RE: Saving the System i: Fight Rather Than Switch -- MIDRANGE-L

Steve,

 I'm laying that issue at IBM's doorstep, too!  Why was DEC so successful
in the '80s?  I believe that it started at the education level.  Many, if
not most, schools of higher education had DEC's and trained their
students on those machines.

 If IBM has to give them away for next to nothing to schools, then so be
it.  Instead of misplaced dollars for a 2 week long advertising blitz in
the city Common is in (to placate the Common attendees), put a few dozen
machines into schools - EVERY YEAR!  Throw in some free or very low cost
training.

 The IBM Midrange faithful have long sung its praises to whomever will
listen, but bottom line, it's IBM's baby (and potetially profit center)
to do what they want with it.

 When you hear of the rare case of a shop going from M$ to i5, the
reaction is always major surprise "REALLY?"  And I'm NOT talking about
the Wintel gurus - I'm talking about Midrange people!!!!  We've been
doing the preaching for a long time.  The marketing atrophy is all IBM. 
Why should we have to beg IBM for marketing support - every single
Common?

 Every step of the way should be a "no contest" decision in favor of the
i5.  From the knowledge that this box will do what they want (marketing),
to training (easy to find programmers), to a clearly cheaper initial
buy-in (today's proposal to management), to cheaper long term costs
(investor confidence), to ease of use features up to current UI standards
(a ubiquitous, built-in GUI), to current output standards (built-in
support for ASCII graphical printing), etc., etc.

 -mark

It was a very long read, nice background to it all, although I have to
agree it didn't say much apart from IBM not selling/promoting the iSeries
as it should. As for the name, well a rose is a rose by any other name. To
me that is not important, what is more important is the lack of people,
that is one of the reasons the guy here gives for wanting to get rid of
the iSeries. The artical seems to lay the blame at IBM's doorstep in this
regard. However it seems to me that the AS400/iSeries shops have also done
it to themselves, how many adverts has anyone seen looking for people who
have an aptitude to train them up to the iSeries? No, more likely to see
"must have at least 2 years experience." I even saw one wanting minimum 10
years experience(?) where do they think these people come from? I think
we/they have done it to themselves, no one is prepared to train anyone, or
they are scared they will train them and then they will leave. That
coupled with the users want for all the
 functions that a PC gives them, until the iSeries behaves more like a PC
and more shops are prepared to train the young people of today then it
will continue to die. Just my thoughts

Steve


-----Oorspronkelijk bericht-----
Van: midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx]Namens Neil Palmer
Verzonden: vrijdag 8 december 2006 5:28
Aan: Midrange Systems Technical Discussion
Onderwerp: Saving the System i: Fight Rather Than Switch


Well worth a read:

Saving the System i: Fight Rather Than Switch

http://www.itjungle.com/tfh/tfh120406-story03.html

Neil Palmer, Cambridge, Ontario, Canada

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