Re: cloud services with new development on IBM i on Power -- MIDRANGE-L

Problem for growth is when given a choice of new platforms with equal development technology (PHP, Java, .Net) most new app developers will select Windows or Linux because they can host a cheap version of their app on one of these servers at Rackspace or Amazon and Viola instant Saas.

Once homogenized to a DB backend to host web apps and services, i will not be the first choice in most cases.

I'm not saying that you can't be successful with IBM i as we certainly are.

Just saying that I don't see a huge ecosystem expansion for IBM i when there are easier and more immediate backend options for new developers to deploy.

Instant gratification is hard to beat :-)

Regards,
Richard Schoen
RJS Software Systems Inc.
Where Information Meets Innovation
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Email: richard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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message: 2
date: Tue, 14 May 2013 19:46:38 -0500
from: Pete Helgren <pete@xxxxxxxxxx>
subject: Re: cloud services with new development on IBM i on Power

That is *exactly* the way to do it! The whole cost of ownership issue is
something *you* manage. The issues regarding hardware, expertise, green
screen UI, gone! Yes, YOU as the service provider can have plenty of
green screen interfaces if you want but the customer only sees a web
interface.

Nice, Nathan. We've been pitching too much to end users. We should be
talking to businesses who want to provide SaaS and reap the benefits of
a low TCO. Let me know if you stray into the finance and payroll
arenas. I have an HR/Timeclock system that runs best on i and would
love to get some more mileage out of it.....

Pete Helgren
www.petesworkshop.com
GIAC Secure Software Programmer-Java

On 5/14/2013 6:21 PM, Nathan Andelin wrote:

The IBM i ecosystem has a lot of potential for new growth under a cloud business model. Perhaps only 1 in say 1,000 of users (in our case) knows what platform they're running on. No green screens. No IBM i user profiles. No spool files. No output queues. No writers. No devices. Email instead of message queues. No PC software to install or support (such as IBM i Access). No emulation. No discussions about platform name changes. No accusations of the platform being archaic or declining. No ODBC interfaces.

Browser-based sign-on screens. Hundreds of web applications and GUI reports (HTML & PDF). Deployment of new applications and updates is a matter of saving objects on the development box and restoring them on the production server. Automated procedures for provisioning new environments for new clients. Data backup to a separate cloud co-location data center. No capital outlays. Monthly fees based on metered rates, such as a rate per student in our case.

-Nathan