Re: Saving the System i: Fight Rather Than Switch

[Evan Harris <spanner@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Trevor

the name is neither here nor there in my experience, and if my 
customers call it "the 400" I don't spend the time I have when they 
are listening to me correcting them and educating them on the new 
name. While I buy your argument that calling the box by the right 
name is important, I don't agree that it is "the answer".

The one thing we cannot do - that only IBM can do - is get behind the 
box THEY manufacture. It's a tough sell when you are trying to 
convince a customer to go with an i and IBM won't commit to anything 
better than "we'll sell p, x, or i - whatever the customer chooses". 
If IBM got behind the i - and I mean right behind it and risked 
actually losing their p or x sale - then the customer might actually 
be convinced it was the best solution and that IBM were actually 
committed to the platform. But when IBM is back in there the next day 
talking about db2 on p as a viable solution and is priced better, 
then why is the customer to think i is the answer when even the 
manufacturer of the box is talking alternatives ?

Even better if they priced the hardware the same and sold i5/OS as a 
separate offering so it could be compared more easily against 
AIX/db2, Solaris/Oracle or whatever. the TCO argument would fly a lot 
better if your could easily compare the components and the hardware 
was taken out of the equation.

Maybe while they are getting the pricing right they could also allow 
unlimited telnet sessions (otherwise known as 5250) to the box 
without requiring a special feature. How many telnet sessions can you 
run on a p before telnet connections run slower ?

A lot of us out there have "body parts" on the block when me make a 
bid or a proposal. We need IBM to be just as committed.

regards
Evan Harris


At 06:48 p.m. 11/12/2006, you wrote:

> Mark,
>
> The faithful have said that IBM has been missing for a long time. We can
> assume that it is hard to get IBM to do what "we" want. So, let's do
> something ourselves. Stepping up is contributing - to iSociety, for an
> example. Angus (www.angustheitchap.com) is my example of stepping up. And
> you, too, can contribute. Send me something for the marketing site
> (www.i4everyone.com).
>
> As for the name, IBM sells System i - currently, System i5 servers. We do
> not have a choice on the name - it is chosen by the vendor. If we do NOT use
> the same vernacular as IBM, we will soon be out of date and obsolete -
> vernacular will give you away as a dinosaur - vernacular is everything.
>
> Trevor