Messaging Champion

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.FCS