Recent IBM announcements (Vertical Industry Program, models 515 and 525) directed to small and medium businesses have me wondering who called Doc Brown to fire up the Delorean, prime the flux capacitor, and dial "1988" into the time machine. After years of wandering in the wilderness, trying to convince the market that the S/3X, AS/400, iSeries, and i5 were better primarily because of their integrated technology, ease of use, and low total cost of ownership, it seems the leaders in Rochester and Somers have finally reawakened to the fact that applications most often drive technology solutions decisions, not server or system technology.

Further, after years of pursuing a glassy-eyed love affair with the biggest fish in the System i pond, IBM has also recaptured its motivation to serve the obvious need for small and medium businesses to have the best software to fill their specific requirements. Small and medium businesses are not good candidates for ERP behemoths like SAP and Oracle; instead, they have chronic needs for niche-oriented software solutions that serve their businesses cost effectively.

No question that the big-money power users of the System i platform have held the purse strings in Somers for many, many years. We've seen our plucky platform morph into a mainframe-sized Swiss-Army-knife system, with more approaches to opening cans and turning screws than you can shake a stick at. Unfortunately, this mighty-morphing Rochester system has left its small and medium system heritage in the dust as IBM's planners were romanced by the siren songs coming from the giant software companies and the massive demands coming from the huge System i users.

I've been lucky to have had the chance to write for this magazine for 23 years, all the way back to NEWS/34-38 days. If we go back to the late '80s (not for the music, mind you) and take a look at the pride of Rochester, the System/3X architectures were blending nicely into the technologically amazing AS/400 machine. Many of us who wrote for this fine publication back then took every chance we could to espouse the benefits of single-level storage and an integrated relational database, among other techie gee-whiz stuff. However, those of you who actually paid for an AS/400 put your money on the table because the AS/400 had the applications you needed to successfully run your business. The techie-related benefits just came along for the ride.

Enter 2007 and IBM's VIP program and the announcement of the 515 and 525 models of the System i hardware. Can't you just see Doc Brown, white hair flying, eyes wild, running through the Rochester lab shrieking with enthusiasm as he describes the perfect marriage of "exact fit" software applications with a "perfectly priced" technology platform? When IBM released the details of its plans to reenter the world of supporting niche applications designed to fit the needs of small and medium businesses throughout the world, I nearly jumped up from my desk and yelled, "Hello, McFly!" Further, IBM's plan to market the 515 and 525 as real servers with an extremely attractive out-of-the-box purchase price is a stroke of genius. Nobody, I mean nobody, outside of the System i market has a clue about CPW — did I say nobody? And real people don't use their brains to compute total cost of ownership either; they just look at cost to buy. In particular, I love the timing of the announcement just when Microsoft is struggling to convince the world that Vista is better technology (ironic, no?). Better technology doesn't sell — except to those who have been burned by bad technology or to those whose propeller beanies are surgically attached.

Back to the Future

When it comes to serving the needs of small and medium businesses, whether it's 1988 or 2007, it's all about the applications for potential customers. Better software (on any reliable server) at a more competitive price will win the deals. The surprisingly outstanding move "back to the future" of the McFlys in Rochester and Somers has me eagerly awaiting the impact of the new AS/2007 (VIP + 515/525 = AS/2007). While many niche-oriented ISVs have responded to IBM's System i innovation challenge, it's now up to the "feet on the street" around the world to make the AS/2007 solution a commercial success. Get me a front-row ticket. I can't wait to watch how this all unfolds.

Robert Tipton is managing partner of R S Tipton, Inc., and a long-time contributor to System iNetwork and System iNEWS. His book, Untangling IT: 25 Year of Lessons in Effective IT Leadership (available at the System iNetwork Bookstore — www.pentontech.com/education), and R S Tipton’s workshops and consulting services focus directly on the process of creating higher levels of effectiveness through innovation, inspiration, and common sense. He can be reached at rtipton@systeminetwork.com, or www.rstipton.com.