RE: Many RPG programmers would like to be able to port their apps to other

["Joel R. Cochran" <jrc@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

John,

I really liked your post until I read...

> The customers that ARE concerned about porting their apps to
> another OS or
> hardware platform will become just like the other typical
> Intel or Linux/Unix customers.
>
> Which is:
>
> They don't give a flying F@#$ what the hardware it is. Compaq, Dell,
> xSeries...
> "Are you the cheapest?, No? then you are outta here"
>
> Unix, Linux, Python, VB.... They will say "I have NO loyalty
> or allegiance
> to you,
> Next week You are Outta here"
>
> IBM, SUN, MS..... I have NO loyalty or allegiance to you.
> I will change from you like I change socks.
> -----------------------

You're kidding, right?  I care.  I care a lot!  Unfortunately most of our
potential business doesn't.  As a little ISV I MUST provide what potential
users demand which is increasingly the ability to run in an NT environment
that has no iSeries.  I can talk until I'm blue in the face (and have on
many occassions) trying to convince them to go with the 400 but ultimately I
can't compete on just the 400 alone.

We have lost a dozen contracts in the last couple of years because we are
400-centric which I  think represents loyalty to the point of becoming
painful, especially when you consider that we only have 30 clients.  I don't
WANT to go cross-platform, I NEED to go cross-platform and I will ALWAYS run
400s and RPG in-house, so if you don't mind please keep the gross
generalizations to yourself.

Respectfully,

Joel R. Cochran
Director of Internet Services
VamaNet.com
(800)480-8810
mailto:custservice@vamanet.com