Stop Run > March 2007

The Mainframe

It's like a barn

"What we really need to do is to grow out this mainframe platform, which means reaching out to a whole new set of people who may not know the mainframe value proposition," says Hoey. "I'm talking about the university students who may take a tip straight out of college to go into UNIX* or Intel*, and to do Java* programming for those platforms. We're not going to reach a lot of them through the Financial Times or the Wall Street Journal. But, they do browse YouTube and similar Internet outlets. What we've tapped into with these videos on YouTube is a valuable resource for finally reaching a younger audience who may not know what a mainframe is and saying 'hey, the mainframe is still here, it's interesting, and, yes, fun.' "

Given the success of posting the videos on YouTube, it's not surprising Hoey and Washer plan to post similar videos in the future.

"It's really proven to be a great way to reach a huge number of people," says Hoey. "We definitely have to consider putting similar content out there going forward."

"The Art of the Sale" videos are available online (www.mainframe.typepad.com/blog/2006/08/mainframe_meets.html).