At 08:38 PM 10/17/96 EDT, you wrote:
>Can you help me?  Many of my clients are moving away from the HP3000 family for
>many reasons.  those staying are loyal and have custom software applications
>built for this platform.  I am 100% in favor of the HP3000.  We've been
>supporting it since 1979.
>
>What I am doing is compiling a list of people who have left the HP3k
family, the
>people who are staying, and the ones on the fence.
>
>What caused them to leave or stay?  What would it take to push them off the
>fence?
>
>Care to share some thoughts?  Return reply.
>
>Curt Tueffert
>Hawthorne Computer Center, Portland, OR.
>
>

My largest client is 3M Company and they are intending on leaving the
HP3000 world.  No exact plans have been formed (or at least none that
I have been made aware of), which is why I have been upset over the
lack of planning for the year 2000.

I do not know the inside story of why they are leaving.  But I do know
what the "PC" experts that I have met say, is that the HP3000 CAN'T be
a server in client server, it does NOT have a relational database and
of course no way in the world could it ever be a web site!  With people
giving out all of these FACTS, I wonder what type of intelligient decision
could management make?  So the big push has been to Unix, which is somehow
viewed as being new and more advanced.  And also the intent is to go
to windows NT.  HP is still getting the business, or at least at this
point, the PC's are HP, and the Unix boxes are all HP's and they are
trying out HP PC's for the servers, in place of Compaq.

My other client is a small manufacturing firm (stand-alone company) and
has an HP3000 with a customized software package that I support.

They are staying on the HP3000 and I have just finished converting all
of their programs to native mode COBOL-85, and have just started converting
their programs for the year 2000.  I am changing all dates to 8 characters.

Paul D. Christensen
PC Enterprises
Osakis MN
[log in to unmask]
Specializing in the HP3000 - on-site or remote support