[NTLUG:Discuss] Hi, all

[Greg Edwards]

Christopher Baker wrote:

> I think part of the reason why there was a boom in IT was the Year 2000
> "crisis." A lot of people I know seem to trace the bust back to the end
> of that. I also think it disillusioned companies from spending money on
> things like computers. Some of them probably thought it was all a big
> con to get people to upgrade.
> 


I think the current economy situation has more to do with the last major 
election and a lack of confidence in either candidate's ability to get 
the job done.  I saw an interview with a major Wall Street CEO last year 
where the interviewer asked why they weren't investing in new 
technology.  His answer was that they didn't see any need to trade in 
their current systems since nothing new was really out there.  He said 
that they had the funds available but that they weren't sure where the 
economy was going so they simply weren't spending.  The corporate sector 
turned off the spigot in late spring 2000.  At the time the only real 
economic factor, other than the election, was an overstocked inventory 
from the manufacturing sector.  The dot com bust, IMO, was more a 
coincidence of timing than a real economic event.

In the last few weeks I'm hearing more people say that their department 
heads are finding budget money for projects that wasn't there just a few 
weeks earlier.

Sorry, enough off topic from me here :)


> The only people who will tell you that certifications are worthwhile
> are the people who profit from them.
> 
> Chris
> 


If you look back where this cert frenzy started you'll find Cisco.  M$ 
didn't take long to follow and the flood was on.

In Cisco's case I think the certs said what they intended for them to 
say.  When it came to installing Cisco equipment there weren't many that 
knew what they were doing in those days.  I don't really know if that's 
the case today.

In M$'s case I think it was cash that motivated the deal.  While M$ may 
not be the best engineered product, it certainly is one of the best 
marketed products on the planet.  I'm sure the folks in Redmond could 
out figure a way to make a profit on ice at the North Pole ;)


-- 
Greg Edwards
New Age Software, Inc.
http://www.nas-inet.com