[Info-vax] Updated HPE/VSI OpenVMS V8.4-2L1 Marketing Brochures

[IanD]

On Sunday, September 18, 2016 at 12:22:25 AM UTC+10, David Froble wrote:
> IanD wrote:
> 
> > In time, HPE will be the second class citizen. How quickly that happens I
> > think will be a function of how fast VSI can deliver items that matter to
> > customers and how viable those customers platforms are in their strategic
> > business going forward. If they are just turn-key systems sitting in a corner
> > earmarked for eventual death, then I suspect they will remain in the HPE side
> > of the fence for a very long time unless VSI give some dam good incentives
> > for moving off a zero cost or probably close to zero cost environment
> 
> If a customer will not give VSI a reason to work with them, ie; they are going 
> to be purchasing stuff, even if it's only service, (did I really write "only 
> service"?) then I doubt VSI will be working with them.
> 
> So yeah, if someone has a system just sitting there doing a job, and has no real 
> concept of "value" in VMS, that's all that will happen.

In this day and age, waiting for a customer to front up at your door is what leads you to become dead and buried - this is why sales as a job has seen huge growth despite the economic landscape not really getting any better

If your not out there drumming up business and being in people's faces then you going to be quickly forgotten about

You also have the 'problem' that VSI don't seem to be doing a great deal of marketing or at least not the sort that gets you noticed beyond the whisperings of the already converted clan chatting in their usual haunts on the internet - such as this place for example

I've done my bit trying to let CIO's and the likes that the systems have have are on a platform with a future but it seems that unless that information comes via their sanctioned chain of IT information flow, then it's just ignored.

I can understand Vax being burried, too much baggage to carry forward but all those Alpha's out there, which exceed the Itanium group by orders of magnitude surely are fairly easy pickings?  

There is the hardware issue to be sure (which the likes of Charon can address near term anyhow) but giving an upgrade path for the OS can't be overly difficult, not considering VSI have already knocked out an Alpha evaluation kit - but who would know it?  The advertising is somewhat limited to fairly low key distribution outlets IMO

The only place I have read about the Alpha evaluation kit offering was here and I happen to see something on VSI's website. To my knowledge, the customer I support and us, as their IT supplier, never got an email or a cold-call or anything to say that there is a way forward for that old Alpha platform. The customer we work for is no small one either yet I don't believe they have ever been contacted by VSI as to OpenVMS offerings going forward

If your not selling your wares then don't expect customers to be signing up with you, not in this age of push advertising and BS mumbo jumbo technology spin being shoved at people