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Could it be, after so many years, that NonStop systems are catching the venerable mainframe? Is it even conceivable that NonStop offers a better technology solution than its long time arch-rival? Possible? Well perhaps yes … the gap between the two is definitely being bridged! I was only recently writing to my clients about the work being done on our track Corvette. After nearly a two year hiatus we hope to have the C5 Z06 track ready by the end of the month, with perhaps an outing or two in the fall,  just as driving in winter is out of the question in Colorado so too is driving in the heat of summer. The ‘Vette looks terrific even after all these years – thirteen years old but only a little over 20,000 miles on the odometer even if almost a third of those were spent on the track as well as in and around the pits and paddocks you find at every race track. Yes, former head of NonStop development, Hal Massey, has a lot to answer for (as does Mike Plum, also formerly of NonStop ...

Once again, I am writing a preview of what will follow next February as my update to My Three Wishes for NonStop will be posted. Like my previous preview, I am keeping a few items close to my chest …  Over the past two week I have been on the road and for nearly all of that time the heavens have opened up and it’s been a hard rain for more days that I care to recall. Driving was erratic at times even as setting up camp proved challenging – the drive into the RV facility on North Carolina’s Outer Banks happened just 30 minutes after a tremendous deluge that left the facility flooded. But the opportunity to discuss business with numerous folks made it worthwhile and overall it all added to a growing impression that the software industry is heading for tough times and that, without a few more concessions coming from major hardware vendors, our future choices may be greatly reduced even as users may be tempted to return to writing critical middleware and tools themselves. Driving...

There are numerous misconceptions about many things we routinely come into contact with but as NonStop becomes capable of running on commercial, off-the-shelf hardware and yes, even from within a cloud, I turned to one solutions vendor to gauge just how big an impact this may have on future NonStop sales … It’s a common misconception that America’s interstate freeways provide a speedy and stress-free way to drive across the country, but they are neither free nor fast, or even stress free. Denoted speed limits change frequently, portions of the freeway have become toll-roads and many miles of freeway are under repair and have been turned into unforgiving cone-surrounded autocross courses. And then there are the freeway interchanges to contend with – oftentimes beautiful, yet terrifying to the uninitiated. The photo above was taken by the award-winning commercial and fine art photographer, Peter Andrew, who has turned many of these high interchanges into works of art .  No,...

Back from HPE Discover 2016 and with opportunities to converse with my clients, the news about NonStop is good. All involved in the NonStop community see the development of NonStop the system, NonStop the software and NonStop the services as positive and there’s excitement and anticipation evident everywhere I turn … HPE Discover 2016 continues to occupy my thoughts even as I am now deeply involved in a number of projects arising from conversations with my clients. Las Vegas may not be to everyone’s liking but when it comes to the biggest of HPE marketing events, HPE Discover 2016 does throw a lot at you in a very short period of time. For me it has always been about the sidebar conversations, the opportunity for a brief exchange with an executive and the chance, and often quite unexpected, meeting over cocktails. This year, there was a reception for the NonStop community hosted by America’s sales head, Jeff Skinner, and that proved to be the place to be Tuesday evening. The quest...

What was on display at HPE Discover 2016 led me to take a closer look at some of the start-ups where Pyalla Technologies has a presence and the results add further weight to the argument about just how far NonStop systems have come – who would have guessed just a year or so ago!  Wandering the exhibition hall at this year’s HPE Discover, for me, it was a treat to see as many cars on display as there were. Whether it was the HPE sponsored Formula E or what I recall was a Nissan Leaf or even the BMW i3 pictured above, there seemed a lot more engagement with cars at this show. Of course, there was the opportunity to race a car against other attendees; that was part of the HPE Labs exhibit but the “controls” were a tad artificial and not to my liking, so I wasn’t tempted to join in the fun. The BMW i3 is a pure electric play and where HPE was involved had to do with gathering information from many sources in order to keep the car on course and in practical terms, safe. The i3 ha...

HPE Discover 2016 was the “big-tent, marketing event” we have come to expect. Hearing HPE CEO Meg Whitman introduce Home Depot onto the stage as a NonStop user was great! With uptick in interest in all things NonStop (including HPE IT) we're going to need a lot more help from services providers … A year may not be a long time between HPE Discover events and then again, when you also factor in Boot Camp having been only half a year ago, it continues to intrigue me how HPE has picked up the pace so dramatically. Often relegated to being old-school or even a leftover from a previous era, it’s all too easy to denigrate a company that’s been in business for three quarters of a century, but this is far from being an accurate depiction of HPE today.  The breakup of the former HP into the two companies, HPQ and HPE, was executed extremely well such that today HPE is single-mindedly focused on the needs of enterprises everywhere. Furthermore, the decision by HPE to spin off its...

The days of partner summits takes me back more than a decade to when they were an integral part of major ITUG events. Seeing them return and be successfully managed by the NonStop team is really big news and is a indication that all is well at HPE NonStop! Sitting in my home office after a whirlwind trip to Palo Alto, aware that this week I have a lot of writing ahead of me, it seems only appropriate that I begin paging through the notes that I took while in Palo Alto as well as read the numerous emails that have now taken flight! The reason for the trip was the HPE NonStop Partner Summit – the first such event held in many years and yes, it was a good one. Like a NASCAR winner, let me make sure that thanks are extended to all in HPE who made this event as successful as it proved to be; I think all of us need to thank the product management and development teams at NonStop for taking the time to meet with the vendors and for providing much greater insight into where NonStop is h...