> From: Karen Bessel > I've worked for several end-users as well as a few U2 > VAR's over the years, and it's pretty apparent to me > that it's on its way out. ... The three companies that > I have worked for since 2004 have either done away > with U2 already, or are currently in the process of > doing so. > > Myself? I've gone back to school and I'm studying .NET > development. Over the next year or two, I'm going to > bid UniBasic development a fond adieu...
In many ways I'm not fond of the state of the MV market but I haven't given up hope because there is still a lot of potential for change. (I wish I could say the same for global climate change but first things first.) As I mentioned in my recent blog, part of the problem with IBM owning U2 is that they don't market the software, and this leads to the sorts of migrations that Karen mentions. How can a VAR possibly hope to sell new systems to a mainstream audience when the upline developer is afraid to tell anyone about it? There's no telling if the Rocket connection will improve on this but the user/developer base needs to impress upon them that silence is not golden. Part (most actually) of the responsibility for marketing goes to the VAR channel too. Most VARs try to sell MV without mentioning the database, with the correct position that we sell applications and not databases, but making the database more obscure only continues to hurt all of us in the long run. I've seen MV shops go away too, in large part due to lack of information at the end-user tier - and you folks also need to do more to help drive the destiny of this market. Many MV people, both VARs and self-sustaining end-users, hold tightly to their character interfaces and all that they represent. They're adamant about using BASIC for everything with a "we don't need no stinkin mainstream development tools" attitude. Is it any wonder that these people and the platforms they hold so dear are going to get replaced by companies that want to move forward? Some of these sites could be saved if the developers and management just knew the capabilities of the platform. But despite all the industry chatter about Java, .NET, Web Services, XML, SOA, and SAAS over the years, most people simply don't pay attention. It's almost inevitable that at some point someone will be hired into management, with an aire of the new and fresh and modern, and a related desire to replace "legacy" systems, and no one will be around to tell them that they're already running a system with all of the capabilities of other modern systems. As examples of the lack of information prevalent in this market: The notion of U2 getting replaced by .NET is "awkward" (being very gentle here) since .NET is not a database and UV/UD are. An education with .NET has nothing to do with one's abilities to use a database. SAP is an application, not a database. Misinformation from people who support MV leads to the conclusion that MV people aren't really in touch with technology. The correct response to a "threat" from .NET or SAP is that .NET works fine with U2. And you need to compare the business functionality of your current application with the business functionality of an SAP application. If your company needs new business rules, you can write them in U2. If your company needs a new GUI or new communications interfaces, you can add them to your U2 app - all at a much lower cost than a completely new IT changeover. So educate yourselves. Educate your management, since decisions to replace everything usually come from that direction. Educate your VARs, and make them follow if they can't lead. And educate companies like Rocket that have influence on your destiny. IBM has never been well educated about how to position this product line. This whole situation is in part the result of failure to do proper internal marketing at IBM as well as external marketing to a market of companies seeking new business software. A change in ownership won't change the way this all works. Just look at the other MV DBMS providers, VARs, and end-users. They all approach this internal/external marketing thing the same way you do, and you're all pretty much in the same boat. Tony Gravagno Nebula Research and Development TG@ remove.pleaseNebula-RnD.com Nebula R&D sells mv.NET and other Pick/MultiValue products worldwide, and provides related development services remove.pleaseNebula-RnD.com/blog Visit PickWiki.com! Contribute! _______________________________________________ U2-Users mailing list U2-Users@listserver.u2ug.org http://listserver.u2ug.org/mailman/listinfo/u2-users
