Share Members Draw Up Vendor Wish List

Computerworld - Share, a user group for IBM mainframe sites, has assembled a wish list of features that members want from vendors. The list includes enterprise open-source software, server consolidation features, interoperable calendaring capabilities and a standards-based distributed file system, said Robert Rosen, president of the Chicago-based group and CIO of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md. In an interview with Computerworld last week, Rosen talked about the list and why it was created.

Robert Rosen

By creating a wish list, are you trying to make Share and user groups more relevant? I don't think user groups have become less relevant. I think what we're really doing is getting the word to a broader audience about the kinds of things that Share is involved in and doing. This has to do with the big IT shop, the enterprises. Where are their pain points? Where would they like some relief?
Why is a list created by Share members important? It's important because we're the people in the trenches. We're the people living with these problems, and we need these kinds of solutions.
How important is vendor cooperation among Share members? Nobody has a one-vendor shop anymore. [Vendors] have got to work together, and standards are the only thing that is going to make this work. We are seeing more and more of our people interested in open systems and very interested in standards.
Are Share members aggressive enough in demanding interoperability from vendors? I am sure there are some that are aggressive enough and others who aren't. I think that's one of the strengths that Share brings to the process. We can leverage the voice of these managers in a more concentrated way. We're representing 2,200 organizations -- 80% of the Fortune 500. That's a strong voice.
Do you intend to publicly recognize vendors that create products that meet your interoperability requirements? Typically, those things are presented at Share meetings. [That's] one of things that make the user group relevant: You can get that information and participate in those kinds of discussions.
How would you rank the items on the list? It really depends. Different companies are going to have different pain points. More and more, as we move to the mobile stuff, battery life has become a bigger and bigger issue. I think easier use of open software -- so it installs, operates and [can be managed so it] works in an enterprise -- is going to be one of