All,
Here is the text from the info packet MD sends to potential y2k customers:
>>Thank you for your interest in MatriDigm Corporation. Enclosed is the information you requested about MatriDigm and our Year 2000 Solutions.
Even if you have already started working on your Year 2000 conversion project, the MatriDigm Year 2000 Conversion Service can greatly reduce the time and resources needed to complete your conversion project. The MatriDigm Year 2000 Conversion Service scans, modifies and tests all date-dependent logic and data structures within an entire application, substantially reducing maintenance time and conserving valuable programming resources for other tasks.
MatriDigm's automated service provides the fastest, most complete, highest quality and lowest cost Year 2000 conversion service on the market. Five primary elements differentiate this MatriDigm conversion solution from traditional Year 2000 approaches:
Speed- the MatriDigm system can find, fix and test code at least 20 times faster than any other known approach, resulting in dramatically less disruption to your IS organization.
Flexibility- both converted and non-converted applications, programs and data files can coexist in the same production system, enabling a step-by-step conversion process if desired.
Scope-the MatriDigm System looks at each program routine in the context of an entire application, meaning that all references, branches and embedded calls are traced, recorded and analyzed.
Automation-in no instance does a programmer modify the customer's source code directly, minimizing the opportunity for normal human errors to be introduced into the source code.
Testing-MatriDigm's testing process tests code fixes at the code fragment level enabling the exercising of essentially all boundary conditions on the converted code.
In addition to Year 2000 solutions, MatriDigm will soon offer other services aimed at lowering the costs and resources required for software maintenance and development.
Please feel free to contact us should you have any further questions.>>
Included in the M/D sales package is a five page question and answer set.
A key question is as follows:
>>Q- Can the MatriDigm System be used in conjunction with other products?
A- Yes. The toolset is complementary to various products such as MicroFocus, ViaSoft, Data Dimensions, etc. These perform the front end work of a Year 2000 conversion, manage the overall integration of the conversion, or provide specific functions that is needed in MatriDigm's factory. However, MatriDigm does not use competitive date finding, fix, and unit test products, nor do any of them provide a function similar to the MatriDigm Packed Binary Date (TM) . Where appropriate, MatriDigm does use subroutine libraries and test case generation technology from other firms.
MatriDigm's Year 2000 conversion services will provide both service providers and customers with a less expensive, faster, and higher quality code conversion capability than otherwise available. MatriDigm does not provide the front-end enterprise Year 2000 assessment and overall inventory service; therefore, MatriDigm will rely on its partners or customers to accomplish these tasks. It is expected that many partners and customers will switch from the traditional labor intensive approaches being employed today when MatriDigm's Year 2000 conversion service becomes fully available.
MatriDigm is also currently evaluating the use of selected complementary products that provide specific functions for inclusion in its factory.
MatriDigm's overall year 2000 strategy is to provide services that are complementary to most approaches being employed in the marketplace today.<<
Sincerely,
Shelley Woods
Marketing and Sales Support
COMMENT:
1) Note the statements about products available for the the next century. As I have been emphasizing all along, MD/Zitel is in the I/S maintainence business, NOT the y2k business. I would stillinvest in Zitel if all the COBOL code in the world was fixed by y2k, but MD has some keys to the future of I/S maintainence. This is known as cross-platform migration, and it will be a very improtant area. Read past issues of Applications Development Trends (last two would be fine).
2) Note that MD states explicitly that front end analysis is NOT thier bag. We informed Zitel longs have known this all along, but somehow the bear camp (or the uninformed) keep obsessing about the IBM/ Peritus/DDIM trheat.
3) Note also that MD emphasizes that front end analysis would be up to "our parnters." They do not say future or potential or possible partners. These have already been lined up, believe me.
DocStone |
