Hewlett Packard Outsources VMS Support to India ( for Techies Only )

The Inquirer ^ | 09/13/2006 | Charlie Demerjian

[SirLinksalot]

VMS support goes to India next week

HP Leak of the Day (C) This must be embarrassing

By Charlie Demerjian: Wednesday 13 September 2006, 09:25

LUCKY FOR HP that they caught the onerous 'mad leaker', this could get embarrassing for it if leaks continued. So, for the HP leak of the day, we turn to VMS, layoffs, and other things only a board member would have access to this early. I guess they didn't plug all the holes.

It seems that a good chunk of VMS front line support is going to the subcontinent to save a meagre few dollars a month. VMS support was, and for the next week or so will continue to be, a world class enterprise support organization. Some bean counting twit at HP realised they could save a few dollars a year by sending those jobs to India.

Nothing wrong with doing this if you train your staff in India to the level of the ones you are replacing, and give them the support, tools and ongoing training they need to do the job they are called upon to do. HP is notoriously awful at doing this, if it can save a few dollars replacing someone with years of experience, it can save more by training them badly.

VMS is not Windows Media Center, customers take it very seriously. HP obviously does not, last time I checked, people with years of hands on VMS experience were a little thin in Bangalore. In five years or so, they will be up to speed, if HP bothers to train them right, until then it will kind of suck to be a VMS customer with a problem.

We are told the new crop of VMS supporters in Bangalore has "virtually no IT experience and a about a four week crash course in VMS support". It would be funny if it wasn't so sad, but remember, this is HP we are talking about, unless you are on the board, nothing is out of bounds. Oh wait.

In any case, the outsourcing of jobs continues unabated. The replacing of people skilled in their trade with poorly trained people charging a bit less continues. The leaks continue. The rapacious greed of the execs continues. What changed? The names on the doors of the corner offices.

Keep the info coming people, the best way to make roaches go away is to turn on the lights. So far, HP has caught more board members than any of our sources.

[jiggyboy]

Sounds like VMS will go the way of HP's Tandem fault-tolerant computers have gone in the past two or three years: from a fully-supported product line into oblivion.

[Moose4]

Not good.

I miss VMS. We had a VAXcluster at my college (James Madison University) twenty years ago, and I really liked working with VMS. I'm surprised it's still around, although I'm sure it's nothing like what I used back in the mid-80s.

}:-)4

[Incorrigible]

VMS is dead. Long live VMS!

[Incorrigible]

Somehow I feel inspired to get behind an orange screen terminal and do some FORTRAN 77 programming!

GOTO is dead! Long live GOTO!

[SirLinksalot]

Sounds like VMS will go the way of HP's Tandem fault-tolerant computers have gone in the past two or three years: from a fully-supported product line into oblivion.

2 questions :

1) Is there no one in the USA using the Tandem fault tolerant system today ? I know that the NASDAQ Stock Market had their Supermontage trading system based on the Tandem but after they acquired Instinet, they totally shelved the Tandem platform and adopted Instinet's UNIX based trading system.

2) Do you still think that OpenVMS has a future ? I do know that a lot of defense companies as well as stock markets in Europe still use them.

Do you see a trend towards migrating away from OpenVMS ?

It's a pity because I've used OpenVMS and UNIX, and I'll tell you honestly, OpenVMS is the more elegant, robust, reliable, secure OS.

[ExTexasRedhead]

I just bought a new HP Pavilion desktop and spent several days in HP Tech Support "HELL" in Bombay. Whatever form of English they supposedly speak, I had no clue what they were saying and, they, in turn, didn't have a clue what I was saying. Needless to say, they screwed up my new PC and I'm "LIVID." Besides HP's hellish tech support in Bombay, I also had tech support HELL with EarthLink (Bombay) and Microsoft (Bombay). My blood pressure is now at a dangerous level. My son-in-law just spent a whole day in computer hell with Dell Tech Support; also in Bombay.

[ikka]

Considering that VMS must at this point, be a cash cow, I can't understand why HP would take the risk of ticking off their current support contract customers.

[jaydubya2]

Our manufacturing facility has made a committment to stay on VMS for our critcal production systems. It's a very solid platform.

[jiggyboy]

Is there no one in the USA using the Tandem fault tolerant system today ?

All I know is that HP has no support for it. If you're running a Tandem, you're on your own.

I don't know anything whatsoever about VMS.

[SirLinksalot]

Considering that VMS must at this point, be a cash cow

I didn't know that it is a cash cow. Do we have any new OpenVMS installations you've heard of recently ?

Personally, I have not. Almost everyone I know using it, are using it because it is a solid legacy system.

I don't see any new projects or installations or any new IT initiative even considering using VMS.

[brownsfan]

"My blood pressure is now at a dangerous level. My son-in-law just spent a whole day in computer hell with Dell Tech Support; also in Bombay."

Tech support is a cost center, not a revenue source. Until that line of thought changes, it will be the same no matter where, or what you buy.

The sad thing is, if XYZ computers started advertising quality tech support, based in America, with people who are experienced and speak English as a first language... that would be "racist".

[jaydubya2]

"Do we have any new OpenVMS installations you've heard of recently ?"

VMS has a new release for the Itanium chip.

[SirLinksalot]

VMS has a new release for the Itanium chip.

Yes, I am aware of that. It is their new line of INTEGRITY servers.

But are companies actually buying into it ?

Put it this way, as the CIO of a company with a new server based project in mind, would you even consider using OpenVMS as opposed to say --- LINUX or UNIX ?

[printhead]

That product line is now known as "Non-Stop" computing within HP. There is still an active (though reduced) group which supports this platform. You might pass that on to your sources. Freegards.

[longtermmemmory]

You are speaking to the choir.

I have not had any 100% positive experiences.

They BARELY speak english and the english they do speak just goes down a set script.

They have no ability to THINK.

[Ready4Freddy]

What wersion are you running? ;>)

[Nagual]

Tandems are alive and well. HP now calls them INTEGRITY servers.

After all The Tandem was Fault Tolerant!!!!

[Jeffro35744]

Tandem is now HP Non Stop. Integrity servers are 64 bit Itanium servers that can run Windows, VMS, HPUX, Tru64 Unix and Linux. Trust me, I know, I am an HP Escalation Engineer Lead focusing on Proliant and Integrity.

[SirLinksalot]

Tandem is now HP Non Stop

Integrity servers are 64 bit Itanium servers that can run Windows, VMS, HPUX, Tru64 Unix and Linux

You seem to know what you're talking about.

I have a few questions regarding installation trends :

1) Do you see a trend towards -- keeping, adding or moving away from Non-Stop and VMS platforms ?

2) Of the above operating systems using the same Itanium processor, which ones do you see as the one companies are buying into ?

My guess is -- Linux and HPUX (not Non-Stop and OpenVMS). Am I right in saying that ?