(1) Mon 7 Nov 94 12:59 By: MICHAEL HOLMAN SR. To: Uucp, fidonet.org (1:1/31) Re: BDPA Files St: Pvt Local Kill ------------------------------------------------------------ @MSGID: 1:278/511 9b8cf7bb @PID: FM 2.02 E-Mail and Your Career by Ollie Morgan What does E-Mail have to do with your career? If you are compelled to ask that question than you are truly behind the times. Communications is what makes things happen, and E-Mail is that communications link. Recently I read, from cover to cover, Client/Server Today's October, 1994 issue that was totally dedicated to the subject of E-Mail. The articles were not only well written, and thought provoking but they also highlighted something we have been saying in BDPA for years; the industry is changing. The IT industry is always changing. The mainframe, which many predicted would go the way of the dinosaur, is coming back strong. Why? Large volume data processing is on the increase. The mid-range system, also predicted to be eliminated by the coming of age of PCs, is changing its shape and has identified a new market that will assure its survival. So nobody left, but some new folks are onboard. The client/server is the current, but like rock 'n roll tunes of the sixties, the technology can be an oldie but goodie in a minute. LANs are beginning to show up in the home, and, just another change, DOS is declining in users. But, E-Mail is expected to, and will have to, cross all these platforms. Your company, regardless of who you work for, is looking for some sharp people to help them establish a seamless E-Mail environment. The question is are you ready? Career management is a must. You, as a system professional, have got a tremendous decision to make. Either you try to ride through on your current level of expertise. A route I wouldn't suggest unless you are going to accept the early retirement package. Or, you become a generalist with exposure to a wide variety of system solutions. Or, you might want to specialize. Believe me an E-Mail guru is worth their weight in gold to companies supporting twenty to fifty thousand E-Mail users that communicate internationally, internally, and with vendors and suppliers; and do this from their desktops. The specialist will know what all these new buzz words, and acronyms, and what they mean. SMP Synmetrical multiprocessing ABI Application binary interface CDE Common Desktop Environment DSMIT Distributed Systems Management Interface Tool DMI Desktop Management Interface MIF Management Information Format And how they will apply to the corporate wide solution. The specialist will also be required to help the company develop an environment that will permit the connection for a cellphone to a laptop. That's called "celldata". How do you become a "specialist"? You will certainly have to read, and read a lot. Consortiums like DMTF, an industry consortium formed to establish desktop systems management standards, are one source of up to date and futuristic data. DMTF has some impressive member companies like Apple Computer, AST, Compaq, Dell, DEC, HP, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Novell, Symantec, Sunsoft, and Synoptics. So you can learn a lot from this type of resource. Then you have to apply what you have learned to your environment, and its strategic directions. That means you might want to read the annual report so that you might have a better understanding as to what that strategy is. You certainly must have some experience with introducing solutions, and the wider the range the more value you will attach to your speciality. Being certified in this knowledge is another step towards becoming a specialist. Compatibility will be another area where the specialist will be needed. You know how end-users can be. They fall in love with their software, and management is reluctant to force standards. That reluctance causes the specialist more concerns. How do you integrate mainframe E-Mail systems with PC-LAN based systems, and have the capability to attach word processing and spreadsheet documents to those messages? If you have solutions you are going to be the one they will be calling. The generalist, on the other hand, has another type of challenge. Interoperability will be that challenge. If the selected solution is a PC-LAN based system then the generalist will have to build a network map, defined system alarms, and put in place monitoring schemes that will create a LAN that truly works. Then, because most companies communicate outside of the company, the generalist will have to have insights into how this all will work externally. I quote the article summation of interoperability problems, "According to a 1993 survey by the Ferris E-Mail Analyzer (a newsletter published by David Ferris), mainframe systems still dominate the corporate world with 54 percent market share, followed by PC/MAC-based mail systems with 21 percent, minicomputer-based mail systems with 16 percent, and Unix-based mail at 7 percent." Those statistics will change and the generalist will be a key player in implementing those changes. How you manage your career will determine what role you play. But manage you must, or your days will be numbered. You may sit in a cubicle, but you don't work in a vacuum. As companies downsize they are going to retain only those that bring value to their talent pool. The masters of old technology will be looked upon as the liabilities they are. The applications of E-Mail go way beyond sending a simple message to a colleague. Don't let the term E-Mail fool ya. Messaging, scheduling, proposals, contracts, invoices, shipping slips, and other business transactions will account for the bulk of E-Mail traffic. That certainly means that security will be an issue. The paperless office environment is about to happen, and the systems professional plays an indispensable role in bringing that about, but only those that have prepared for that day by remaining on the leading edge of IT applications. You may not be the technician that helped develop Lotus' LCS (Lotus Communications Server), or Mircosoft's Exchange, the new E-Mail system that promises to meet the needs of users of Windows 3.1, Windows 4.0 (Chicago operating system), DOS, Macintosh, Windows NT 3.5, and Unix platforms. That may not be your role, but your company is going to need people to help them migrate to these solutions, and select the one that is best for them. That can either be you, or somebody else. Bringing you this information is one area where your local BDPA chapter can help. Bring in the vendors and have them make presentations at your monthly program meetings. Not only will attendance increase, but you will be providing the members with vital and timely information. Negotiate with vendors on presenting Saturday workshops and seminars. Believe me they will jump at the chance to help you decide what you will recommend to your employer. That is if your employer perceives you to be up on today's technology and its applications. If your chapter isn't doing this, you might want to ask why? Regarding E-Mail let me leave you with this thought. It makes no difference if your company has standardized on a single E-Mail solution, it is always going to have to operate in a heterogeneous environment. External communications with trading partners, other companies, and external information resources will require an understanding of multiple E-Mail systems. But the future of E-Mail is to establish a twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, communications link to the world. Don't be caught off line. Let me close my sharing with you some other reading. Sunday's (10/2/94) Chicago Tribune had a pull out section entitled, Technology and the Workplace. I hope you read it, but if you didn't here are some of the subjects of the articles written: Big Iron Redux: Mainframes make a comeback... Rewriting Desktop Publishing: Digital printing more flexible, and more economical Compression Expands Computing Capability Tools For Multimedia Production Turn Into Big Business OLE: Is it just hype, or a revolution? By the way OLE means Object Linking and Embedding, a facility built into Microsoft's Windows. Transformer Versus Godzilla: It's take no prisoners in war of Pentium and PowerPC Paging Growth: Industry considered dead is on rebound Wireless data flow to catch on Airlines Reservation Systems fly high Desktop Publishing being rewritten Throwing out the rule book on how to read: Project building an on-line library Prodigious bulletin boards are Prodigy's growing competition IT is a wide industry and the demand for talent will only increase. How you manage your career will determine how you fair as IT moves off into tomorrow.