An Enterprise Wish List for 2006
by Robert Rosen

The programmers, administrators, and managers at large enterprises have returned from the holiday season and are back at work again. Having made their personal wish lists late last year and received many of their desires during the holidays, enterprise shops now have some professional wants and needs they want to get fulfilled, including advancements in open software technology, identity management, and a portable electronic newspaper, among others. READ MORE >

Top Mainframe Stories from Around the Web

(ComputerWorld) When it comes to storage, topics such as tape vs. disk, virtualization, and integration with software and servers are on the minds of many enterprise-level customers. Getting control of data and utilizing it continues to be a high priority. This interview with IBM's general manager of storage in its Systems and Technology Group covers the high end, the midrange, Microsoft, and open source storage. READ MORE >

(Mainframe) Do you haiku? Chances are you have at some point, but for those of you who forget, haiku is a three-line verse consisting of five, seven, and five syllables. When the subject is mainframe computing, you get some interesting verses. What? You never thought of Big Iron as poetry in motion? READ MORE >

(zJournal) When you are in the process of modernizing mainframe applications in order to take advantage of service-oriented architecture integration, it is not an all or nothing proposition. After examining the roles that each application plays, the decision process comes down to tolerate, integrate, migrate, or eliminate. READ MORE >

(Enterprise Systems) When the smoke cleared and the fire that was 2005 died out, we can look back at a year that saw new IBM mainframes, buying binges at Oracle and Sun, and a rising tide of outsourcing. READ MORE >

Chats, Webinars, Seminars, Shows, and Other Happenings

January 12 -- Webinar - Successful mainframe software asset management (SAM) requires a unique combination of people, process and tools. This Webcast will describe SAM activities and their impact at various points within the software lifecycle. Highlights include reducing compliance risk, managing software costs and re-deploying software dollars to fund new software acquisitions and projects that return business value. Guest speaker is IBM's John Anderson, a program manager for zSeries Software Asset Management. The session begins at 11 a.m. EST. LEARN MORE >

January 23 -- New York, New York - This all-day meeting of the Metropolitan VM Users Association includes sessions titled z/VM and Linux on zSeries: From LPAR to Virtual Servers in Two Days; What's new with the MainFrame - System z9 109; System z9 Connectivity Snapshots; and Tape Manager, Backup and Restore for z/VM. It will be held at the Information Builders Corporate Headquarters and begin at 8:30 a.m. LEARN MORE >

January 26 -- Webinar - The changing requirements of data warehousing and business intelligence and the challenges they bring are topics of discussion during this one-hour online session that highlights the roles of the DB2 Universal Database and the z9/zSeries platform. Guest speakers are IBM's Business Intelligence Chief Technology Officer, Bill O'Connell, and Jay Yothers, the DB2 for z/OS development expert. The event begins at 11 a.m. EST. LEARN MORE >

January 26 -- Lincolnshire, Illinois - This all-day meeting of the Chicago Area VM (and Linux) Enthusiasts includes sessions titled VM TCP/IP Routing; High Availability and Automatic Network Failover using VSWITCH; and Provisioning Expert for Linux on zSeries. It will be held at the Hewitt Associates East Campus offices and begin at 9 a.m. LEARN MORE >

January 31 -- Webinar - This IBM-sponsored Webcast examines how IBM CICS tools can help improve efficiency, maximize system availability, improve CICS skills, and play a role in a Web services implementation. Presenting this material is Peter Siddell, IBM's CICS Tools Business and Development Manager. The event begins at 11 a.m. EST. LEARN MORE >

February 6 -- New York, New York - The IDC Virtualization Forum: Making Optimal Use of IT Resources will present the many forms of virtualization and how the effective use of this technology can help IT and business executives address the need to cut costs, support an ever changing dynamic environment, and make more optimal use of their IT resources. The program features end-user case studies, a focus on the "commoditization" of hardware, virtual environment software, and the deployment of distributed applications. LEARN MORE >

February 22-23 -- Las Vegas, Nevada - The Unified Compliance Summit examines the role of technology in business governance and regulatory compliance. General topic areas include streamlining compliance activities, understanding how compliance efforts and options overlap, developing action plans, and offsetting the compliance burden. Educational tracks are available in the areas of leadership and design. LEARN MORE >

March 27-29 -- Orlando, Florida - The Service Oriented Architecture and Web Services Best Practices conference is designed for organizations looking for ways to create an architecture for interoperability across disparate systems. It will focus on the key steps for implementation, the role of Web services, new models for building applications, and return on investment. Discounts on registration costs are in effect until January 27. LEARN MORE >