Pre-DevCon Thoughts

Next week InterSystems will be hosting their annual Developer Conference (DevCon) in Orlando, Florida. I will be attending this event and I thought I’d share some reasons why.

Business

InterSystems is a strong company that has a lot to offer the reseller channel. If you have an MV application and you want to approach new sales prospects with added credibility, InterSystems and Caché are names that are recognized by technical and business people alike. This is the only company related to MV that gets reviews and/or advertising in any of these mainstream journals: InformationWeek, Java Developers Journal, ComputerWorld, Dr. Dobbs Journal, Computer Reseller News, Database Journal, eWeek, Database Trends and Applications (DBTA), and many others. They also get a great deal of press in journals that are specific to the healthcare vertical market, which has always been a strong MV market as well.

Many IT Managers of end-user sites must justify their dedication to MV with their senior management and stockholders. Big names like IBM, Microsoft, and now InterSystems help in this regard.

Technical

Technically, Caché is enhanced on an ongoing basis. Their focus is on performance and stability – this is not a marketing line, it’s a company mandate. Some MV products, even those that have active development, are considered to be in maintenance mode. With few exceptions we have not seen major advances in most MV products in years. Caché already has features that are only planned enhancements for some MV environments.

Now that Caché also supports MV BASIC and a familiar command-line processor, there is a migration path which allows MV sites to take advantage of Caché features without technically migrating away from MV. The Pick-based functionality and simplicity which we all appreciate is still there, plus there is a great deal of room for growth in both a technical and business sense.

It’s important to note that the MV hooks for Caché are not being added just as a migration ploy for MV sites. The MV features are standard for use by all Caché developers. It’s entirely possible that some people will come to know MV through Caché, and get a quick start in Caché through the use of MV BASIC and the MV command-line. This increases the number of people familiar with MV and lends recognition and credibility back to the rest of the MV market.

Yet another migration option?

I believe the combined business and technical offerings from InterSystems are good for many MV developers and end-users. However, for many sites the InterSystems offering is not necessary. Acknowledgement of the benefits of Caché and InterSystems does not mean I have changed my attitude about the MV/Pick/Prime environments that I have supported for so many years, or that I will be leading away from these environments. My dedication to the MV market is as firm as ever. I am merely extending the Nebula R&D list of services to include consultation, development, and migration assistance to the MV market for yet another platform, and only for those where it seems reasonable to do so. At DevCon I expect to become better informed about InterSystems products and their community of users, so that my company will be better prepared to provide accurate information and insight to those considering changes. And in partnership with other experts I expect my company will be able to quality services to those who make the decision to change.

Summary

If you have any interest in Caché, you are contemplating migration, or you are being asked by your management to consider alternatives to MV/Pick/Prime technologies, I invite you to register for DevCon yourself. Let them know you’re an MV user so that you can get a special discount. Hurry though, the conference is less than a week away! Of course Nebula R&D will be providing consultation for those who were unable to make it to the show.

Other recognized MV professionals who will be attending the conference include Lee Burstein, Clifton Oliver, and Matt Stern. I’m told about 40 MV people are expected to attend.

I will have a Post-DevCon summary in about two weeks.

[Edit: Added to new Caché blog category, sorry if this messes up the link or anyone’s RSS.]