[Info-vax] Building for Customers, Revenue

[johnwallace4 at yahoo.co.uk]

On Saturday, 13 September 2014 19:50:02 UTC+1, Stephen Hoffman  wrote:
> On 2014-09-13 18:03:04 +0000, JF Mezei said:
> 
> 
> 
> > On 14-09-13 13:52, Stephen Hoffman wrote:
> 
> > 
> 
> >> Um, call me back when VMS is close(r) to OS X or Windows in terms of
> 
> >> applications and features and system hardware support, when the costs
> 
> >> are known?   Then we'll chat.
> 
> > 
> 
> > Consider business applications, manufacturing plants and other 
> 
> > specialised situations where you want a "personal computer" but not a 
> 
> > desktop software.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Embedded environments.  Sure.  VMS was traditionally found in those, 
> 
> and I spent more than a little time working on the factory floor and 
> 
> with servers and networks in computer-hostile environments.  At one 
> 
> place, a train was pulled right into the building, and was parked and 
> 
> off-loaded right below the computer room.  The train looked small 
> 
> inside the building, though the locomotive did nicely vibrate 
> 
> everything the computer room.  (q.v. computer-hostile environments)   
> 
> But I digress.
> 
> 
> 
> This x86-64 port and support gets you access to parts of that embedded 
> 
> market, though you're still competing with Linux and BSD, and with 
> 
> Microsoft Windows Embedded 
> 
> <http://www.microsoft.com/windowsembedded/en-us/windows-embedded-8.aspx> 
> 
>    More than a few of the scans and the processes can and likely will 
> 
> increasingly involve mobile devices, whether ARM-based, or something 
> 
> similar to Intel Edison.
> 
> 
> 
> VSI has a whole slew of possibilities here with their VMS, and they're 
> 
> going to have to figure out where to best invest their resources and on 
> 
> which partners and customers they should focus, and how to price and 
> 
> support their products.  Initially, it'll likely be existing 
> 
> applications on Itanium and porting over applications from earlier 
> 
> architectures, and eventually porting Itanium and other existing 
> 
> applications and customers over to x86-64.  Then maybe VSI looks at 
> 
> whatever has replaced Intel Edison in ~five or ~ten years, or when VSI 
> 
> is looking for new markets.
> 
> 
> 
> When VMS has the hardware support and features and partners for the 
> 
> embedded market, and particularly when the costs and configurations are 
> 
> known, then we can chat.  Right now, VSI has no products.  They know 
> 
> they need to remedy that.  Quickly.  Then they likely want and need to 
> 
> get the x86-64 port out the door.
> 
> 
> 
> But if some customer is building a new factory or three, and wants an 
> 
> alternative to Linux, BSD or Microsoft Windows Embedded, sure, they can 
> 
> ring up VSI and have a chat.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> 
> Pure Personal Opinion | HoffmanLabs LLC

Some folks might consider that an enterprise class shop floor bar
code tracking application is a rather unusual instance of an
"embedded" application. The "dumb"(ish) bar code controller might
be an embedded system, but not the database that tracks which item
is where, where it has been, when it was there, where it needs to
go next, and such like. For every conceivable item, and every item
ever processed. 

Im the generic case in present times that sounds rather more like
the territory of something like SAP's shop floor interfaces, or
maybe something like Cincom's MRP package. Etc.

Or go back three decades to when DEC's own DECSTR (DEC Shopfloor
Tracking and Routing) was used in DEC's own factories and sometimes
as part of customer projects.


Generalizing what JF said, these tracking/routing applications are
found not just in aerospace, not even just in high value
manufacturing, but also in (for example) warehousing in general,
parcel delivery, and so on. 

Lots of this kind of software is now on Windows, less so Linux (not
many credible off the shelf packages yet?). Some smarter customers
might appreciate something potentially a bit more stable than
Windows, if a sufficiently credible and cost effective option was
available (again).

This is not a massive market, not tiny either. Is it a high value
market? Some companies seem to think so. High value to VSI? Don't
know. Hopefully they'll look.