Re: Using % type functions/using RPG IV

Martin,

In a message dated 2/8/00 5:11:21 AM Eastern Standard Time, 
MccalliM@Midas-Kapiti.com writes:

<<snip>>
> 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).

Having done some banking work, I will say that you have a bit of a unique 
situation in that industry.  The EDP audit requirements for a bank that 
actually has an installed compiler and editor are so cost prohibitive that 
all but the biggest banks would probably hire you, regardless of whether or 
not you were price gouging, rather than put the infrastructure in place to 
support on-site development.

Banks are also highly regulated by various government bodies, and thereby 
_MUST_ do business in essentially the same manner as do all other banks.  
Manufacturers, on the other hand, generally report to no governing body that 
forces them to perform _business_ (not procedures, as does the FDA for 
pharmaceutical manufacturers) in any particular form.  Despite the fact that 
there are accepted standards (APICS, ISO, et al) for manufacturers, there is 
generally no _requirement_ that they do business in any particular manner.  
Despite the fact that, say, APICS standards apply to every single plant that 
I've worked at for the past fifteen+ years, manufacturers tend to use the 
lame excuse of "we're different from everyone else" rather than endure the 
pain of reengineering their business processes to a standard that would make 
life easier for them in the long run.

Thus, changes must be made to software that would otherwise serve perfectly 
well if the business ran as it should.  ERP vendors do not charge lightly for 
their services, so the customers prefer to make those changes themselves.  
The vendors maintain control over key components, but most of the packages 
are available to be modified in one way or another.  Perhaps if the vendors 
wrote better code to start with, they would be able to maintain the kind of 
control that you maintain...

Regards!

Dean Asmussen
Enterprise Systems Consulting, Inc.
Fuquay-Varina, NC  USA
E-mail:  DAsmussen@aol.com

"I do not know the key to success.  The key to failure is trying to please 
everyone." -- Bill Cosby
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