🚀 go-pugleaf

On Thu, 30 Jan 1992 23:03:18 EST Robert Chambers said:
>I know it was discussed earlier about Systems Center softwares decision
>to charge a major upgrade fee for the "leap" from ESA 1.0 to ESA 1.1
>but it just hit home what this involves.
>   ...deleted stuff...
>We had a few long and somewhat heated phone discussions with our
>SCI rep the other day about this and other things and they seem
>dead set in their ways about this whole "upgrade fee" thing..
>
>Has anyone else pushed them and gotten any satisfactory reason
>why ESA 1.1 candidates MUST get the new product and why SCI
>won't make any minor fixes to 5.3 so that it will run under
>ESA 1.1 ?
>
>I'd be very interested to hear comments

Put on your flame-proof suit! I don't want you, an innocent bystander,
injured:

*Flame ON*

First: We  have the entire  VMCenter II package and  I don't know  of any
other VM package that can touch it. *Yet.*

Now the bad stuff: SCI's marketing department knows that the Products are
good,  and has  decided that  once  they can  get  in the  door they  are
indispensable. I  expect that SCI  is on the  verge of some  surprises --
they are getting just a bit to arrogant and, "pride goeth before a fall".
This is the second major poor-judgment marketing call from a client point
of view and it's  time SCI had some major competition. I  look for it any
time now.

SCI has done two very contradictory things from my point of view:

1.  They market  VMCenter  II  as a  total  VM  System Package  providing
management and  usability, etc. etc.  blah blah blah  -- BUT they  do NOT
include VMSPOOL  in this much  touted package. Why? Because  they learned
that they  don't have to; the  client will purchase this  "total package"
and  then turn  around and  pay for  this extra  product to  complete the
'total' part  of the package.  We do not have  VMSpool, and I  will never
recommend purchasing  it -- I'll purchase  from someone else or  write my
own before I'll pay for what I should be getting in this "total package"

2. We pay a yearly maintenance fee to  SCI so that we will get the latest
updates and  support for our  VMCenter software. To assess  an additional
upgrade charge for "updates and support" seems  to fly in the face of why
we pay maintenance  in the first place. Why are  they doing this? Because
they can!!

Keep in mind that the charge for SCI's software is adjusted (upward) when
you move to a  bigger iron box. Now add in this  new and improved service
from SCI's marketing division which wants to charge for moving to a newer
VM. So, you buy  new IRON (extra charge no. 1) and you  install new VM to
use the new iron (extra charge no. 2) and the determination as to how SCI
managed  to charge  twice for  upgrade  is left  as an  exercise for  the
reader.

One final hint:  There's no Educational Discount from  SCI, and certainly
no HESC type agreement.

Notice that SCI never even kisses us?

*Flame off*

Apologies for the long posting, but every  time this comes up it makes me
so damn mad I could eat wire nails.

 ---------------------------------------
   Bill Williams -- ETSU Systems Support
    East
    Tennessee             (615) 929-6853
    State
    University        <CMS2@ETSU.BITNET>

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* The above  remarks do  not necessarily represent  the opinions  of East
Tennessee State University, the Tennessee  Board of Regents, or the State
of Tennessee. Or anybody besides me.