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Greg Neilson
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Exit Strategy |
| When the need for a particular technology cools down, when exactly should you leave it behind? |
| by Greg Neilson |
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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. 
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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.
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More articles by Greg Neilson:
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There are 31  user Comments for “Exit Strategy”
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Page 3 of 4
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| 10/10/03: Anonymous says: |
There is a famous video game that was translated badly from Japanese to American...in which the villian states to the hero..."All your base belongs to us"...so everyone subs "base" with other things to be funny...end history lesson. |
| 10/10/03: Silly Rabbits........... says: |
Platforms are for kids. It's not about what you run - it's about how you manage it. Cross platform services, services oriented architectures and managing access based on identity is where it's at. Why can't we all just get along? |
| 10/14/03: To the last Anon 10-10-03 says: |
Thanks for the lesson. For a minute I thought it was just another Arab. Guess I never heard of that before. Also, to Silly Rabit, we all could get along if Bush wasn't such a goof! |
| 10/17/03: Say what you will says: |
Let's say Sun does completely implode. How does anyone besides McNealy's personal enemies see this as a positive thing? Sorry to burst your bubble, but if Sun tech's lose their jobs guess whose jobs their going to take. For years, Unix gurus have been the cream of the crop as far as technical expertise...case in point, Microsoft just hired/stole one of Sun's leading techs in the field of cluster development (http://www.solariscentral.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article). Even BIG DADDY BILL G knows who's who and where the talent is. If you think for a second that all you guys holding CompTIA certs, MCPs, or even CCNAs are going to be able to stand up and compete against guys who, for years, have been at the front end of server development, high-end backup and recovery procedures, and high-end networking services then you really need to reassess your value. There is a very large talent pool full of guys who make a living on Sun equipment. They may be forced to move elsewhere, which won't phase them a bit. These guys are smart, tend to be workaholics, and will blow many other IT guys out of the water. I for one, don't want to see these guys out competing for the little work that there is already. If you've ever been around a skilled Unix guru, you know they are just different:) Unix just takes a lot higher level of understanding than point and click Windows does...and I like Windows:) Believe me, this is not a good thing is Sun crumbles........peace. |
| 10/17/03: Anonymous says: |
That's funny the Sun Tech who came to our site was a moron...replugged the network cable in the the wrong port and F'd everything up. Sun called us to do damage control, and promised never to send the tech to any of our sites again. I hope this isn't one of the "different" Unix guru's who will be taking my job that you were referring to. Hehe, maybe he should have taken CompTIA Network Plus exam. |
| 10/17/03: Anonymous says: |
IT is quickly becoming the fast food industry of the corporate world. The Unix guru's will be making $10 an hour when the jobs go over to India. Can u say, "Would you like to super-size that NAS device for just 39 cents more?" |
| 10/21/03: And Windows Guys are Already Outsourced says: |
Yeah, Unix is dead-dead-dead eh? Yeah right. I seem to recall, didn't Windows top execs just send the majority of their training-based programmers overseas. So, who exactly will lose their jobs first in the US? The majority of Unix-based support is for very large companies and the goverment. Unix is pretty much always on the front line of security. So, who in their right mind would outsource security-based systems to a bunch of ragheads? Windows can be hacked with hardly any effort at all...when's the last time Unix-based systems were fully degraded by an 18 year old in Minnesota? Dream on Microsuck test dummies. |
| 10/21/03: And Windows Guys are Already Outsourced says: |
Microsoft top execs...not Windows top execs...got a little ahead of myself:) |
| 10/22/03: You are all funny:) says: |
Bunch of funny reading here. Everybody seems to be getting upset at one another. Anyway my two bits I've been working on sun for about 8 years now, and yep they have done some bad things as well as some good things. There are still alot of companyies using their equipment, However since you can never really be sure as to when a company is going to go down or up ( if you could you would be rich from the markets) I would just say make sure you are well diversified in other areas. ie Linux which is based on system V type of UNIX like solaris which is why they are so similar. |
| 10/30/03: wwf says: |
I agree. Taking sides and arguing about which platform is better or worse is not the way to go forward. It gives one a very narrow perspective. My 2 cents. To truly survive in the IT industry, one has to adapt to the times and technology. I am skilled on both Windows and Unix platforms and formly believe that there are merits, strengths and weaknesses for both. The trick is to be flexible and use the best available technology and cost for a particular situation |
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