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Letters to the Editor
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IT
Mega-vendors undermine value of the mainframe
From Mr S. Revell
With the arrival of new technologies on mainframe platforms, from Java
and Linux to ERP applications, the mainframe renaissance in the pharmaceutical
industry is firmly established.
However, there is a real danger that the mainframe’s value is being
undermined by the obscene pricing and licensing strategies of most of the
software mega vendors in the industry.
There has been an extraordinary hike in prices over recent years and the
arrogance of these vendors has created a lot of ill will. Without a significant
change in policy, they are in danger of undermining the credibility of
the mainframe and constraining business development and, hence, economic
resurgence.
The mainframe is one of the most business-critical technology platforms,
it delivers the reliability and high availability that is required today.
However, most mega-vendors are still guilty of overcharging on service
provision and implementation to the point of placing sometimes crippling
costs on their clients.
Implementation should be a means to an end only and should not be a way
to drive revenue. In this way, organisations can truly utilise the benefits
of the mainframe without being tied into high ongoing costs.
The pharmaceutical industry must now start to push back against unscrupulous
mainframe software vendors, demanding pricing and licensing methodologies
that reflect the technology’s business value.
Steve Revell
Regional Vice President, UK and Ireland
Analytical Sciences Group |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal