IBM Mainframe Forum

As suggested by you Dick, I decided to post this, in the CLIST-REXX Forums.

Hi Everybody,
These days, I am beginning to make a small home-grown DB2 Table Editor. I am writing the DTL Panels and the rexx code, and its also helping me learn a lot more about REXX and ISPF Services. For example, I never knew, how to process the selected rows of an ISPF Table - its done using ZTDSELS.

Would you'll mind taking a look at my tool? I want to develop this product completely at home, and would like to in-fact sell this editor to corporations employing Mainframes for their data-processing, and having an IT-center. You must have heard of solutions like Compuware File-Aid for DB2, or Platinum. How do these companies market their products? How do they reach out to customers? What is the pricing like? Do you think, I can make such a software-product, and sell it commercially?

Also, Dick suggested to me, that most of these products are installed using SMP/E. Is it fine, if I just ship the application libraries as Binary .XMI Files, or this is a primitive(ancient) way of installation?

Here are some screenshots, of the work that I've been doing.

The Primary Option Menu


The Browse Option Menu


The Browse Selection Menu


Thanks,
Quasar

hehe - "Would you mind taking a look at my tool?"

Quasar wrote:Would you mind taking a look at my tool?

Hi Ed/Akatsukami -

I thought I'd receive a little encouragement, or inputs from you gentlemen.

Thanks,
Quasar

Would you'll mind taking a look at my tool? I want to develop this product completely at home, and would like to in-fact sell this editor to corporations employing Mainframes for their data-processing, and having an IT-center. You must have heard of solutions like Compuware File-Aid for DB2, or Platinum. How do these companies market their products? How do they reach out to customers? What is the pricing like? Do you think, I can make such a software-product, and sell it commercially?

the companies You are talking about have a strong background in software development

usually a one man company will find difficult to sell <things> to large companies,
large organization look not just at the smartness of the product but at its lifecycle and at the seller profile

do You have the infrastructure to test and support all the current zOS and the DB2 version

what if after the initial sales You find that Your adventure is not profitable and You are bound to withdraw Your company from active operations

if You , to start Your company, need to ask on a forum, You just got off with the wrong foot
what about the business plan, the funding, ... , ... , ... , ... ,
what about the legal and IP issues
what about the marketing plan
what about the maintenance an development plan
what about the new releases/versions of zOS and DB2
( large software development organization quite often have a NDA wit IBM to test their products before the GA of the IBM counterparts )
add as many concerns as You like

XMITIP one very successful tool for outgoing mail handling is FREEWARE ...
meditate, please, meditate

Quasar wrote:Hi Ed/Akatsukami -

I thought I'd receive a little encouragement, or inputs from you gentlemen.

Thanks,
Quasar

Quasar, it was an unfortunate phrasing of yours. If you can imagine it being said, with a wink (carefully spelled), by a 70-year-old-man to a 20-year-old blonde you might understand the "comments" better. Humour is necessary in our business. It is also necessary to think about what you have written, when presenting something.

I agree entirely with enrico.

Hello,

If this is intended to be "your own" product (rather than growing a software development company), you might consider "selling" the executables "as is" and then provide customization services as needed. This could make lots of the issues deploying/supporting a product not an issue.

However - If you do this, many "buyers" would also want the source. . . Which kinda defeats what you want to do/have - i believe.

As Enrico says - meditate . . .

Mr. Sorichetti raises a valid point.

I know of two widely used MVS products that are basically one person products: xDC (Dave Cole) and IOF (Jim Walker).

I worked with Dave Cole in the late 1960s and early 1970s before he went off to Yale University. The last I had much contact with xDC there was one person to handle support calls and such, plus, of course, Dave. As far as I know, xDC is marketed by Dave.

IOF is marketed by some other organization, but support comes back to Jim and, I think, one other person.

An issue Mr. Sorichetti did not mention. Dave Cole is roughly my age (66). I think Jim Walker is a few years older. How much longer are they going to keep going?

Another issue: documentation. This particularly affects xDC. In my opinion, its documentation sucks, big time. IOF documentation is pretty good - slightly better than SDSF's documentation.

Hi Everyone -

Thank-you for your responses. True, I want this to be a one-person product, rather than start a mushroom organisation. Yes, selling and marketing a one-person product is indeed going to be difficult.

How do I reach out to Dave Cole/Jim Walker? Do they have an e-mail address, where I can drop them a line, or a website on the Internet?

Thanks,
Quasar

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