IBM Corp is planning to limit the technical support it offers on previous generations of mainframe software in an attempt to to push users onto the current offerings. According to ComputerWorld, user reaction is surprisingly positive, primarily because large shops are up to date, although small ones are less enthusiastic about IBM’s coercive tactics. Marty Clague, assistant general manager of marketing for the Enterprise Systems business unit, says that IBM is looking at shrinking the support window to encourage users to buy the latest wares. Clague has not specified how or when the changes will be implemented, but says that supporting old products is costly and prevents users from taking full advantage of new features. Around 50% of MVS users have the most recent release, but only 20% of VSE sites are using the current version, according to IBM. The remaining 80% have software that can be up to five generations old, and this creates enormous support overheads. IBM insists that it will give notice well in advance of any changes, and customers usually receive a year’s warning before support is discontinued. However, users are hesitant about adopting new releases simply because of bugs, preferring to bide their time until all the kinks have been ironed out. IBM acknowledges that the quality of the latest MVS/ESA release leaves something to be desired, but maintains that it will hit target by year-end. If the move affects any sector, it will be the second-user market, of which a significant percentage runs on older software. IBM says it will maintain its monthly leasing programme, which spreads out the conversion and licence costs rather than make users to pay the lot in one fell swoop.
