02
Sat, Nov
2 New Articles

Out of the Blue: Good service is in the eye of th

Commentary
Typography
  • Smaller Small Medium Big Bigger
  • Default Helvetica Segoe Georgia Times

"You've been meddling with the primal forces of nature, Mr. Beale...and you will atone!" Remember Howard Beale, mad prophet of the airwaves? From the movie Network. "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore." Well there I was, not unlike Beale, railing against the dehumanization of IBM; preferring people to technology, personal contacts over maintenance contracts.

Well, I'm atoning. Like it or not, technology is as primal as forces get, its encroachment as inevitable as tomorrow's sunrise. Besides, some pretty bright folks in the Midwest and the Northeast have swallowed a dose and it tastes just fine, thank you.

I've had this conversion, you see. Initially, I was skeptical of IBM's new AS/400 Technical Service offerings primarily because they so obviously substituted remote, technology-based support for your favorite SE. (See MC, "Out of the Blue," December 1992.) Then I spoke with some actual users of the service.

In truth, this wasn't a random sampling. They were references. Provided by IBM. Now, the more skeptical among you will deduce conspiracy. I mean, you'd have to be extremely unclear on the concept to pick people who were going to give you a bad reference. Frankly, when I got the five names, I was expecting a snappy flag-salute. You'll be glad to know that IBM appears to have a clear grasp of this concept, because I wasn't disappointed. But beyond concurrence I also got a sense of enthusiasm. If the good people of Iowa and Wisconsin are any measure, IBM's new AS/400 Technical Services are a double-breasted, finger-poppin' hit.

Vox Populi

The people I spoke with represented a variety of industries, from retail to financial to state government, supported by a mixture of AS/400 D and E models, with staffs ranging from six to ten people. They subscribe to an assortment of AS/400 Technical Services, but the two they apparently find most useful are the AS/400 SupportLine and Performance Management 400 (PM/400).

SupportLine inquiries varied, but operating system and PC Support issues were most common. Everyone was pleased with the service. Questions were often answered immediately, but if they needed to be referred upward, someone invariably would return the user's call the same day. Rarely were all lines busy. The manager of a new installation, with no in-house technical support staff, said she used the service frequently. Usage questions, she explained, were typically answered on the spot, while problems were usually referred to the proper expert for resolution and required call-backs. The downside was an annoying tendency to be asked the same set of screening questions every time she called. But she complained, and it stopped.

Subscribers to PM/400 indicated it allowed them the luxury of fine-tuning their systems, a task previously pushed to the bottom of the urgency stack by the axiom that day-to-day problems will always expand to fill all available time-plus overtime. PM/400 monitors your system and pipes information to Rochester where it is interpreted, reported, graphed and bundled, then returned to the customer in an easily digestible, coated-capsule format. Full- color charts and graphs are provided which, according to the users, are enormously helpful in justifying hardware purchases and keeping their management apprised of system performance. One manager estimated that performance monitoring and capacity planning for his two systems was the equivalent of a half-time position. PM/400 provided the necessary information for a fraction of the cost of an employee.

If the hosannas were to be expected, the rationale behind them had an undeniable verity. As the AS/400 evolved, I was told, it became complex beyond the ability of a single person to master. Many accounts were (ouch) dissatisfied with their SEs who may have been proficient in one arena-say, operating system-but knew little about communications or PC Support. To answer questions, SEs often had to track down the appropriate expert. Turnaround time was long; frustration was high. One manager, who had spent many years in the mainframe environment, observed: "Frankly, I prefer a body (SE), but I get better service over the phone."

That's the case because the best AS/400 brains have been boxed and shipped to Rochester. One of the main benefits cited for using the AS/400 Technical Services was the elimination of the SE learning curve: you always get an expert the first time.

Additionally, customers suggest that pay-for-play technical support will likely expand the variety of services IBM is able to offer. When service was bundled with the cost of the computer, there was little incentive to provide new or innovative support. For IBM, the expense of every new service offering meant a corresponding decrease in profit margins. Now, if enough customers require a specific service, IBM has the financial incentive to provide it. Those services which lack customer support will simply be dropped. Thus, service can evolve in direct response to market demands.

Several accounts addressed the inevitability of remote technical support. The days of free frills are over, not so much by IBM's choice as by competitive demand. I asked one woman what services she still received from her SE. "None," she said; a fact that seemed to trouble me much more than it bothered her. She was untroubled, she explained, because AS/400 Technical Services provided quality technical support, with high availability, at a reasonably low price. Price, in fact, was not an issue for any of the people I interviewed.

On the lighter side: One manager I spoke with was reluctant to provide me with information. When pressed (dare I say, by my crack investigative reporting skills), he confided that just today he had, er, resigned his position as DP Manager. "No problem," said I, tenacious in my pursuit of truth, "so what did you think of IBM's AS/400 Technical Services?" But I could tell he really didn't want to talk about it. Given the enthusiasm of the other respondents, I can only assume he did not resign his position because of lack of technical support.

The message here is simple: Try it. Take a realistic look at the changing marketplace, identify your support needs and understand which of them can be met in-house and which you need to farm out.

As for those of us who dare resist the certain march of progress, it is helpful to reflect on Howard Beale's fate. He was shot for his troubles. Hope you all had a safe holiday.

BLOG COMMENTS POWERED BY DISQUS

LATEST COMMENTS

Support MC Press Online

$

Book Reviews

Resource Center

  • SB Profound WC 5536 Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application. You can find Part 1 here. In Part 2 of our free Node.js Webinar Series, Brian May teaches you the different tooling options available for writing code, debugging, and using Git for version control. Brian will briefly discuss the different tools available, and demonstrate his preferred setup for Node development on IBM i or any platform. Attend this webinar to learn:

  • SB Profound WP 5539More than ever, there is a demand for IT to deliver innovation. Your IBM i has been an essential part of your business operations for years. However, your organization may struggle to maintain the current system and implement new projects. The thousands of customers we've worked with and surveyed state that expectations regarding the digital footprint and vision of the company are not aligned with the current IT environment.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT Generic IBM announced the E1080 servers using the latest Power10 processor in September 2021. The most powerful processor from IBM to date, Power10 is designed to handle the demands of doing business in today’s high-tech atmosphere, including running cloud applications, supporting big data, and managing AI workloads. But what does Power10 mean for your data center? In this recorded webinar, IBMers Dan Sundt and Dylan Boday join IBM Power Champion Tom Huntington for a discussion on why Power10 technology is the right strategic investment if you run IBM i, AIX, or Linux. In this action-packed hour, Tom will share trends from the IBM i and AIX user communities while Dan and Dylan dive into the tech specs for key hardware, including:

  • Magic MarkTRY the one package that solves all your document design and printing challenges on all your platforms. Produce bar code labels, electronic forms, ad hoc reports, and RFID tags – without programming! MarkMagic is the only document design and print solution that combines report writing, WYSIWYG label and forms design, and conditional printing in one integrated product. Make sure your data survives when catastrophe hits. Request your trial now!  Request Now.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericForms of ransomware has been around for over 30 years, and with more and more organizations suffering attacks each year, it continues to endure. What has made ransomware such a durable threat and what is the best way to combat it? In order to prevent ransomware, organizations must first understand how it works.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericIT security is a top priority for businesses around the world, but most IBM i pros don’t know where to begin—and most cybersecurity experts don’t know IBM i. In this session, Robin Tatam explores the business impact of lax IBM i security, the top vulnerabilities putting IBM i at risk, and the steps you can take to protect your organization. If you’re looking to avoid unexpected downtime or corrupted data, you don’t want to miss this session.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericCan you trust all of your users all of the time? A typical end user receives 16 malicious emails each month, but only 17 percent of these phishing campaigns are reported to IT. Once an attack is underway, most organizations won’t discover the breach until six months later. A staggering amount of damage can occur in that time. Despite these risks, 93 percent of organizations are leaving their IBM i systems vulnerable to cybercrime. In this on-demand webinar, IBM i security experts Robin Tatam and Sandi Moore will reveal:

  • FORTRA Disaster protection is vital to every business. Yet, it often consists of patched together procedures that are prone to error. From automatic backups to data encryption to media management, Robot automates the routine (yet often complex) tasks of iSeries backup and recovery, saving you time and money and making the process safer and more reliable. Automate your backups with the Robot Backup and Recovery Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAManaging messages on your IBM i can be more than a full-time job if you have to do it manually. Messages need a response and resources must be monitored—often over multiple systems and across platforms. How can you be sure you won’t miss important system events? Automate your message center with the Robot Message Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAThe thought of printing, distributing, and storing iSeries reports manually may reduce you to tears. Paper and labor costs associated with report generation can spiral out of control. Mountains of paper threaten to swamp your files. Robot automates report bursting, distribution, bundling, and archiving, and offers secure, selective online report viewing. Manage your reports with the Robot Report Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAFor over 30 years, Robot has been a leader in systems management for IBM i. With batch job creation and scheduling at its core, the Robot Job Scheduling Solution reduces the opportunity for human error and helps you maintain service levels, automating even the biggest, most complex runbooks. Manage your job schedule with the Robot Job Scheduling Solution. Key features include:

  • LANSA Business users want new applications now. Market and regulatory pressures require faster application updates and delivery into production. Your IBM i developers may be approaching retirement, and you see no sure way to fill their positions with experienced developers. In addition, you may be caught between maintaining your existing applications and the uncertainty of moving to something new.

  • LANSAWhen it comes to creating your business applications, there are hundreds of coding platforms and programming languages to choose from. These options range from very complex traditional programming languages to Low-Code platforms where sometimes no traditional coding experience is needed. Download our whitepaper, The Power of Writing Code in a Low-Code Solution, and:

  • LANSASupply Chain is becoming increasingly complex and unpredictable. From raw materials for manufacturing to food supply chains, the journey from source to production to delivery to consumers is marred with inefficiencies, manual processes, shortages, recalls, counterfeits, and scandals. In this webinar, we discuss how:

  • The MC Resource Centers bring you the widest selection of white papers, trial software, and on-demand webcasts for you to choose from. >> Review the list of White Papers, Trial Software or On-Demand Webcast at the MC Press Resource Center. >> Add the items to yru Cart and complet he checkout process and submit

  • Profound Logic Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application.

  • SB Profound WC 5536Join us for this hour-long webcast that will explore:

  • Fortra IT managers hoping to find new IBM i talent are discovering that the pool of experienced RPG programmers and operators or administrators with intimate knowledge of the operating system and the applications that run on it is small. This begs the question: How will you manage the platform that supports such a big part of your business? This guide offers strategies and software suggestions to help you plan IT staffing and resources and smooth the transition after your AS/400 talent retires. Read on to learn: