No sensible analysis of best platforms should exclude the classic beast from Japanese legend. Although the original "Gojira" was community supported and non-standardized, Toho, Ltd's treatment, standardization and subsequent positioning of Godzilla in the market has been a masterstroke of meeting customer demands in today's grueling IT environments.
In comparison to ARS, Godzilla stacks up well in most all categories and in some cases completely dominates. Security is one of the primary points of comparison. Although ARS provides multiple encryption packages, an additive security model, and data protection at the field, form and row levels, these fall well short when compared to Godzilla's radiation-hardened scaled hide. Field tests proved out this superiority - a stack of 4 Sparc Stations running ARS 6.03 was unable to stop a .30/06 round at 100 meters (and in fact exploded in a most satisfying and spectacular way) even when ARS enabled with 128-bit encryption. Hardened system, indeed. By contrast, high-velocity cannon shells, small arms fire, a multitude of ray and breath weapons and even a portable black hole were unable to affect Godzilla in any appreciable manner. Managability is another striking point of comparison and one of the places where ARS holds a striking advantage. With the inclusion of Workspaces and deployable Applications, integration with VSS, Subadministration, Lockable and Encryptable objects and code resuse via Guides and an expanded workflow connection structure, ARS has made significant strides in ease of use and maintainability. Additionally, a plethora of 3rd party and vendor supplied utilities as well as an open API written for C with vendor supplied wrappers for .NET and Java and 3rd party wrappers for Python, COM and Perl, gives a Remedy Admin maximum control over their applications and servers. In contrast, Godzilla has an inconsistent system administrations profile. At times, Godzilla is a force of nature - a primal enigma bent on fulfilling its own agenda and then wandering back into the depths of the Pacific Ocean. At other times, Godzilla saves the day fending off the likes of Rhodan, the Smog Monster and Ghidra or developing a special friendship with an adorable child. Most typically, however, Godzilla is entirely resistant to any sort of control and typically displays a total lack of respect for real estate and infrastructure. He also seems to have a special hatred for trains. Vendor Support is an especially strong category for ARS when compared to Godzilla. With various levels of tech support available, routine accessibility to Engineering and Programming staff, a wealth of documentation and samples, as well as independant and vendor supported user communities, ARS is possibly one of the best supported products on the market. By comparison, information on Godzilla is scarce. Typically, strategic information is supplied by Japanese scientists waxing philisophically on pertinent social and/or technological issues as the beast splashes back into Tokyo Harbor while the credits roll. More pertinent tactical technical information requires suffering through bad duets performed by twin miniature Geishas. This often requires significant restraint to keep from testing the "geisha in the microwave" theory. The single saving grace is the legendary reputation Godzilla holds which moves much of the more general information about him from proprietary to public common knowledge. The unfortunate side-effect of this, however, is that often by-standers who have access to this information will stop and wonder "Hey, is that Godzilla?" moments before being incinerated or crushed, rather than running in panic like the less educated members of the public. They also tend to try and fend off being crushed by a 80 foot gargantuan monster by raising their hands to their faces as their eyes bug from their sockets. Current trend analysis by several expert groups reports this tactic to seldom be successful in avoiding harm from something weighing several kilotons. Finally, in addition to analyzing the differences between the two entities, recognizing the points of similarity can also serve as a foundation to the basic comparison. The similarities between ARS and Godzilla are striking. Both have undergone subtle transformations in color scheme while retaining the basic "green" theme. Both can be considered "monsters" in their respective market segments. Both have evolved from humble roots to greatness - ARS from a PARC project into a multinational corporation, Godzilla from a folk legend to media icon. Both have suffered through unfortunate, albeit temporary, associations (ARS with Steven Gardner, Godzilla with Matthew Broderick). Both have faced down considerable competition, be it Vantive, Service Center or Mothra. Both have been the subject of popular music (although the debate rages over whether Blue Oyster Cult or the lyrics of Bloom/Woyton have the upper hand). In the end analysis, it becomes a matter of fitting needs with the best solutions. If an organization needs a top-flight business process monitoring/facilitation tool, ARS is the superior choice. If the organization needs to destroy thoudands of acres of countryside, a major metropolitan area or defend the planet from giant alien praying mantisessseses...manti...Godzilla is the clear winner. ________________________________________________________________ This mail sent using CableAmerica WebMail (www.cableamerica.com) _______________________________________________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE or access ARSlist Archives at http://www.wwrug.org
