 |
|
 |
|
 |
Greg Neilson
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
Exit Strategy |
| When the need for a particular technology cools down, when exactly should you leave it behind? |
| by Greg Neilson |
|
9/23/2003 -- The juxtaposition of a couple of Novell stories recently -- more layoffs and the rumors that further development in NetWare may be suspended -- highlight the decisions that those of us working in the IT field must make in determining which technologies to concentrate on, and when. Of course, NetWare has been in decline for a number of years, and many have already left the fold for greener pastures, but for those who still primarily work with this technology, they need to make a decision on where to head next.
Now, I've been accused before of being a Novell-hater, but I have to tell you that nothing could be further from the truth. As the holder of the Master CNE certification, it certainly would be in my interests for NetWare to continue to prosper. Also, there were a couple of times in the mid-'90s when I came very close to working for Novell. But the sad reality is that the market has decided to move to other platforms.
This isn't just an issue for those working with NetWare. C/C++ programmers have to decide whether they should move to Java or C#, or perhaps stay where they are. Of course, there is no reason why someone can't learn the basics of all of these languages, but to really master them professionally takes considerable time and lessons that can only be learnt from using them in major projects.
Continuing on from the NetWare example, many of these folks are becoming Windows AD experts (which leverages their X.500 directory knowledge from NDS/eDirectory) or moving to Linux. The Linux option seems to be attractive since as well as being a growing in usage it is part of the Novell product plans. (Many long-term Novell watchers would recognize the similarity to how Novell had earlier hoped to catch the Java wave to boost the usage of NetWare as a platform for applications, and how this never caught on).
But there's always the timing issue. I recently had to hire a senior NetWare support person for our team, and I really struggled to find someone with the depth of skills required for the job. So while it is certainly true that there still are NetWare implementations out there, it seems that the people are moving to other areas faster than the underlying technology is. The irony here is that the dearth of senior skilled people available to support it may hasten the decline of NetWare. For example, my team still has some OS/2 servers supported for one of our clients, and although these still run well, it is exactly because of the lack of talent that the client plans to have these migrated onto other platforms by the end of the year.
Technologies move in cycles, and whether we make conscious decisions or not, our careers need to move on from one to another to stay employable. What are you thoughts on this subject? When do you know when a technology is in decline? How do you know when a new technology has reached critical mass? When is the right time to move to a new technology? Let me know by posting below. 
|
Greg Neilson, MCSE+Internet, MCNE, PCLP, is a Contributing Editor for Microsoft Certified Professional Magazine and a manager at a large IT services firm in Australia. He's the author of Lotus Domino Administration in a Nutshell (O'Reilly and Associates, ISBN 1-56592-717-6). You can reach him at Attn: Greg.
|
|
| |
|
More articles by Greg Neilson:
|
There are 46  user Comments for “Exit Strategy”
|
|
Page 1 of 5
|
| 9/30/03: Good Point Greg says: |
It's true, it's hard to see old platforms die out; especially after you put time in to learn them. Here's a question for you Greg, how long do you think it will be before Solaris, HP-UX, and/or AIX are no longer appreciated? |
| 10/2/03: eric says: |
hum , i staarted out with netware too , the battle was lost looooong ago , basically when they gave up word perfect to corel and gave up on doing an office suite , i think this is the focus point of the war , no one can win with simply a great NOS , user software that run well for the user and a rapid dev environment is critical too , i believe laso one of the reasons why there is so much windows admins out there is because 10 years ago there where lots of kids playing around W3.11 P2P , that eventually evolved with a copid version of NT3.51 , i remember at the time it was hell to find a copy of netware 3.1x , let aloone licences , this is why i think linux/freeBSD is going to go far .... but all the other "owned" hardware dependant unix are going to fade away |
| 10/2/03: Heard this before says: |
I've heard that the main Unix systems are going away, and indeed IBM (AIX for those who don't know)has switched to Linux. However, until this world can become non-reliant on SUN equipment (Solaris for those non-unix types)then Solaris will not die out. Take a look around any major server, storage, and database center and you'll be very hard pressed not to find SUN equipment. Spout out all you want about Linux, but since SUN has already addressed the Linux threat head on, it's only a matter of time before Sun starts tapping into the PC and gaming markets full force. The reason is simple, they believe in what they do and instead of being scared into submission by threats (like IBM is), they stick to their guns and fight for the market. They are the best for a reason. NO, I'm not a Sun rep:) I'm an assistant CIO working for a very large firm and I know the true value of reliable and competitive equipment in today's market. |
| 10/3/03: Anonymous says: |
Hmmm...is that why Sun is hemorrhaging money? Please enlighten us on how Sun has taken on Linux "head on". Bill Joy read the writing on the wall and bailed as fast as he could. Sun equipment is overpriced. Who in their right mind is going to shell out millions for Sun's proprietary hardware, when you can cluster a bunch of Linux boxes together. Solaris is a good product, but Linux is certainly a cheaper and VIABLE alternative. |
| 10/3/03: Sun what? says: |
Please read this "Heard this before": http://newsforge.com/newsforge/03/10/02/1240243.shtml?tid=3 Sorry, but Sun seems to be as good as gone. Congrats to IBM, HP, and Dell you've proven yourself again. |
| 10/3/03: Anonymous says: |
I have seen plenty of data centers without Sun hardware. Listen Mr. "Assistant CIO", you are talking out your bunghole....you MUST work for Sun. Sun is crumbling and has been for years. How has Sun taken on the Linux threat...by supporting it you moron. Solaris has been on life support, and Linux will be the janitor who walks in an pulls the plug so he can vacuum the floor. |
| 10/7/03: Anonymous says: |
You're all idiots. Novell rules. Linux rules. Sun and M$ suck. That is all you need to know. |
| 10/8/03: To Anonymous 10-3 says: |
Yeah, Sun is complete crap now I guess. All of a sudden Sun's just going to fly off into the wind and die. Well, time will tell but whether it's Sun or someone else, we all need powerful server and backup tools and Microsuck will NEVER be able to give us those. Linux is fine, especially since those of us who know Unix can easily transition over and do Linux (hell, it's Solaris for the most part anyways). So, as far as speaking out of your bunghole, well, get a clue already. If it's Linux today, it'll be something else tomorrow. As long as you don't put stock into any one company and you keep adapting to different skill sets you'll be alright. Peace. |
| 10/8/03: Arthur B. from Netherlands says: |
Yes layoffs but their shares have gone up right after that. And no, further development in NetWare has not been and will not be suspended. And no, Novell is not in decline (NetWare isn't Novell). Furthermore, the install base of eDirectory is enormous, ZENWorks and DirXML and NFuse solutions are going fast and GroupWise shouldn't be counted out either. Thing is that Novell does provide secure, reliable, proven and multi-platform (including older versions) solutions that just work and keep on working (unlike others who seem to spend most of their money on PR rather then product quality). Looks like you're wrongly informed and therefor giving the wrong advise. |
| 10/8/03: To Anonymous 10-8 says: |
Solaris is UNIX, UNIX was written by AT&T, Linux is based on UNIX. The only reason Solaris and Linux are similar are because they are both related to UNIX. Solaris is a licensed derivative of UNIX, and Linux is basically UNIX rewritten by GNU and Linus Torvolds. Bunghole...and yes Sun is crap now, they had their chance and blew it...and yes Microsoft sucks (that's the only intelligent thing you said.) Lastly it's always something different in the future...its called PROGRESS...UNIX, Novell, Microsoft and now Linux. Please get back to answering the help desk phone...Mkay. |
First Page Next Page Last Page
|
|
|
|
