Re: Modernizing applications

Ouch!

Stuart,

Nothing personal, I do not like his behavior.

I do not like the push ~against~ the i. This applies to vendors who use fear
to scare customers into converting away from the platform. Many a customer
has run away because of this FUD. Bob is a new vendor in the same arena, and
is spreading fear.

Trevor


On 8/20/09 11:55 AM, "Stuart Milligan" <stuartm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

It's difficult to imagine anything more nauseatingly self promoting or camp
and melodramatic than Mr Perry's contribution to this thread. I get the
distinct impression that Trevor doesn't like Bob.



Trevor Perry wrote:



Hans,

Thanks for your intelligent response. It certainly is difficult to reply
without passion and emotion, and you have succeeded in cutting through the
crap.

From my perspective, I know Bob is right on a few fronts and wrong on many.

The market for our
<http://archive.midrange.com/midrange-l/200908/msg00803.html> platform has
certainly shrunk over the last decade, and
it is still shrinking. However, it is not going away in some time. For Bob
to be preaching that it will die ~tomorrow~ is essentially spreading fear.
And, my concern is that was on a forum that is pro-i.

I do think Bob is wrong on many fronts, including claiming to be an
i-nsider. To me, claiming you are an insider and yet preaching demise does
not seem to fit properly. His view of the world is flavored by his approach
to the customers. I have been at many
<http://archive.midrange.com/midrange-l/200908/msg00803.html> conferences
when people rushed out of
his sessions asking why Bob said "RPG is dead", followed by a strong denial
from Bob. I have personally seen both. He sold EGL to the world and managed
a very small following, yet is no longer at
<http://archive.midrange.com/midrange-l/200908/msg00803.html> IBM - which
seems to mean (just
reading between the lines) that EGL has not been successful in finding its
feet in the iWorld. When you have an approach that is ~telling~ people to
get out of something, it seems to me that few people are going to be telling
you about their plans and futures. Yet, he continues this rhetoric and
claims he understands the
<http://archive.midrange.com/midrange-l/200908/msg00803.html> customer base.

The iPlatform is not dead yet. Some pundits have been preaching this for
years, yet we still have a strong
<http://archive.midrange.com/midrange-l/200908/msg00803.html> community. Bob
claims that I work for a
small software company, and he got that wrong, too. I am also an independent
consultant who works around the globe on advising and strategizing about
modernization approaches, primarily to iCustomers. In recent months in my
sphere, there has been NOT one single migration away from the i. And, in
fact, there are many more stories where the 'planned' migration from the i
has been reversed, primarily due to spreading education about how strong the
platform is, how IBM is investing in the future of the platform, and the
directions of RPG. Yesterday, I received several
<http://archive.midrange.com/midrange-l/200908/msg00803.html> emails about
modernizing
the i and leveraging their investments. One of the emails discussed how they
were migrating from another platform to at least 12 550s. If I am, and
others are seeing all this activity, then the doom and gloom from Bob's
fingers is simply not correct. His "facts" are definitely in question.

As to your point about understanding what is happening, that can not be
gained from one apparently disgruntled ex-IBMer who looks like he is now
selling modernization and appears to have an agenda. There are more facts
available than his.

As to your point about planning for the future, that is key. I speak around
the world on many modernization subjects, and while i is strong in many
shops, there are more and more platforms being added to the company
portfolio. That does not mean i goes away, but it does become part of a
bigger world - and that is key to planning for the future. And for several
years now, I have been presenting a session about being an IT survivor. This
is personal and encourages iDevelopers to expand their world. What is
wonderful about our platform is that you CAN expand in many ways right on
the i. And beyond that, having skills that leverage your i experience while
becoming a well rounded IT
<http://archive.midrange.com/midrange-l/200908/msg00803.html> developer is
also key.

Your points are extremely valid. We just don't need the constant screaming
about platform demise, and not on public iForums. It is just not happening
to the agenda set by the naysayers.

Trevor



Stuart Milligan

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