Re: the RPG problem - adrift in the PC-web wind

@Nathan:
"We're stuck in a rut. We resist change. We're so proud and so pleased
that our legacy code running core systems around the world like
clock-work, that we assume it will ALWAYS remain relevant. But if that
were true there wouldn't be so many RPG programmers unemployed, looking
for work.

"The real future for the IBM i platform will be determined on how well WE
adapt to the Internet. Note that I say WE, rather than IBM. IBM is doing a
pretty good job on their part. WE are not. WE resist change. WE fail to
invest meaningfully. We're suffering from a false sense of entitlement."

No offense, but if we don't farm our business out to third-parties over
the Internet, then we are resisting change and stuck in a rut? How big is
IBM i in the cloud computing arena right now anyway, and how is this going
to enhance the visibility of the platform? If anything, doesn't it
obfuscate it? If I remember right, Apple is using Microsoft Azure and
Amazon EC2 for their services (for example), not IBM, which seems to be
behind the curve (maybe I'm wrong).

Regardless, it seems like you are imputing origins and motives for action
which may or may not be true. Apart from possible psychological
dysfunction, companies may actually have compelling reasons to keep their
data and business operations in house. While the Internet was designed to
be highly distributed and redundant, a connection or two through one or
more ISPs may not be. Our Internet provider has inadvertently taken down
our connection down before. Utilities doing construction or making repairs
have cut through cables resulting in the same. Our website down went down,
for example, but our core business processes still remained up and
running. Of course, our business has not and never will be run over the
Internet. Nevertheless, I can see where other companies may not be
comfortable running their business processes by virtue of a third party
over an Internet connection because if one's connection goes down, then
one is out of business as Steven argues. This is aside from the issue of
entrusting data to a third-party, which can be a concern in the case of
trade secrets, HIPAA, PCI/DSS, etc. Cloud computing may be more convenient
or cost effective in some cases, where staff, expertise and resources are
limited. It may make sense if a major part of your business is Internet
facing. But not everyone's business is like that, and IBM i still has a
major role to play for said companies.

By way of contrast, our toll system runs in toll plazas over a 236-mile
stretch of road. All our processing could all be run remotely out of HQ
(i.e., all the tolling software and lane devices could be run in a
centralized manner from remote servers), but it isn't because we don't
want a single point of failure. If our back-end or network goes down for
some reason, then each toll plaza can remain operational because each
plaza (and lane for that matter) is self-contained. As a result, there
will be less potential for cars stacking up in lanes, hassle for our
collectors and customer dissatisfaction. Further, we would argue that in
contrast with other agencies which farm out the software, hardware,
auditing, etc. of their tolling to third-parties, that our costs and fraud
are lower and our scalability, efficiency and knowledge about what is
really going on much higher. It may be harder to pull off than hiring an
outside contractor, but we would argue that it is worth it.

So while I agree that doing things in house is not an excuse to rest on
one's laurels and stagnate, I disagree that the Internet, cloud services
and third parties are a panacea for everyone. (I am not thinking here of
ISVs who offer cloud services in addition to in house software options.
That makes perfect sense to me.) All of this said, however, even if RPG
programmers could as a group generally be characterized as proactive and
forward-thinking, it doesn't mean IBM i and RPG would necessarily persist.
The quality or adaptability of a technology could ultimately be less
influential as regards adoption, success or longevity than other factors,
like buzz, marketing hype, lower cost of entry, etc.

Blake



date: Thu, 15 Mar 2012 01:48:03 -0700 (PDT)
from: Nathan Andelin <nandelin@xxxxxxxxx>
subject: Re: the RPG problem - adrift in the PC-web wind

We're stuck in a rut. We resist change. We're so proud and so pleased that
our legacy code running core systems around the world like clock-work,
that we assume it will ALWAYS remain relevant. But if that were true there
wouldn't be so many RPG programmers unemployed, looking for work.

The real future for the IBM i platform will be determined on how well WE
adapt to the Internet. Note that I say WE, rather than IBM. IBM is doing a
pretty good job on their part. WE are not. WE resist change. WE fail to
invest meaningfully. We're suffering from a false sense of entitlement.