By Steve Madonia, Golf Nut and System Z Business Manager
You might be wondering what golf equipment has to do with IBM Power Systems.
Absolutely nothing!
But I have a personal golf story that parallels the current thinking around the comfort of the “old faithful” Power i and AIX systems. After you read it, you might want to think differently about new IBM Power Virtual Server options running in IBM Cloud.
My story is about my weekend golfing buddy (we’ll call him Bob), who has a classic golf swing that produces an enviable low draw off the tee. He usually puts his drive in the fairway just short of my ball.
Bob uses a decades-old driver that even Old Tom Morris would probably feel comfortable using. Bob loves his old club, sometimes reminiscing about his glory days when he could out-drive everyone in his group. Whenever we play, he talks about someday replacing “Old Faithful” but just can’t seem to pull the trigger. Maybe it’s a fear of change, maybe he’s too cheap, maybe he doesn’t want to admit that “it ain’t the club”…
Whatever the reason, he helps make me look better than I should by staying with his old way of thinking.
One Saturday last fall, Bob asked to borrow my driver on a couple holes to “try it out”. I usually try to keep somewhat current on driver technology, and mine has all the fancy bells and whistles: High MOI, High-Trajectory, Low-spin, and so on. So after years of verbal abuse from many of us about his old club and tight wallet, I handed Bob my driver on Hole #8 after hitting my perfect baby-fade drive into the middle of the fairway.
Bob took a swing at the ball using this fancy new technology, and immediately exclaimed: “I didn’t quite get all of that one.’ Bob handed me the club back and I put it into my bag. As we made our way down the fairway closer to our two drives, I realized that Bob’s “mishit” was farther than my well-struck drive. Lucky for me, to this day, Bob still has not upgraded his driver allowing me to maintain my competitive advantage into 2021… at least with my driver. My putting is a completely different story!
I hope you can see the parallel thinking between my friend Bob and the current state of some Power i and AIX clients. Don’t let the comfort and reliability of “Old Faithful” keep you from exploring potential competitive and cost advantages utilizing newer technology such as IBM Power Virtual Server on IBM Cloud. Before you dismiss the alternatives, you may want to “take a swing” and explore some of these newer IBM Cloud options.
LRS has a deep and knowledgeable team of Power Systems specialists skilled in both on-prem and IBM Cloud solutions. We will consider all of your concerns, and help custom-fit a solution that is best for your particular environment. Just fill out the form below!
Steve Madonia is System Z Business Manager for LRS IT Solutions when he’s not dreaming of a green fairway. With more than 20 years of experience in IBM hardware and software, Steve focuses on solving business challenges and engaging skilled resources to provide value to our clients.