LinuxWorld.com: Virtual case study: Saving a small software developer with Linux
Dec 05, 2001, 20:36 (4 Talkback[s])
(Other stories by Paul Murphy)
[ Thanks to Jason
Greenwood for this link. ]
"Editor's Note : The "I" in this scenario is that of a
consultant asked to make strategic systems recommendations for a
small software development house. The company, its staff and
products, are fabrications but the situation presented, and the
remedies offered, reflect the author's recent experience with
real-world clients facing similar decisions. Impress Recruiting is
imaginary, but the conditions, decisions, and outcomes described
are broadly based on real events.
Impress Recruiting was founded in the late 1970s as a software
commercialization spin-off from the highly successful management
and outplacement-consulting firm of Kutting, Cash, and Dole. The
product, marketed under the Impress name, was originally built in
COBOL-74 on Burroughs A-Series gear. It started as a resume
summarization and retrieval tool for recruiters. It became, over
time, a full-featured recruiter time-management system aimed at
small- to mid-size temporary services agencies.
By late 1986, Ayer McReady, the original designer and a
co-founder of the firm, had supervised porting to SCO Unix with
VT220-style terminals. Version 3.0 supported up to 32 users
communicating via a serial line multiport board with an i80286
based machine. It was written largely in RM-COBOL with a Unify 3.0
database backend. Networked Windows clients were added in 1990. By
late 1992, the company claimed more than 300 client installations
supporting more than 4,000 active recruiters in three
countries."
Complete
Story
Related Stories:
