[Info-vax] What does VMS get used for, these days?

[kemain.nospam at gmail.com]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Info-vax <info-vax-bounces at rbnsn.com> On Behalf Of Arne Vajhøj
> via Info-vax
> Sent: Sunday, October 16, 2022 8:54 PM
> To: info-vax at rbnsn.com
> Cc: Arne Vajhøj <arne at vajhoej.dk>
> Subject: Re: [Info-vax] What does VMS get used for, these days?
> 
> On 10/16/2022 7:32 PM, kemain.nospam at gmail.com wrote:
> >> From: Info-vax <info-vax-bounces at rbnsn.com> On Behalf Of Craig A.
> >> Berry via Info-vax
> >> Sent: Sunday, October 16, 2022 8:11 PM
> >>> As example:
> >>> <https://www.indeed.com/q-Openvms-
> jobs.html?vjk=aca6c8029c23b35e>
> >>> "The Client calculates and processes approximately $8 billion of
> >>> school
> >> funding annually. The data processing systems used are a mix of COBOL
> >> and SAS programs; running on an OpenVMS mainframe; reading from
> >> Oracle databases, SAS datasets, and flat files; and writing to SAS
> >> datasets and flat files."
> >>
> >> You also neglected to mention that the job is "replacing COBOL and
> >> SAS on OpenVMS with Python on Windows and SQL server databases."
> So
> >> it's not a VMS job and soon won't be a VMS shop.
> >
> > Define "soon" ...
> >
> > Seen many "projects" that start up based on some new CIO with Windows
> > background (likely propped up by Microsoft Sales types) try to make a
> > name for themselves and then a few years later after not delivering
> > anything close to a comparative system is off looking for a new job.
> It is their stated intention.
> 
> Time will show if it happens.
> 
> Experience shows that a significant number of large IT projects fail.
> 
> I don't think is specific for migrations to Windows.
> 

My comments were not specific to Windows, but rather the naivety of many
Senior Execs who want to appear as fashionable (read "forward thinking") for
the sake of their careers.

These types choose future strategic options which are all to often driven by
their favourite Vendor Sales person who takes them to Lunch/Dinners  and/or
trips to their annual Customer events in exotic locations. 

The "upgrade and integrate" strategy is usually the strategy which has the
most chance of success in large companies.

The "rip-and-replace" all to often looks only at technology and discounts
the many, many years of highly customized business logic built into the
existing Application(s). 

> > I say a CIO with Windows background because any self respecting CIO
> > with UNIX background would at least try and keep the same database -
> > Oracle.
> If they needed to migrate from old Oracle DB on VMS to current Oracle on
> Linux and they did not have Oracle DB on Linux but have SQLServer on
> Windows, then it makes sense to pick the latter no matter what background
> the CIO have.
> 
> > Also, replacing a compiled application with an interpreted language??
> 
> Python for data processing? Sure! Why not!
> 
> There is a company called Google that until a few years ago processed all
the
> public web pages in the world with Python.
> 
> Arne

Well, not many real life companies have unlimited HW budgets.


Regards,

Kerry Main
Kerry dot main at starkgaming dot com




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