In the last issue, we surveyed our readership and asked what keeps you from buying third-party programming tools such as utilities, add-ons for RPG IV, WDSc, or query tools. While certainly not everyone avoids purchasing programmer-oriented software, those who do seem to believe that software is too expensive. Specifically, I asked if it was too pricey and needed to be more along the lines of PC software for them to consider. This was the number one response.
Let's look at that reasoning. A typical AS/400 or iSeries has anywhere from six users to thousands of concurrent users. So let's throw out the high and low user counts and come up with a working number; how about 20 concurrent users? Small, yet not too small. Big, but by no means a big customer.
If you purchase a PC software package that would be used by all 20 of those users, it would cost 20 times the single copy price. Let's look at Symantec's Norton SystemWorks for Mac. The current single user price is $119 at PCConnection.com (a long-time iSeries customer). Why the Mac? Because like the iSeries, the Mac is does not have as large a market as the PC/Windows market.
For 20 PCs (or Macs), you'd pay 20 times that $119 licensing fee or $2380 for SystemWorks. Another iSeries customer, CDW.com, has a 10-pack of SystemWorks for Mac available for $970, so $970 times two is $1940.
So no matter how you slice it, you're going to pay about $2,000 for the PC (or Mac) software. Compare that with the typical programmer utility or general-purpose tool for the iSeries. It could costs anywhere from $995 to $2995 (or more) depending on the processor group, which is not too different from PC software pricing.
The fundamental flaw with wanting iSeries software to cost the same as PC software is that you are taking a personal view of the software price. You are looking at it as if you were buying it for your home computer. You have to remember that with multiple PCs, you pay multiple times the PC software, so the price is 10, 20, 30, or more times the individual retail price--unless you're bootlegging PC software, in which case you have bigger issues.
The second most popular reason for not purchases software was the Not Invented Here (NIH) mentality. NIH may be one of the reasons some iSeries shops are moving off the platform. Unless there is support for the very market in which you earn a living, soon that market will evaporate. No software sales, no software. No software, no one will want the platform.
Of course, there is also the age-old business decision of "make vs. buy." But many software packages out there simply can't be written by your staff in a reasonable or economical timeframe. Look at some of the functionality in most of the third-party software; for example, if you need a program-to-file cross-reference tool, you could certainly write one in a few day or a few hours (if you're good). It might give you a file where-used database, but it will never do what a veteran software package such as Abstract from ASC does. Yet your home-grown utility will probably cost your company nearly as much to build and maintain, and you'll end up with a substantially less-capable tool.
Tied for second place in our survey for reasons why people don't buy third-party, programmer-oriented software is that you keep getting shot down by your own company. "The company doesn't buy anything we need, so I don't bother recommending anything" tied with the NIH answer.
Some shops just want everything included with their initial purchase of the system. They don't want to spend money after paying for a high-ticket item like a new iSeries box. So if you know your company is purchasing/considering a new iSeries box, why not determine what third-party software you and your company will need and include it in the budget? Then, purchase it along with the hardware acquisition.
There is also a way to often get software for free. IBM has a new program called "Server Proven" that allows you to include at least one third-party software package in your new system purchase, and IBM will rebate the cost of that software package to your company. Effectively, you get the package for no charge.
The bottom line is that if you are one of these programmers who is worried about losing your job, you need to help feed the very marketplace that supports you. The next time you need a programmer-oriented software package, add-on library of prewritten subprocedures, database tool, cross-reference tool, or something else, spend your time researching what is available from a third party. Then, put together a proposal for your boss, asking to have that software purchased for the staff. Just think: The time you spent getting paid to write your own utility could now be spent learning how to use one of these third-party packages, finishing up a critical applications software requirement, or perhaps, spending a few more hours at home without actually answering work-related email or phone calls.
Bob Cozzi is a programmer/consultant, writer/author, and software developer. His popular RPG xTools add-on subprocedure library for RPG IV is fast becoming a standard with RPG developers. His book The Modern RPG Language has been the most widely used RPG programming book for more than a decade. He, along with others, speaks at and produces the highly popular RPG World conference for RPG programmers.
Bob Cozzi is a programmer/consultant, writer/author, and software developer. His popular RPG xTools add-on subprocedure library for RPG IV is fast becoming a standard with RPG developers. His book The Modern RPG Language has been the most widely used RPG programming book for more than a decade. He, along with others, speaks at and produces the highly popular RPG World conference for RPG programmers.
MC Press books written by Robert Cozzi available now on the MC Press Bookstore.
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