RE: Microsoft goes after the iSeries

["Bartell, Aaron L." <ALBartell@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Phillip, maybe you can answer this question for me.  How can a company
justify the cost of an iSeries if all you are using it for is a
database?  Once you take the application layer away from it you all of a
sudden have a very spendy DB server.  Based on that I would say that
ASNA is leading their customer down a path that does not take into
account their existing hardware investments.  I think it would serve a
iSeries shop much better to use web apps written in Java, running in WAS
or Tomcat on the iSeries, rather than try to get them to migrate away
from the box that keeps their business running.  Granted I have my
reservations about WAS, but no app is going to be as solid as a 5250.  

It seems companies like ASNA label this as a good thing that your RPG
programmers can program in RPG.NET without much learning curve, when
actually they are pulling you away from a box that you already have a
huge investment in.  How long will it be before your customers debate
whether they need an iSeries at all?  After all I can buy DB2 for my x86
box.

I am frustrated with companies like yours because this is exactly what
is happening in my shop. The higher ups thought it would be good to move
to .NET because we have Biztalk and Sharepoint and MS CRM, and
Office2003, and and and...  Yuck yuck yuck!!!  I say you don't make
decisions based on a languages ability to mix with Office applications,
because now you just put your mission critical applications on an OS
that is not for server business use.

Joe Pluta, excellent comments!

I digress. . .
Aaron Bartell

-----Original Message-----
From: midrange-nontech-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:midrange-nontech-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] 
Sent: Thursday, January 13, 2005 4:13 PM
To: Non-Technical Discussion about the AS400 / iSeries
Subject: RE: Microsoft goes after the iSeries

Mike,
Very well said. I agree, competition is healthy.
RPG developers have lots of choices now....that's a good thing.
I hope you get to read the Computerworld article because it really
represents what a real-world ASNA customer is like. (AVR.NET on
iSeries/i5).

Take care Mike.
Phillip