I’ve been getting a lot of phone calls lately from telemarketers trying to sell me everything from life insurance to Florida vacations, and some of the marketing strategies they come up with to try to get my money are really clever. The current favorite is for them to call and start a conversation as if we were old buddies who haven’t spoken for years. The first time someone employed this technique on me, I was thrown for a loop trying to remember who the guy on the phone was.
I felt really bad that I couldn’t remember him until he said something like, “You know, Shannon, since it’s been a long time since we’ve spoken, let me tell you about this great new investment opportunity I’ve discovered.” Yeesh! I’ve gotten to the point where I’m afraid to answer the phone.
That’s kind of the way I feel these days when I hear and read all the hype about Domino and Lotus Notes being the only solution for a successful 21st century business. I feel as if someone’s calling me up late at night trying to sell me a vacation in the Everglades. Actually, depending on who you talk to at IBM and what camp they are in, Domino isn’t necessarily touted as the only solution for a successful new millennium business. It is, however, the most vocalized. I can’t help but wonder if IBM feels as if it got the worse end of the deal when it purchased Lotus Corporation and is just trying to cover it up while recouping its investment. When someone is trying this hard to sell me something, I usually wait for the other shoe to drop before I buy.
You, the system administrator, need to step back and consider what you’re being asked to take part in. Don’t jump on the Domino and new AS/400e Dedicated Server for Domino bandwagon without considering all sides of the coin first. After all, purchasing a new software package and a new hardware solution is no trivial task. Rather, it could lead to major changes in the way you do business—not to mention the enormous job you may find yourself facing in moving all of your existing software to a new product.
Evaluating What You Hear
Think for a moment about what’s been going on at IBM over the past couple of years. IBM has been burning bridges left and right to sell you on the idea that Domino is the software of choice for the future. It’s even gone so far as to abandon its long-standing and extremely well-used OfficeVision/400 (OV/400), leaving users of that product up the creek without a paddle. What kind of business logic is that? That’s akin to Shell Oil telling its customers
that it is going to stop carrying gasoline and instead start pushing seltzer water. It would soon find itself out of business because of all the competition.
IBM, on the other hand, holds a monopoly (more or less) on the midrange market. If it has an AS/400 customer who has been using OV/400 for the last 10 years, it’s not too worried about the negative feedback when it tells him he has to migrate to some other product. It knows that customer has too much invested in the AS/400 to just drop it and run to the nearest competitor. IBM may tell you that it has the customer’s best interests at heart, but don’t you believe it. IBM has IBM’s best interests at heart. This kind of big-bully logic doesn’t sit well with an IS manager who must somehow find the man power and time to move all the company’s systems to a new platform.
You are supposed to buy into the spiel that not only do you need Domino and Lotus Notes but also what you really need is a new custom AS/400e Dedicated Server for Domino. This is what’s known as the Telemarketer Shuffle: “So, Mr. Jones, you’ll be able to use this time-share condo for two weeks every year for only $12,000, and, what’s more, I’ll even throw in clean towels for an extra $500 per week.” This is what your boss is going to hear, anyway, when you try to sell him on purchasing a new software package and then tell him that IBM says it really runs best on a dedicated server.
Join Me in the Swamp
Because IBM has been bombarding you heavily with Domino and dedicated server marketing these days, you, as a system administrator, are probably feeling as if someone at IBM has pasted a “stupid” sign on your forehead. Does your business really need Domino and a dedicated server to run it on? Maybe. But don’t assume it does just because IBM says so. Consider all your options first. For example, do you even need to put your business on the Internet? Really? Or is that just a knee-jerk reaction to all the hype the popular press is propagating? Maybe you do need to have a real e-business, but have you considered other alternatives? These are the kinds of questions you need to consider before making a decision about whether or not Domino and a new dedicated AS/400 server are right for your business. If you don’t, you may find that you’ve not only purchased a tropical vacation but also paid extra for the water lapping at the beach!
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