sal Salak Juraj <sal AT KEBA.CO DOT AT>@VM.MARIST.EDU> on 02/03/2000 03:36:37 AM
>If the marketing department would really
>only be sitting and waiting for customers
>to call for something,
>then this department would not
>even deserve its name.
Trust me, they don't just sit around waiting for phone calls. We have
several people whose responsibility is to read the market and determine
what the biggest items are for that point in time. They are also open to
receiving suggestions, which was the main gist of my letter. The marketing
team's responsibility is to evaulate our product in light of our
competition and then make sure that the "long-term" model strengthens our
weaknesses and capitalizes upon our strengths. There are many variables
that help them make their decisions, and feedback from customers is one of
those.
>I suspect the marketeers decided
>not to go in Linux direction, which
>is a decision they are fully entitled to,
>but now hide themselves behind allegedly
>missing customers ineterest.
Nobody is saying "we don't think Linux is strategic". But, there are more
important items that are being worked on first. Any large item like a new
server platform is a serious undertaking. To provide the level of quality
that is *expected* from an IBM / Tivoli product, you can't just hack
something together and let your customers find the problems.
To summarize:
Everything has a cost.
Development resources are not unlimited.
We try our best.
>Anyway, thanks for your mailing,
>because it stated more or less
>clearly what we should not count with.
>Clearness helps us in making decisions
>so I understand your mailing as
>good service to all mailing list readers.
Well, I and other developers do try to keep in contact with the customer
base and help out when we can. I would like to stress that correspondence
on ADSM-L does not constitute a commitment of any sort. These emails may
provide you a little more clarity, but the Marketing team is the official
source of what TSM will or will not do. They can (and have!) change
directions overnight and showcase a new strategy the next day.
hth.
Glen Hattrup
TSM Development
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