Career 4: Memories from my role as a global consultant (v1.0)

 Some stories when I was a global OLTP monitor consultant. 

I learnt a lot in my distributed OLTP monitor consulting. That was an early app server and led naturally to j2ee app servers later on. It also linked nicely with my work during DBMS lead with XA standards. In my XOpen work I learnt to appreciate TM (transaction manager). I really learnt to appreciate distributed systems. But they are complex - at least what I consulted on. 

My biggest consulting project was a bank in Korea. The team there really loved me and kept paying for trips after trips - possibly a dozen or more. They were building their online banking system themselves based on the OLTP monitor. As a consultant my job was to educate so they understand the product well and guide them to make the right choice at every key decision point. I still see on the web they are really thriving today, so the OLTP monitor did not cause them catastrophic harm!! I like to think my guiding hand was partly the reason. Every time I went there they had a million questions - not just on the OLTP monitor but databases, HA, etc. I felt like a professor (a career I rejected earlier on!!). It was the first truly highly distributed system I consulted on. 

A Telecom in Japan was a different animal. They did not want the OLTP monitor being sold, but STDL!! They wanted us to build it for them!! Obviously, that is a no-go, but a team was assembled by my company in Japan to build STDL as a language layer on top of the lower-level functionality in the OLTP monitor. I never talked to the Telecom but consulted with this team in Japan from the OLTP monitor side. The Telecom had standardized on STDL, and it was near and dear to their hearts. I did not see this all the way to the end, but I believe the effort was successful (not sure). 

Then there was a bank in Belgium. I helped put together a prototype to allow a transaction to reach out from their mainframe and do work in the OLTP monitor. That landed my company the contract. I helped but the lion's share of the design was done by professional services in Belgium. But the bank was not happy with the solution offered by the company. I spend some time there and made major changes to salvage the deal. I remember the day I flew there with the head of the OLTP monitor to convince them to stay with us. My luggage never arrived, and I ended up going there in my travel clothes (what to do?). Must have set a great impression!!! We failed (even with the head there). My last-ditch effort was not enough. I don’t know if we managed to redeem ourselves later with the customer, but I was not involved. You win some, you lose some!! 

In consulting you sift through a lot of detail - often not tied together well - and focus on the next milestone. You rarely/never see a project through end to end. But I consider my time as an OLTP monitor consultant invaluable. The key negative for me is the details you tussle with do not stick in your memory longer term. 

The most gratifying time was when I had to meet the key person in Japan and my manager managed to finagle a way for both of us to travel to hawaii (midway) and meet there. That was nice of him!! 

---