Cost Controls Boost IBM Earnings on Flat Q1 Revenues
by Timothy Prickett Morgran

If this were a decade ago, and IT industry juggernaut IBM told Wall Street that its mainframe business was off 6 percent, its proprietary midrange server business was off 22 percent, its Unix server business was off 9 percent, its services business was off 1 percent, and its software business was only up 3 percent, Big Blue would have had its corporate head handed to it. But, this is 2006, and what matters more than revenue growth for the largest IT company in the world is improving profits, which IBM did manage to get in the first quarter of 2006. READ MORE >

Top Mainframe Stories and Vendor Announcements

(isham research) This preview of the "Pollux" baby mainframe--which is widely expected to be announced this week--looks at configurations, MIPS, and MSUs. Approximations are deduced using the performance of the z9. READ MORE >

(TechWorld) How would you manage heterogeneous databases in your IT environment? Let me guess. You've never even considered it. That wouldn't be so surprising. What would be surprising is that a free distributed database management tool is available. READ MORE >

(Grid Today) Open standards-based grid solutions are one strategy for dealing with proprietary islands of technology in any enterprise. As of yet, these have yet to become widely popular, however, advancements in the technology are simplifying deployment, driving productivity, and reducing costs so that more people are considering its possibilities. READ MORE >

Chats, Webinars, Seminars, Shows, and Other Happenings

May 7-11 -- Tampa, Florida - The IDUG 2006 North American Conference is an educational forum for database users across all platforms. The educational program consists of 11 technical tracks, each focused on a particular facet of DB2 usage. IDUG, the International DB2 Users Group, manages several DB2 technology conferences each year. The North American conference is the largest. A vendor expo is included in the event. LEARN MORE >

May 23-25 -- Secaucus, New Jersey - The Enterprise Information World conference will feature educational sessions on topics such as building and managing enterprise information management teams, increasing return on investment by cost effectively meeting regulatory compliance requirements, collaboration technologies and efficiencies, and the intersection of records management and security. LEARN MORE >

June 12-16 -- Atlanta, Georgia - The Transaction & Messaging Technical Conference features the most current information on the CICS TS V3.1 and WebSphere MQ family of products including tips, techniques, and business integration solutions. The agenda includes hundreds of sessions, a product expo, and certification testing. LEARN MORE >

July 8-12 -- San Diego, California - The 2006 Enterprise Security Solutions & RACF Users Training Conference emphasizes technical education for current and future data security challenges in business and government. The event features more than 140 classes taught by leading security practitioners, professional instructors and experts. It includes a vendor expo and offers the opportunity to network with industry experts and peers. Continuing education credits can also be garnered throughout the conference. LEARN MORE >

August 13-18 -- Baltimore, Maryland - The SHARE User Events feature IBM technical training tailored for enterprise-class IT professionals. Educational sessions focus on real-world solutions that meet business challenges and influence future IT product development. In addition to the first-class training, SHARE presents a great opportunity for networking with other professionals who work at some of the world's leading organizations and have insights into the technology and products that companies and jobs are depending on. All SHARE User Event sessions and events will take place in the Baltimore Convention Center. LEARN MORE >

October 20 & 21 -- Chicago, Illinois - The Network and Systems Professionals Association annual conference, NaSTEC, features educational tracks on large systems/mainframes, distributed systems, and professional development and includes 24 total sessions. Topics include IT compliance, TCP/IP network health checks, and security, as well as others. LEARN MORE >