RE: Saving the System i: Fight Rather Than Switch

Lukas, not to discount your words, but I just priced a Dell with the specs
you laid out, and with SQL Server two-socket connection and Windows 2003
Server it's over $26,000.  That's without backup software and also without
any development tools.  I'm not sure what IIS licensing costs, either.

You're right. I was getting a bit polemic ;) Strip it down to 2x Dual Core, 
4GB, 2 147GB disk, and you'll still get a lot more performance than with a 
System i. Also, the System i is more expensive in switzerland, than in the US. 
So there also some differences here.

At the same time, I'm pretty sure my model 520 (370CPW, granted, but still)
spec'd out at around $12K.  It was certainly under $20K with software.  And
you get OS/400 and all the development tools, which is what you're really
paying for.  If all you need is a web-serving appliance, then by all means,
go with Windows.  If you want a business rules server, you stick with the
iSeries.

The system i offers a lot of integrated value, i agree with you. Also, you get 
an integrated solution with support from ONE vendor. That's a cool thing. But 
the price/performance difference is still something that i dont find to be 
acceptable.

Even your own architecture points this out: why does your application use
RPG for its business logic?  If Windows was such a great environment for
business applications, why haven't you rewritten your software in .NET?

Legacy reasons. Small company. Core team of developers with lots of System i 
Experience.
There certainly never was a reevaluation of the System i as the "right" 
platform. It just happened that way. (But that was several years before i 
joined the company)