RE: Geac Lawsuit settlement -- SYSTEM21

It's not clear to me that this changes much for JBA users.  I don't think
Geac is contesting the right of 3rd parties to support JBA customers, only
their right to access the source code.  How much support can a company
provide if they can't access or modify source code?  

I think if Geac offered quality services at a competitive price then many
customers would choose them over 3rd parties.  And I would even emphasize
the quality over pricing.  I don't think these "strong armed" tactics are
going to sit very well with most users, but nevertheless moving to a new ERP
platform is a significant undertaking and this may be a calculated gamble on
the part of Geac to maximize consulting revenues over the next 2-3 years.
Does anyone have a feel for just how many consultants, analysts and
programmers Geac/JBA still has to peddle for services?  

It would also be interesting to compile via this mail list all of the 3rd
party companies that have JBA offerings.  It might be worth noting companies
that have an ongoing JBA presence versus companies just pushing the services
of a few contractors for which they collect fees.  I receive frequent
mailings from FYX and Information Alternatives.  There was also a company
called 3X, but I'm not sure if their still in the market.

Overall, I'm not a big fan of outsourcing JBA technical work.  We've been
much happier since we developed in-house expertise in this area.  Our main
issue is ongoing access to source code.  We do have two years left on a JBA
ESA (Extended Service Agreement).  We place about one call per month and
support has been OK.  

Once again, for us the expertise of the consultant is our main concern, not
their rate or who is their employer.  What I think Geac should do is
introduce a formal certification program for all consultants that really
tested their mettle.  I would be much more likely to use a consultant if I
had confidence they would be any good.  If they have consultants that need
more training, then get them up to speed.  Then get them on the road at
customer sites.  Offer one day of free consulting.  This is a lot more
useful than having them sit idle and then laying them off or losing them to
customers.  I might pay for someone to come back if they demonstrated a high
level of expertise duing their day of free consultation.

Dan Thomas
Sr. VP Information Systems
MDI
4500 Progress Blvd.
Louisville, KY  40218-5058
Phone (502) 454-9013 ext. 120
www.mdiweb.com


-----Original Message-----
From: rstearns@mpire.net [mailto:rstearns@mpire.net]
Sent: Tuesday, June 27, 2000 11:17 AM
To: JBAUSERS-L@midrange.com
Subject: Re: Geac Lawsuit settlement




Hi Everyone,
The Geac lawsuit has been settled on the side of the third party service
groups.
http://www.computerworld.com/cwi/story/0,1199,NAV47_STO46349,00.html

Royce Stearns
Manage, Inc.


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