Re: Older systems

[Vernon Hamberg <vhamberg@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Rob

You have the enviable position of being completely in control of the 
hardware and OS levels you are using. Vendors are not in that 
position. Even IBM supports back a couple levels. Every vendor 
chooses their own policy in this regard, and saying that you have 
support for v2r3 does not preclude also being right up there on v6r1. 
We still have source and an idle machine that COULD let us compile 
changes back to v3r2 - have we had to in the almost 3 years I've been 
here? Maybe once. We basically freeze it but could handle a bug if we had to.

We also will be making sure about v6r1 - ANZOBJCVN has already 
revealed what we need to do. And we will be putting all our products 
to minimum release of V5R1 at that time, with a freeze on 
installables back to V4r4 as we have it now.

These are business decisions a vendor has to make - we discuss this 
regularly here, with an eye on existing customers - you are your own 
customer, so you don't face these issues the same way - as you have 
alluded to in your post.

Regards
Vern

At 09:23 AM 12/20/2007, you wrote:

> I've been known to harp on this list about vendors who are more enthralled
> to support older releases than newer releases.
>
> I've always felt that I am more impressed with a vendor that participates
> in IBM's Early Ship Program for new releases of i5/OS than those who brag
> that their stuff still runs on V2R3.
>
> I recently dealt with a vendor who's stuff doesn't pass ANZOBJCVN and will
> not work on V6R1.  (They are remedying that.)  But he told me that he made
> two sales just last week to CISC accounts.  I was impressed.  I figured
> there were people out there still running that.  But I always assumed they
> would never put a penny into those machines.  This vendor admitted that
> his product is a "utility" and not a full blown ERP package or anything.
> And is often "required" (well, if not required, at least the sensible
> choice - and I concur) if you are doing business that would benefit from
> his utility.
>
> Rob Berendt
> --
> Group Dekko Services, LLC
> Dept 01.073
> PO Box 2000
> Dock 108
> 6928N 400E
> Kendallville, IN 46755
> http://www.dekko.com
>
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