Migrating to Windows
Deskin, Bob
Bob.Deskin@Cognos.COM
Sat, 20 Nov 2004 09:38:40 -0500
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
------_=_NextPart_001_01C4CF0E.A0674291
Content-Type: text/plain;
charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Sorry for the resend of Roger's message. Something went wrong with my =
e-mail. Here's my actual response:
=20
=20
Listers, this is obviously a competitive situation and I/we can't be =
expected to stay silent. So let's address some issues.
=20
Gary, Dennis, and I (and hopefully all of you) agree on one thing, =
PowerHouse is a great language.
=20
I'm not going to argue whether PowerHouse will last forever. Forever is =
a long time.
=20
I'm also not going to argue about the benefits, or not, of migrating off =
of PowerHouse. My views would be seen as biased - and they are :-)
=20
My advice is the same as always. Make sure you're not getting into a =
worse situation. We've all heard about those never-ending migrations. =
Make sure that yours will end, successfully.
=20
Get references. Talk to them. Find out how long the migration took =
versus how long it was expected to take. Did it really work or was it =
made to work? Did they get what they expected. As I said in my comments =
regarding StrongHold, 10% (manual effort) can be a long time.
=20
Is the cost fixed or open ended? If something goes wrong, what do you =
end up with?
=20
And what do you get in the end? Is it truly open, maintainable code? Or =
do you have to buy proprietary libraries and tools? Because if you do, =
you'd better hope that the companies maintaining those libraries are =
successful enough to stick around. Remember, unless a migration company =
has other products or charges to maintain the systems they migrated, =
they are doomed to extinction by the very fact that once their target =
companies have moved, they have no source of revenue.=20
=20
I expect that you'll hear answers to the above questions from the =
various migration vendors. Take nothing at face value. Get proof.
=20
Bob Deskin =20
Senior Product Manager, Application Development Tools=20
Cognos Inc. 3755 Riverside Drive, Ottawa ON K1G 4K9 CANADA=20
bob.deskin@cognos.com (613) 738-1338 ext 7268=20
=20
This message may contain privileged and/or confidential =
information. If you have received this e-mail in error or are not the =
intended recipient, you may not use, copy, disseminate or distribute it; =
do not open any attachments, delete it immediately from your system and =
notify the sender promptly by e-mail that you have done so. Thank you.=20
=20
------_=_NextPart_001_01C4CF0E.A0674291
Content-Type: text/html;
charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
<HTML xmlns:eXclaimer=3D"http://www.exclaimer.co.uk">
<HEAD>
<META http-equiv=3D"Content-Type" content=3D"text/html; =
charset=3DUTF-16">
<META HTTP-EQUIV=3D"Content-Type" CONTENT=3D"text/html; =
charset=3DUTF-16">
<META HTTP-EQUIV=3D"Content-Type" CONTENT=3D"text/html; =
charset=3Diso-8859-1">
<TITLE>Message</TITLE>
<META content=3DWord.Document name=3DProgId>
<META content=3D"MSHTML 5.50.4943.400" name=3DGENERATOR>
<META content=3D"Microsoft Word 10" name=3DOriginator><LINK=20
href=3D"cid:filelist.xml@01C4CE53.5E6B3C30" rel=3DFile-List><!--[if gte =
mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:DoNotRelyOnCSS/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:SpellingState>Clean</w:SpellingState>
<w:GrammarState>Clean</w:GrammarState>
<w:DocumentKind>DocumentEmail</w:DocumentKind>
<w:EnvelopeVis/>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]-->
<STYLE>@font-face {
font-family: Verdana;
}
@page Section1 {size: 8.5in 11.0in; margin: 1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; =
mso-header-margin: .5in; mso-footer-margin: .5in; mso-paper-source: 0; }
P.MsoNormal {
FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Times New Roman"; =
mso-style-parent: ""; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; =
mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"
}
LI.MsoNormal {
FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Times New Roman"; =
mso-style-parent: ""; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; =
mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"
}
DIV.MsoNormal {
FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Times New Roman"; =
mso-style-parent: ""; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; =
mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"
}
A:link {
COLOR: blue; TEXT-DECORATION: underline; text-underline: single
}
SPAN.MsoHyperlink {
COLOR: blue; TEXT-DECORATION: underline; text-underline: single
}
A:visited {
COLOR: purple; TEXT-DECORATION: underline; text-underline: single
}
SPAN.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {
COLOR: purple; TEXT-DECORATION: underline; text-underline: single
}
P {
FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 0in; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0in; FONT-FAMILY: =
"Times New Roman"; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; =
mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; =
mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto
}
SPAN.EmailStyle18 {
COLOR: windowtext; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-style-type: personal; =
mso-style-noshow: yes; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: =
10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial; =
mso-bidi-font-family: Arial
}
SPAN.EmailStyle19 {
COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-style-type: personal; =
mso-style-noshow: yes; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: =
10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial; =
mso-bidi-font-family: Arial
}
SPAN.EmailStyle20 {
COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-style-type: personal-reply; =
mso-style-noshow: yes; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: =
10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial; =
mso-bidi-font-family: Arial
}
SPAN.GramE {
mso-style-name: ""; mso-gram-e: yes
}
DIV.Section1 {
page: Section1
}
</STYLE>
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */=20
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";}
</style>
<![endif]--></HEAD><BODY lang=3DEN-US style=3D"tab-interval: .5in" =
vLink=3Dpurple link=3Dblue><DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D178265813-20112004><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#0000ff =
size=3D2>Sorry=20
for the resend of Roger's message. Something went wrong with my e-mail. =
Here's=20
my actual response:</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D178265813-20112004><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#0000ff =
size=3D2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D178265813-20112004><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#0000ff =
size=3D2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D178265813-20112004><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#0000ff =
size=3D2>Listers, this is obviously a competitive situation and I/we =
can't be=20
expected to stay silent. So let's address some =
issues.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D178265813-20112004><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#0000ff =
size=3D2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D178265813-20112004><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#0000ff =
size=3D2>Gary,=20
Dennis, and I (and hopefully all of you) agree on one thing, =
PowerHouse is=20
a great language.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D178265813-20112004><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#0000ff =
size=3D2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D178265813-20112004><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#0000ff =
size=3D2>I'm=20
not going to argue whether PowerHouse will last forever. Forever is a =
long=20
time.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D178265813-20112004><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#0000ff =
size=3D2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D178265813-20112004><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#0000ff =
size=3D2>I'm=20
also not going to argue about the benefits, or not, of migrating off of=20
PowerHouse. My views would be seen as biased - and they are=20
:-)</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D178265813-20112004><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#0000ff =
size=3D2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D178265813-20112004><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#0000ff =
size=3D2>My=20
advice is the same as always. Make sure you're not getting into a worse=20
situation. We've all heard about those never-ending =
migrations. Make sure=20
that yours will end, successfully.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D178265813-20112004><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#0000ff =
size=3D2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D178265813-20112004><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#0000ff =
size=3D2>Get=20
references. Talk to them. Find out how long the migration took versus =
how=20
long it was expected to take. Did it really work or was it =
made to=20
work? Did they get what they expected. As I said in my comments =
regarding=20
StrongHold, 10% (manual effort) can be a long time.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D178265813-20112004><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#0000ff =
size=3D2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D178265813-20112004><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#0000ff =
size=3D2>Is the=20
cost fixed or open ended? If something goes wrong, what do you end up=20
with?</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D178265813-20112004><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#0000ff =
size=3D2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D178265813-20112004><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#0000ff =
size=3D2>And=20
what do you get in the end? Is it truly open, maintainable code? Or =
do you=20
have to buy proprietary libraries and tools? Because if you do, you'd =
better=20
hope that the companies maintaining those libraries are successful =
enough to=20
stick around. Remember, unless a migration company has other products or =
charges=20
to maintain the systems they migrated, they are doomed to extinction by =
the very=20
fact that once their target companies have moved, they have no =
source of=20
revenue. </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D178265813-20112004><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#0000ff =
size=3D2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D178265813-20112004><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#0000ff =
size=3D2>I=20
expect that you'll hear answers to the above questions from the various=20
migration vendors. Take nothing at face value. Get =
proof.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D178265813-20112004><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#0000ff =
size=3D2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D178265813-20112004>
<P><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Bob=20
Deskin &=
nbsp; =20
</FONT><BR><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Senior</FONT> <FONT face=3DArial =
size=3D2>Product=20
Manager</FONT><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>,</FONT> <FONT face=3DArial=20
size=3D2>Application Development Tools</FONT> <BR><FONT face=3DArial =
size=3D2>Cognos=20
Inc.</FONT><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> <FONT face=3DArial =
size=3D2>3755=20
Riverside Drive</FONT><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>,</FONT> <FONT =
face=3DArial=20
size=3D2>Ottawa ON K1G 4K9 CANADA</FONT> <BR><FONT face=3DArial=20
size=3D2>bob.deskin@cognos.com</FONT><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> =
<FONT=20
face=3DArial size=3D2>(613) 738-1338 ext</FONT> <FONT face=3DArial =
size=3D2>7268</FONT>=20
</P></SPAN></DIV></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
<P> <FONT FACE=3D"Arial" =
SIZE=3D"2">This message may contain privileged and/or confidential =
information. If you have received this e-mail in error or are not =
the intended recipient, you may not use, copy, disseminate or distribute =
it; do not open any attachments, delete it immediately from your system =
and notify the sender promptly by e-mail that you have done so. =
Thank you.</FONT>
</P>
</DIV></BODY></HTML>
------_=_NextPart_001_01C4CF0E.A0674291--