Top OS/400 Stories from Around the Web

(IT Jungle) If you were thinking that IBM was going to hold off announcing its Power7 server announcements until the COMMON midrange trade show, that doesn't look like it is going to happen. IBM now says that the first of its new generation of Power Systems machines will roll out this quarter--and it might be sooner rather than later for a lot of reasons. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) IBM continued to grow its profits in the fourth quarter, despite the economic downturn and well ahead of plan. However, revenues are still under pressure and the company doesn't expect overall revenue growth in early 2010 as it prepares to launch new Power Systems and mainframe iron. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Details are scarce on the Power7 processors and the servers that will make use of them. That's cause for Timothy Prickett Morgan to use his imagination in order to come up with what these machines should look like. TPM is ready to talk about cores and threads, and nodes and memory and a whole lot more . . . even if IBM is not. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) If the esteemed prognosticators at analyst and research organizations such as Forrester Research and Computer Economics say the IT recession is behind us, then who are we to disagree? Operational budgets are increasing, the experts say. "In the U.S., the tech recovery will be much stronger than the overall economic recovery, with technology spending growing at more than twice the rate of gross domestic product (GDP) this year," says an analyst at Forrester. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) IBM knows how to build integrated systems. Its System/38s and the AS/400s were particularly good examples. We're about to see how much HP and Microsoft, the Cisco/VMware/EMC combo, and Oracle have learned from Big Blue's success with easy-to-user and cheap-to-support integrated systems. Here's what HP and Microsoft have to say about their plans. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) The healthcare industry, in the coming years, is destined to be an IT hotbed. Lawson Software is counting on it. The company has increased its investments in the medical arena calling it a targeted vertical market that will help it achieve performance objectives. READ MORE >

Vendor Announcements, Promotions, and Deals

(IT Jungle) Just as the IBM AS/400 was designed with an integrated database, you'll find companies taking the "set it and forget it" approach to backup and storage. The cost effectiveness that simplicity brings is not lost on those not distracted by unnecessary bells and whistles. Take a look at replicating data across a WAN for archival and disaster recovery purposes, while backing up local servers on the LAN. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Casinos know a lot about revenue optimization. But as any good business would, they always welcome opportunities to maximize their methods. On the lodging side of the ledger, some new developments have casino operators adding to their stack of chips. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Managed file transfer is a hot topic in these privacy-conscious times. Regulatory compliance is making sure companies have their security ducks lined up and accountable on a day-in and day-out basis. In the areas of logging and auditing, automation is a feature that plays an increasing role in IT monitoring. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) From one managed file transfer product to another, the emphasis remains on automation. In this case, the discussion centers on encrypting the contents of e-mail and data security protocols that protect the contents of file transfers and the identity of senders. READ MORE >

Redbooks, White Papers, and Other OS/400 Resources

(ARCAD) Regulatory compliance from an IT standpoint requires a structured framework based on rules and defaults to ensure rules are followed. This white paper describes how change management defines a set of working environments and provides the needed traceability for regulatory requirements. READ MORE >

(Bytware) It's a misconception that only Windows users are troubled by viruses. Power Systems running IBM i, AIX, and Linux are also at risk and could be the source of infections. This Webinar examines virus protection, security requirements, and regulatory compliance topics READ MORE >

(Vault400) This report describes how a disaster recovery data protection plan does not have to rely on cumbersome tape backups or complex high availability solutions. The focus is on electronic vaulting of data using your network and high-level security. READ MORE >

(Help/Systems) Business intelligence is defined in many ways. It begins with query and reporting, includes a wide scope of business analytics, and offers solutions to data distribution dilemmas. To demonstrate the benefits companies are getting out of real world implementations, you'll find these reports featuring Security Mutual Life insurance Company and Southwestern Motor Transport helpful. READ MORE >

Chats, Webinars, Seminars, Shows, and Other Happenings

See our full calendar of events at
http://www.itjungle.com/fhm/fhm-calendar.html

January 21 -- Webinar - Businesses making plans for Web application development often run into obstacles such as not enough staff, lack of in-house expertise, and difficulty with the budgeting process in these uncharted waters. This online session, presented by the BCD Software professional services team, explains how a Web application project can be jump started or can be handled in its entirety by the experts at BCD. The session begins at 1 p.m. EST. LEARN MORE >

January 21 -- Webcast - Frank Soltis, former chief scientist at IBM and the widely known father of the AS/400, will be the featured speaker of this one-hour session that focuses on the future of availability and disaster technologies. Topics include: new directions and technologies for IT availability, surveys on availability and data trends, and business continuity budgets in 2010. The presentation begins at 10 a.m. CST. LEARN MORE >

January 21 -- Chattanooga, Tennessee - The Tennessee Valley Midrange User's Group will feature a presentation on DB2 Web Query. Guest speaker Paul Lambert will review of the purpose, benefits, and implementation strategies. A discussion of the architectural concepts surrounding DB2 Web Query will be the launch point for the presentation. Lambert is an instructor for IBM, and a consultant and lecturer in the IBM i world. His special interests include IBM i and AS/400 performance tuning and capacity planning, system operations, and system management. The meeting will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn - Hamilton Place located at 2343 Shallowford Village Drive. It gets under way at 5:30 p.m., with dinner at 6 and the presentation at 6:30. LEARN MORE >

January 21 -- Fairfield, New Jersey - Guest speaker Robin Tatam will discuss the seven habits of highly secure organizations at the regular monthly meeting of the North Eastern Systems Technology Users (NESTU) meeting. Topics included in this session will include common security vulnerabilities and the resources that can help develop a strong security policy. Tatam is the director of security technologies at PowerTech, one of the leading security vendors in the IBM i community. The event begins at 5:30 p.m. and will be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. LEARN MORE >

January 26 -- Lombard, Illinois - The featured topic at the monthly meeting of the OMNI User Group will be PHP on the i. The discussion will include installation and management of the iAMP stack needed to support PHP Web programming on the IBM i. There will be a focus on security when deploying Web-based database applications. Also on the agenda is PHP programming, with Omni SIG members demonstrating, explaining, and enhancing their own code running on i and answering questions about the PHP Web-scripting language. Drupal, an open source PHP content management framework used to build flexible Web sites and applications will also be demonstrated. Registration is at 3:30 p.m. and a pizza party will take place between the two sessions. LEARN MORE >

January 27 -- Webinar - Application modernization project managers need to consider a framework for accessing all of your enhanced screens and applications. In this online presentation presented by Profound Logic, the emphasis will be on using an enterprise portal to provide the interface for IBM i applications, Web-enabled 5250 screens, and third-party applications. The session begins at 1 p.m. EST. LEARN MORE >

January 27 -- Webinar - The Zend Server for IBM i products, installation options, and improvements that increase end user and developer productivity will be showcased during this online session presented by Zend Technologies. Topics of focus include deploying a PHP stack, diagnosing and resolving application problems, and achieving performance gains for PHP applications. Also on the agenda are the Apache server and Fast CGI architecture. The session begins at 9 a. m. PST. LEARN MORE >

January 27 -- Southfield, Michigan - A Webinar demonstration on installing and configuring Zend Server on IBM i will be presented by Mike Pavlak, solutions consultant for Zend. The session is scheduled from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Southeast Michigan iSeries User Group members will be able to participate onsite during the monthly meeting or join the session remotely. LEARN MORE >