I agree with "don't do it"! My most important client took a "big bang" approach and replaced the D3 hosted FMIS / ERP system I had built for them with Microsoft NAV. I contracted an NAV developer to modify NAV to be more like the client's culture. NAV was a good fit, but I was aware that the warehouse manager didn't have tight enough control over their inventory.
When I was dismissed (with thanks) a few weeks before "go-live", the mods I had arranged were removed because the warehouse manager didn't understand that NAV required tighter control than they were capable of, and the suppliers of the NAV system were not aware of the situation at the client, because the warehouse manager maintained he had everything sorted.
When I subsequently learned of what had happened, I was told that some millions of dollars were spent to get the system working as it needed to. My inexpensive fixes to NAV would have provided a way of easing into the disciplines required, and would have highlighted the procedural problems I was aware of. I felt badly let down by the client for not trusting my actions on their behalf, and felt particularly sad that they had committed so much money to the project when a fraction of that budget spent on "modernising" my solution would have incrementally improved what they had already, and was already capable of doing what they required day to day.
Original Message:
Sent: 10-15-2021 15:52
From: Julianna Cammarano
Subject: Modernization - what does it mean to you?
Great to see the discussion.
No surprise I'm going to agree with the sentiment of "Don't Do IT".
I'd say the enormous cost is experienced when customers attempt to migrate off the platform, not in modernizing an existing application. We've had several customers attempt a migration only to abort the project after months/years, costing the organization millions of dollars.
Many organizations state they're interested in modernizing their applications, but they don't know where to begin; unsure of best practices, do I start with building a front-end web interface with tools like Angular or should my first consideration be exposing MV data and business logic through RESTful APIs so systems can communicate with one another. What are the right tools to use? How do I strategically think about modernization?
David brings up a great point of a staged approach; where you start out small and gradually move to more complex initiatives; with each phase you gain more knowledge and success along the way. Most important is understanding the strategic imperatives of your organization so you can align the project with those imperatives, showing results and success to your executive team. With executive buy in, a green light for the next stage can begin.
One of my favorite modernization stories is Eurotunnel Le Shuttle where they were faced with a difficult decision; replace their proven, business-critical system– which would cost several million euros and take years to complete or prove to their executive team they could modernize their MV based reservation system.
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Julianna Cammarano
Director of Product Marketing
Rocket Internal - All Brands
Waltham MA United States
Original Message:
Sent: 10-15-2021 04:02
From: David Knight
Subject: Modernization - what does it mean to you?
Hi Alex,
I 100% disagree with you. Do not do it.
There is already so much tied up in the logic of your system that to start over will be horrendous and costly.
Perhaps look at a staged approach?
For example, leverage excellent tools such as designbais to get you 'into' graphical and potentially web-service architecture quickly. That keeps you 'in the game'. Most likely as a developer, it will not take you too long to reengineer your front end 'into' db.
Then, more slowly use tools like MVSToolkit to build web-service architecture and 'publish' that for others to create their own front end. Of course, you could do that, too.
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David Knight
Managing Director
Matash Australia Pty Ltd
Castle Hill NSW Australia
Original Message:
Sent: 10-13-2021 23:52
From: Alex Polglaze
Subject: Modernization - what does it mean to you?
I agree with the need to modernise by making the data more readily available via a web interface, however the cost is enormous. I am now starting to think it would be better to drop D3 and start again on a completely different system. It appears that that will be the cheapest option in the long run.
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Alex Polglaze
The Book-Keeping Network
Perth Western Australia
+61419 776 348
apolglaze@book-keepingnetwork.com.au
https://www.book-keepingnetwork.com.au/
Original Message:
Sent: 09-10-2021 17:10
From: Julianna Cammarano
Subject: Modernization - what does it mean to you?
Modernization.
You probably see this word all the time. I'm curious, what does it mean to you? Specifically, what does modernization mean for your business-critical application that is built on a MultiValue platform.
Your organization has invested in your business-critical MultiValue-based applications over the course of years and maybe decades.
How do you ensure those applications can adapt and grow alongside your organization for continued return on investment for years to come?
If you're focused on increasing productivity, are you looking at development tools and modern programming languages that are easy to use, efficient, and address the skills gap?
If you're focused on simplifying integration, are you interested in lightweight, zero-install client applications with Open APIs?
Is speed to market at the top of your list, including implementing continuous integration, continuous delivery (CI/CD), cloud (on-premises or hybrid cloud deployment and containerization)?
If you're not focused on any of the above, I'd love to hear what you're working on. Looking forward to hearing your ideas, hesitations, and successes.
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Julianna Cammarano
Director of Product Marketing
Rocket Software Inc
Waltham MA United States
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