Rochester’s support for the IBM System i

It’s often good to take a look at things a year or so down the road, and that’s what I did with a recent story looking back at the merger of System i and System p into Power Systems. At the time of announcement, emotions can often be raw and reactions of the knee-jerk variety, but as time goes on, those involved in the merger can gain perspective about how it really affected the platform.

For the most part, IT pros told me that the results were mixed — from a technological and cost standpoint it was good for System i, but from a community and support aspect, not so much.

Shortly after the story came out, I got an email from an IBM VAR that basically confirmed the story. It came from Warren Muldrow, a senior programmer and analyst with Springfield, Mo.-based Karmak Inc. Here it is:

We are an IBM i VAR.  Just two brief comments:

1. It is obvious that a large number of the “i” community is no longer at Rochester.  Getting support from someone who can speak “i” is a real challenge.
2. Like many of those who remain in Rochester, we feel like we’ve been “p’ed” on.

In a follow-up email, Muldrow wrote that he couldn’t take credit for the “p’ed on” comment.

“Urban legend says it was first seen on a t-shirt inside the hallowed halls of IBM Rochester,” he wrote.