RE: Using % type functions/using RPG IV -- RPG400-L

Joel Stone said:

> Sorry about my post - I didnt mean to offend anyone.  But it appears
that the major apps vendors have moved 
> beyond the RPG only products of the 80's and 90's to GUI plaforms with
an AS/400 being optional.
> Most companies won't buy an AS/400-only app today if there is a
competitive product that runs on a multitude 
> of platforms, wouldn't you agree?
> Vendors like JDE, Lawson, Intentia, and most of the other AS/400 ERP
players no longer require AS/400 
> centric H/W to run their S/W.
> Banking and other niche markets may be different, I don't know.
Aren't your customers pushing for platform 
> independence?  The ERP customers did 5 to 10 years ago, and the ERP
vendors who didn't make the 
> transition are pretty much gone, don't you think?

I wasn't offended, just amused.

I don't know much about ERP.  This is still my first job (after twelve
years; hmmm, doesn't time fly?) so I only really know MKI (formerly BIS
Banking Systems)'s products, and from the vendor side, not as a
customer.

I don't think it's the case that our customers are particularly looking
for platform independence; they want the best software for their
business, so they buy Midas (hey, much more talk like that and I'll have
to transfer to Marketing) :)

The fact that it runs on AS/400s is neither here nor there.  If they
don't already have one they'll buy one (they're banks, they can afford
it:)).  What _is_ a major requirement, though, is the ability to
interface different products together.  So a major thrust of our work
for the last few years has been building generic interfaces, both
between our own various products and between others that the customers
might have and ours.

What this means is that we _do_ work in multiplatform environment, but
the paradigm shift is interfacing, not porting.

What I find strange is all this talk of having to maintain the vendor's
code.  Don't these people retain control of their own source?  If our
customers find bugs or want enhancements they come to us (generally --
there are exceptions).

Cheers,

Martin.

--                                                                     
Martin McCallion                 
Midas-Kapiti International
Work:  mccallim@midas-kapiti.com
Home: martin.mccallion@ukonline.co.uk

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.:. 
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