Some semi-random points:
1. Most, I'm sure, are familiar with Arcati's "Dynosaur Myth" study (of
total costs per user). If not, print out a few copies and hand them to
executives. Note that their 2005 update (in their 2005 Mainframe Yearbook
-- print out that page, too) projects an even bigger cost advantage for
zSeries because of ever-increasing labor costs. (No, offshoring won't
solve that problem. It'll only slightly delay the inevitable.)
2. Yes, the zSeries-related business is doing quite well, and it ain't
because of higher prices. (Quite the opposite, for both hardware and
software.) Mid-range server revenues are declining (except for IBM,
because IBM is gaining marketshare faster). The server market is
bifurcating into "big" (large, consolidated, "mixed workload" servers --
gee, that sounds familiar) and "small" (single application, fixed
function, targeted tasks).
3. In an increasingly interconnected, Web-based world, businesses will be
competing against one another in large part according to reliability,
availability, and security. When CardSystems "loses" up to 40 million
credit card numbers, First Data and FISERV have a huge opportunity to win
their customers. (Yes, I'm naming names.) When Com Air shuts down for
days because their crew scheduling system wraps around a 16-bit sequence
number, the CEO loses his job. An Asian bank in the Philippines can't
processes withdrawls? That bank causes widespread panic. A stock
exchange can't recover from a disaster? That exchange's business goes to
another trading floor. (Exchanges compete now, and it's a 24x7 world
market.) And so on.
So let's have that discussion. Often.
4. There have been some allusions to career issues in this discussion. It
has been my observation that zSeries has a robust and growing demand for
labor with a limited supply of skilled talent. That's true practically
everywhere in the world and more true in others. And if you speak Chinese
and can spell zSeries, boy, are you lucky.
I'm 37 and enjoying this career path, and it's going well. This is the
place to be. (Did you hear that? This is the place to be, I said.) Many
of my office teammates are in their mid-20s, and we have a 21 year old
college intern doing nothing but zSeries. Exciting times.
So here's my plea to the readers of this list:
(a) Stop acting like curmudgeons. No employer likes them, regardless of
discipline. The Poughkeepsie folks are throwing amazing new technology
into this platform (Linux, zAAP, etc.) Embrace it, and start being
enthusiastic again. Your job is only part time museum curator. Your full
time job is serving customers, helping the businesses you work for become
more successful, finding ways to reduce costs while maintaining or
improving service, improving security, etc. It's long past time for some
enthusiasm here. You work in a growing field in a world crying out for
reliable solutions again. Enjoy it.
(b) Be mobile. If your current employer makes bad business decisions, see
(a), then, if it isn't working out, go be enthusiastic elsewhere. There's
incredible opportunity in this field for talent plus energy/enthusiasm.
(c) Be modern. An awful lot of businesspeople and users think mainframes
= 3270 screens. (Never mind that System/360 didn't really have terminals
in most installations. Never mind that one of the world's first Web
servers went live at Stanford on a System/390 in 1991.) Disabuse them of
that perception. Turn your mainframe into an ultra-reliable server, and
do it yesterday. Every way users touch your URS (ultra-reliable server)
should be in grand style. If your employer will not support an Enterprise
Transformation (ET) and Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) strategy, see
(b).
(d) Adopt a buddy or two. I mentioned our college intern. Every one of
us past the age of 29 should adopt at least one person to help them learn
about zSeries. It might not even be z/OS -- could be Linux on zSeries --
but everyone must teach. See (b), and consider whether you can teach at a
local community college ("Principles of Reliable Computing"?). Ask the
boss if you can hire a college intern. If you can't, see (b). Next year
hire two. Vitality means vital.
OK, that's today's pep talk. Flame away if you wish/must, but I'm in a
good mood, dammit, and since that's zSeries good mood no one can stop me.
:-)
- - - - -
Timothy F. Sipples
Consulting Software Architect, Enterprise Transformation
IBM Americas zSeries Software
Phone: (312) 245-4003
E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (PGP key available.)
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