Mike Prescott of Sequent Computer Systems has a message about messaging for "obsolete, old-fashioned thinkers" and he'll do just about anything to get it across — including donning electric-blue superhero skivvies emblazoned with a bolt of lightning. Such is the dedication of a champion.
Name: Mike Prescott
Age: 40
Title: Messaging Champion
Has Held Title For: 1 year
With Sequent For: 6 years
Previous Title: Marketing Program Manager
Degree: BS in Engineering
Messaging, More Than E-mail
The new messaging paradigm is all about synchronous transactions. The old paradigm assumed an asynchronous approach: enter data, hit the key, wait for a response. Today we're looking at real-time access and high-speed message switching.
The Network Does the Work
The Web will be the ubiquitous infrastructure. With Java, you can suddenly do real transaction processing in a message-based paradigm.
Mission Impossible
Getting funding. Sequent is known as a database server platform. Even people inside the company didn't know we were capable of messaging.
Greatest Frustration
Hand-written memos.
Breakfast of Champions
Fat-free yogurt, juice, and tea. But my biggest energizer is customer contact.
Fate of the Champion
My goal is to work myself out of a job — to get people up to speed on messaging and move on to champion something else.
A version of this article appeared in the June/July 1996 issue of Fast Company magazine.
