> Why can't IBM price their software cheaper as the hardware costs come down? We had a 3090-600S until 4 years ago. When that machine first came out, the list price was $11,000,000. A little over a year ago, we got an MP3000-H50, which the purchase price is less than $200,000. Both machines are very close in perforance.
> That's a 50 to 1 reduction in hardware cost. If IBM priced their software the same >way, it would eventually become almost as popular as Windows. (Well, maybe not quite). There are two evils. IMO the greater one is the dependence of graduated charges on system size rather than application size. The second is IBM's obsession with the top end - whichhas caused them to keep their top 2000 customers but lose as many as 25,000 at the bottom end. I still occasionally hear the "35,000 VSE licenses" thing. Internally, IBM claps itself on the back for reducing mainframe software charges 20% year on year. Despite many requests, I've never seen the model or the assumptions upon which this is based - but I suspect it's some sort of esoteric case using just z/OS and CICS/DB2 on a massive Sysplex - where it's true that the incremental cost of MSUs at the top end is MUCH lower than it was ten years ago. Doesn't help the 10 MIPS guy. Those that are left, anyway. Instead they face a continual squeeze - trying to keep within their existing system despite workload growth and path lengh changes caused by things like, e.g., LE under VSE. -- Phil Payne http://www.isham-research.com +44 7785 302 803 +49 173 6242039
