can call it an AS/400 and remain a dinosaur. Your personal choice.

On my behalf, I am doing everything I can to promote the brand - which, btw, 
is System i. Changing the name is not the ONLY thing we must do in our 
head - but it is a VERY SIMPLE thing to change. Vernacular is everything.

Trevor

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "M Lazarus" <mlazarus@xxxxxxxx>
To: "Midrange Systems Technical Discussion" <midrange-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, December 08, 2006 9:20 AM
Subject: Re: Saving the System i: Fight Rather Than Switch


> Trevor,
>
> You are reinforcing my position!  Who is responsible for getting the word
> out - me?  You or IBM?  Who has the resources to do it?  IBM!  Who is the
> largest beneficiary of getting the word out?  IBM!
>
> I need to communicate with customers or potential customers.  People
> (outside of the fold) know the IBM Midrange box as AS/400.  (Although
> it's usually followed by: "Is that system still around?  I thought it was
> gone years ago!")  Explaining that it's the best business platform
> around, new technology, new name, blah, blah, blah... usually gets a
> polite smile, or an "Oh, really?"  In their minds, even the new
> technology is sorely lagging behind (and it's hard to disagree on many
> points.)
>
> Sorry, but pushing the new name is only a paint job on an aging car,
> until the gaping holes are filled in.  It's fine to start using the new
> name, but it's a small nit compared to the real problem.
>
> To address your DVD analogy, you can say that you're recording to disc.
> Does that mean a diskette, hard disk, CD-R, CD-RW, CD+R, CD+RW, DVD (with
> all it's flavors), mini-disc, etc?  The answer, on a fairly high level,
> is that it DOESN'T MATTER!  You are recording to some digital media.  A
> similar analogy applies to the IBM Midrange platform.  The user knows
> what we mean.  And they usually don't care.
>
> Its roots *are* in '70s and '80s technology.  That's not always a bad
> thing - the technology is solid.  But in many areas that count, it's
> showing its age.  Only IBM can realistically rectify that.  IBM should be
> a leader, but they're barely a follower!  Around 12-15 YEARS after the
> GUI started becoming popular on the desktop and the i5 doesn't have a
> native, built-in GUI???
>
> That's just the reality, as I see it.
>
> -mark
>
>
> > Mark,
> >
> > There is no name game refrain here. There is only ONE family name for 
> > this
> > platform - System i. No one knows about System i - yet it is the best
> > platform on the planet. Why don't they know? Because we keep calling it 
> > an
> > AS/400 - something from last century.
> >
> > If WE, collectively, would start calling it System i, there would be less
> > of
> > the "it's old" refrain. Why this is not obvious, I cannot imagine. It is
> > like calling my DVD collection VHS - that was the precursor, not the
> > current
> > technology. That was the heritage, not the present. Who would you buy a
> > movie player from in today's world? Not the VHS salesman. Not the luddite
> > who says VHS is the best thing - even though they are using a DVD - or
> > even
> > a DVR for that matter.
> >
> > We have to STOP saying AS/400 before we lose the System i.
> >
> > Trevor
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "M. Lazarus" <mlazarus@xxxxxxxx>
> > To: "Midrange Systems Technical Discussion" <midrange-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > Sent: Friday, December 08, 2006 12:01 AM
> > Subject: Re: Saving the System i: Fight Rather Than Switch
> >
> >
> > > Trevor,
> > >
> > >  We've heard the "name game" refrain for a while, but IMHO, that's
> > > missing the mark by a long shot.  That's like saying that the entire
> > > Ferrari line won't sell if I paint some pink.  As "modern" as this
> > > platform is, there are some gaping holes that only IBM can fix, but
> > > they choose not to.  I'll throw out a few, others can chime in with
> > > additional items and details.
> > >
> > > 1) IBM seems to be embarrassed by the box.  Put a pSeries up against
> > > an iSeries in a potential sale and chances are the pSeries will win,
> > > if there's an IBM sales rep involved.  They don't market it
> > > properly.  All of us in the field recognize that.  Since I don't
> > > believe that the parade of IBM'ers over the years in charge of
> > > marketing the box are stupid, the only conclusion I can come to is
> > > that it's deliberately being sabotaged.  I don't know why, but I'm
> > > not privy to those meetings.
> > >
> > > 2) A native GUI is mandatory.  I don't want to hear about HATS,
> > > Websphere or other screen scraper technology.  A simple DDS interface
> > > will make it accessible to the masses.  This needs to be part of the
> > > OS, right out of the box, w/ no additional configuration required.
> > >
> > > 3) Printing and viewing popular PC images are a royal pain, without
> > > conversions or add-ons.  Could you imagine if Microsoft charged extra
> > > to print standard graphics files?
> > >
> > > 4) Pricing.  Take a page out of Microsoft's marketing
> > > machine.  Purchasing this machine should be a slam dunk for any IT
> > > manager.  IBM loves to throw out the 3-5 year ROI calculation when
> > > trying to make a sale.  I say - keep that value and introduce a new
> > > concept:  Being competitive with a PC server solution -
> > > NOW!  Corporate wants to hear that we can budget and afford this
> > > solution - NOW!  Shareholders want to hear that we saved money THIS
> > > year, not in 3 - 5 years.
> > > -----------
> > >
> > >  The many name changes are just adding insult to injury.  But since
> > > they're not marketing it properly, positive brand recognition is not
> > > there anyway.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >  -mark
> > >
> > >
> > > At 12/7/06 11:59 PM, you wrote:
> > > > Way too long to read for the lack of any solution. It starts with a call
> > > > to
> > > > fight, carries on with a call to fight for an OUTDATED server (AS/400)
> > > > and
> > > > ends with suggestions for IBM to do something. That does not fly any
> > > > more -
> > > > we have to get off OUR collective behinds and DO something. IBM needs
> > > > OUR
> > > > help to keep this platform in OUR world.
> > > >
> > > > You can't fight a fight for a system that is no longer available for
> > > > purchase - that is, an AS/400. While we keep on calling our platform an
> > > > AS/400, and still call ourselves AS/400 developers/programmers/people,
> > > > we
> > > > will remain stuck in the past and die the betamax death. We can write
> > > > all
> > > > we
> > > > want about what IBM should do, but writing does nothing if you are still
> > > > writing about AS/400. And this article switches between AS/400 and
> > > > System
> > > > i
> > > > like they are the same thing. If I.T. collectively thinks AS/400 is
> > > > outdated, then painting System i with the outdated "AS/400" brush is the
> > > > first thing to STOP DOING.
> > > >
> > > > We work on System i - this is the family of servers which WERE AS/400
> > > > servers, THEN iSeries servers, but are now System i5. You do not buy a
> > > > new
> > > > AS/400 from IBM - you buy a System i5 server. This is THE most modern
> > > > platform on the planet, and if we just moved into the 21st century, we
> > > > would
> > > > not have to be "fighting the AS/400 fight".
> > > >
> > > > Fight the System i fight.
> > > > AS/400 is our past, not our present.
> > > > AS/400 is our heritage, not our future.
> > > > AS/400 is dead. Long live the System i.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > > From: "Neil Palmer" <neilpalmer400mr@xxxxxxxx>
> > > > To: "Midrange Systems Technical Discussion" <midrange-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > > > Sent: Thursday, December 07, 2006 10:27 PM
> > > > Subject: Saving the System i: Fight Rather Than Switch
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > > Well worth a read:
> > > > >
> > > > > Saving the System i: Fight Rather Than Switch
> > > > >
> > > > > http://www.itjungle.com/tfh/tfh120406-story03.html
> > > > >
> > > > > Neil Palmer, Cambridge, Ontario, Canada
> > >
> > > --
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