What Now For i2 Customers?

Harris Computer has announced that they are purchasing from IBM the entire stack of IBM i2 products, including Enterprise Insight Analysis (EIA), Analyst’s Notebook (ANB), iBase, and others.

After years of disappointing support from IBM, and now the unknowns of being passed along to a new vendor yet again, i2 customers may understandably be very nervous about how to move forward from here. For customers using/considering either EIA, or the combination of five or more seats of ANB with iBase, DataWalk can be an excellent alternative, providing:

• Exceptional support from a vendor deeply committed to your success
• A constant stream of innovative product enhancements, via new software releases 4-5 times per year.
• Simplified operations, with a server-based system that eliminates the complexities of the client-side software required by ANB.
• A robust, Enterprise-class system based on modern big-data technology, with built-in collaboration, high availability options, a variety of powerful tools for visual analysis, and much more.

We would also offer the following suggestions:

• Harris has acquired many products in various industries, so they have an established track record of how they do (or don’t) enhance and support these acquired products. Consider reaching out to your colleagues who have used Harris products at other organizations, and get their insights on what you can expect.
• Some companies are known to acquire products simply to milk them for support revenue while minimizing both investment and support. Customers may want to explore whether they believe there is risk that this is what Harris may do with i2.
• If you decide to move to a new platform, then the most logical time to execute the move may be whenever your next payment is due for maintenance and support (M&S). An approach to consider is to apply the amount budgeted for i2 M&S towards the purchase of a new platform, while continuing to operate the i2 products as needed.

The acquisition by Harris is not the first time that i2 customers have been passed along to someone else. The roots of i2 started with the founding of i2 Limited in 1990, and in the ensuing years this aging technology has been passed to ChoicePoint, Silver Lake Partners, IBM, and now Harris Computer.

For many i2 users it will now be time to make a move. If you’d like to step up to modern technology with a constant stream of innovative enhancements and a vendor deeply committed to your success, then feel free to contact us.