Open Systems Opportunities

128 Pages·1992·8.1 MB·English

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JANUARY
19
9 2
OPEN SYSTEMS
OPPORTUNITIES
AUTHOR
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CAT. No. 23-108 PRINTED IN U. S. A.
INPUT ®
1280 Villa Street, Mountain View, California 94041-1 194 [phone]
OPEN SYSTEMS OPPORTUNITIES INPUT
Published by
INPUT
1280 Villa Street
Mountain View, CA 94041-1194
U.S.A.
Information Systems Program (ISP)
Open Systems Opportunities
Copyright © 1992 by INPUT. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
No part of this publication may be reproduced or
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UUS2 - 100 • 1991
OPEN SYSTEMS OPPORTUNITIES INPUT
Abstract
This report addresses one of the technological trends in which both users
—
and vendors have expressed a high level of interest the use of "open
systems." In the report, INPUT focuses upon the concept and practice of
open systems from the viewpoint of ultimate users and examines whether
open systems is just another name for UNIX. Drawing on in-depth
interviews with users and vendors, the report presents the rationale for
open systems from the standpoint of both customers and vendors and
analyzes the types of open systems that are possible.
In this report, INPUT analyzes the role of standards in open systems,
identifies attributes that users look for in these systems and presents user
ratings of open system alternatives. The report highlights the potential
benefits of open systems and barriers to their potential use as reported by
users. The strategies of vendors in regard to proprietary systems are also
examined and comparisons of open systems and other operating environ-
ments are developed.
©1992by INPUT. Reproduction Prohibited.
Digitized by the Internet Archive
2015
in
https://archive.org/details/opensystemsoppor2100unse
111
OPEN SYSTEMS OPPORTUNITIES INPUT
Table of Contents
Introduction 1-1
I
A. Objectives 1-1
B. Scope and Methodology 1-1
1. Scope 1-1
a. Systems Software Products 1-3
b. Applications Software Products 1-4
2. Methodology 1-6
C. Report Structure 1-6
D. Related INPUT Reports 1-7
n Executive Overview
II-
A. The Open Systems Environment
II-
B. Open Systems: User Definitions II-4
C. Conflicting Standards II-5
D. Standards Extensions II-6
E. Open Systems Options II-9
HI Background 1-1
A. Technical Aspects of Open Systems IH-
B. Rationale for Open Systems III-5
1. Open Systems As Seen by Users III-6
2. Vendor Objectives III-6
a. Hardware Vendors III-6
b. Software Products Vendors III-7
c. Professional Services/Systems Integration Vendors III-8
d. Systems Operations/Outsourcing Vendors III-8
3. Other Groups III-8
4. Summary of Objectives IIT-9
UIIS2 © 1992by INPUT. Reproduction Prohibited.
111111
OPEN SYSTEMS OPPORTUNITIES INPUT
Table of Contents (Continued)
IV User Requirements IV-
A. Open Systems Definitions and Expectations IV-
B. Standards and Open Systems IV-7
C. Operating Systems Attributes for Open Systems IV-13
V Open Systems Benefits and Barriers V-l
A. Open Systems Benefits V-l
B. Barriers to Open Systems V-4
1. Technical Barriers V-4
2. Market-Related Barriers V-16
VI Vendor and Product Positioning VI-
A. Proprietary Operating Systems Environments VI-
B. Vendor Environments VI-3
IBM
1. VI-3
DEC
2. VI-6
NCR
3. VI-6
4c Other Mainframe and Minicomputer Environments VI-8
UNIX
C. versus the Competition VI-10
VII Conclusions and Recommendations VII-
A. Conclusions VII-
B. Recommendations VH-2
L
User Recommendations VII-2
2. Vendor Recommendations VII-3
Appendix A. Questionnaire A-l
ii ©1992by INPUT. Reproduction Prohibited. UIIS2
OPEN SYSTEMS OPPORTUNITIES INPUT
Exhibits
—
1
Information Services Industry Structure 1991 1-2
—
2
Systems Software Market Structure 1991 1-3
•3 Application Solutions Market Structure, 1991 1-5
n -l Open Systems Computing Environment II-2
-2 Open Systems Characteristics II-2
-3 Open Systems Objectives by Group II-3
-4 Open Systems Products Based on Vendor-Independent II-4
Standards
-5 Open Systems = UNIX II-5
-6 "Open Systems" = An Operating System/Operating
Environment That Has Support from Multiple Vendors, Even
If Controlled by a Single Vendor (e.g., MS-DOS)
-7 Barriers to Open Systems Use: Conflicting Standards II-6
-8 Market-Related Problems II-7
-9 Likelihood of Hardware Vendors Providing Unique Product II-7
Extensions
A
10 Standard Non-Standard Implementation II-8
NCR
11 Emerging Environment: II-8
12 Key User Needs Met by Selected Operating Enviroments II-9
13 OS/2: The Emerging Center? 11-10
ni •1 Traditional Computing Environment m-2
•2 Open Systems Basics m-3
3
Open Systems Characteristics m-3
-4 Open Systems Computing Environment m-4
5
Degrees of "Openness" in Selected Environments in-5
(Summary)
•6 Open Systems Objectives by Group III-9
IV •1 User Definitions of "Open Systems": Summary IV-2
2
"Open Systems" = Products Based on Vendor-Independent IV-3
Standards
3
"Open Systems" = Products Based on Vendor-Independent IV-3
Operating Systems
UIIS2 © 1992by INPUT. Reproduction Prohibited. Ill
1
OPEN SYSTEMS OPPORTUNITIES INPUT
Exhibits (Continued)
XV -4 "Open Systems" = An Interface Whose Specifications Are IV-4
Publicly Available
-5 "Open Systems" = A Processor Architecture That Is IV-4
Available from Competing Manufacturers (e.g., PC Clones)
-6 "Open Systems" = An Operating System/Operating IV-5
Environment that has Support from Multiple Vendors,
Even If Controlled by a Single Vendor (e.g., MS-DOS)
-7 "Open Systems" = Applications Development Tools IV-5
(CASE) That Allow a Single Specification to Automatically
Generate Code for Multiple Hardware/Software Platforms
-8 "Open Systems" = UNIX IV-6
-9 "Open Systems" = An Operating System that Allows IV-6
"Guest" Operating Systems and Their Applications to Run
On
It
-10 "Open Systems" = An Operating System (e.g., MVS) that IV-7
Allows a Wide Choice of Applications Software
-11 "Open Systems" = Products Based on Vendor-Independent IV-8
Standards
-12 "Open Systems" = Products Based on Vendor-Independent IV-8
Operating Systems
-13 "Open Systems" = An Interface Whose Specifications Are IV-8
Publicly Available
-14 Selected Standards Organizations IV-9
-15 Barriers to Open Systems Use: Lack of Standards IV-10
-16 Barriers to Open Systems Use: Conflicting Standards IV-10
-17 User Assessment of Impact of Competing Standards on IV-1
Open Systems
-18 Barriers to Open Systems Use: Non-Standard Product IV-12
Implementations
-19 Importance of Operating System Attributes IV-13
-20 Assessment of the Reliability of Selected Operating IV-15
Systems
-21 Assessment of the Power of Selected Operating Systems IV-15
-22 Assessment of the Cost of Selected Operating Systems IV-16
-23 Assessment of Systems Software Available to Support IV-17
Selected Operating Systems
-24 Assessment of Availability of Cross-Industry Applications IV-17
Software for Selected Operating Systems
-25 Assessment of Availability of Vertical Applications IV-18
Software for Selected Operating Systems
iv ©1992by INPUT. ReproductionProhibited. UIIS2