[Info-vax] VSI Subscription Licensing Exchanges

[Tad Winters]

On 5/25/2021 6:34 PM, Dave Froble via Info-vax wrote:
> On 5/25/2021 8:07 PM, Arne Vajhøj wrote:
>> On 5/25/2021 5:06 PM, Dave Froble wrote:
>>> On 5/25/2021 4:12 PM, Arne Vajhøj wrote:
>>>> On 5/25/2021 4:07 PM, Arne Vajhøj wrote:
>>>>> On 5/25/2021 3:59 PM, Phillip Helbig (undress to reply) wrote:
>>>>>> Presumably if a license for 5 years costs X, then when buying another
>>>>>> one which has a four-year overlap one would pay only X/5.
>>>>>
>>>>> Yes.
>>>>>
>>>>> Or to do it the other way around.
>>>>>
>>>>> If a one year license cost X then a 5 year license cost 5*X and
>>>>> a 1 year license extension of a 5 year license cost X.
>>>>
>>>> And maybe they could make the actual license follow extension model, so
>>>> it would be:
>>>> * you pay 5X for a license 21-25
>>>> * next year you pay X for a license 25-26 (extension license)
>>>>
>>>> Or whatever. The point is simply that customers know they have
>>>> AVG=4.5 MIN=4.0 MAX=5.0 left which is better than
>>>> AVG=0.5 MIN=0.0 MAX=1.0 and AVG=2.5 MIN=0.0 MAX=5.0 for
>>>> normal 1 and 5 year contracts.
>>>
>>> How easy would it be to replace 50 years of app development in less
>>> than 5 years?  Perhaps significantly less.
>>
>> Ongoing development and port/reimplementation are two very different
>> activities.
>>
>> Moving some non-portable and complex code can certainly take
>> time.
>>
>> But IT projects taking more than 2-3 years are usually problematic.
>> If feasible then chose common technologies and get enough people
>> working on the project to get it completed is the way to go.
>>
>> Arne
>
> BA HA HA HA ........
>
> Let me relate a story.
>
> First, to set the stage, many times small to medium companies are built
> by a knowledgeable person, and they know how to run the company.  What
> they can do, and what they can't do.
>
> Now, Dad is running a successful business, and providing the money for
> sonny to be out partying and whatever.  Sonny has no clue, and doesn't
> care, cause Dad is taking care of supporting him in the manner he's
> become accustomed to.
>
> As time goes on, it's time for sonny to learn how to run the company.
> Either Dad wants to retire, or is otherwise no longer available, it's up
> to sonny to be successful.
>
> Of course, sonny quite often doesn't have a clue, and so, (usually on
> the advice of some bean counter), the big consulting firms are called in
> to help sonny out.
>
> What's the chance the consulting firm will find that the business is
> being run successfully?  Slim and none.  They will attempt to justify
> their fees by making recommendations.  Quite often they have no better
> ideas than sonny, but, they'll never admit that.  Also, when it comes to
> the IT system(s), you can bet that they'll say the company needs to get
> with the future, cloud solutions, WEENDOZE, and such.  Got to throw out
> that old app and system that has been running the company for years.
> Can't have that.  An integral part of all this is significant billings
> by the consulting firm.
>
> And so, this has happened with one of our customers.  I don't remember
> the name of the app(s), but it's a cloud based solution.  The new system
> was to go live last November (2020).  Still hasn't happened.
>
> A test sometime prior converting over to the "new cloud based system"
> had the new vendor quite proud that they were able to handle 10 tasks in
> 5 minutes.  This for a company that was handling over 20,000 internet
> service connections a day, along with all the in-house running of the
> company's business.  (I'll leave the math as an exercise for the reader.)
>
> Last I heard, the vendor had decided they had to re-write the core system.
>
> So, anyone want to replace a rather complex application?
>

I love story time.

I went to work for a company that had started to replace their in-house
developed VMS application with a new in-house developed Windows
application.  This started about 9 months before they hired me.  They
spent at least 9 months deciding on a development language, and had a
period of development near the beginning, when they decided to scrap it
all and start over, so this was certainly a serious effort to do things
correctly, or at least as correctly as you can with Windows.

A few months into my work there, supporting the VMS systems, they
decided they would be able to replace the VMS application in 18 months.
Eight years later, they had a Windows application which was able to do
almost everything the VMS application could do.  They decided they
didn't need me a couple years later, but it was still 10 years later
before they completely stopped using VMS, and my contract services were
not required.

I admit, that company is still in business today, but I believe they
could certainly have continued to improve their VMS application with
fewer programmers and still be using it today.