Top OS/400 Stories from Around the Web

(IT Jungle) IBM is teaming with Ricoh to create a shared printing business that will evolve into Big Blue's complete divesture of its high-end printer business that makes continuous forms, cutsheet printers, and document processing software that integrated with its System i environments. When IBM walks away in three years, it will have $725 million stuffed into its Big Blue pockets. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) The IT labor pool seems to have sprung a leak. With fewer people in the pool, demand has increased and, guess what, salaries have increased as well. That means if you aren't getting the raise you think you deserve, it's not a bad time to shop your services. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) How would you introduce college kids to the System i homework and its capabilities? This is an alcohol-free environment, so forget about making any suggestions involving a keg, a stack of plastic cups, and an i520. IBM has a different plan and it involves making videos and building applications. READ MORE >

(MCPress) Growing System i revenue continues to be a tough nut to crack for Team Rochester. The goal is clear: add to the customer base and increase the enthusiasm and budgets devoted to the platform at the existing installed base. How to reach the goal is where the blood, sweat, and tears come in. Here's the plan in a nutshell: target vertical industries, expand "share of budget" at large customers, and introduce innovative offerings. Am I nuts or is this just another way of saying "stay the course"? READ MORE >

(System iNetwork) IBM Global Business Services has a new five-year, $12 million deal with a global company that puts them in charge of implementing and managing an SAP enterprise resource management system running on the System i. All eyes are on the supply chain. READ MORE >

Vendor Announcements, Promotions, and Deals

(IT Jungle) If I were a betting man, I'd bet that most RPG and DB2 programmers are not getting the training and education opportunities that pays off in terms of utilizing the power of the language and database. It's sort of like having a truck that will haul 10 tons, but never loading it with more than three. A new RPG and DB2 training conference is geared to helping you use all your available horsepower. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) When your organization goes global, there are integration issues that involve international economies and cultures and languages. The enterprise software designed to control the process of adapting, translating, and maintaining corporate documents, manuals, Web sites, databases, and applications is aptly named a globalization management system. The market is good if the product is right. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Taking on security issues in the multi-platform computing environment is a lot like facing one of those mythical multi-headed dragons--except this is no myth. Still, some people take one look at the beast and quickly retreat to their cave. Does your System i security policy play well with the security that's in place with all your other systems and your network? Maybe it's time you came out of the cave. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) What goes into the decision-making process when a company debates IBM Lotus Notes/Domino and Microsoft Exchange? With the upcoming introduction of N/D 8, drivers of the Big Blue bandwagon will be hoping to reach "the deciders" with an information campaign that highlights an open standards architecture that supports multiple clients and servers and access to the Open Document Format that can eliminate a stack of infuriatingly costly licensing fees associated with the other brand. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) One of my favorite movies has to do with speed. It's called "The World's Fastest Indian." Rent it. Watch it. Love it. However, if you are in an application development state of mind, you might be interested in speed of a different kind. In that case, check this out. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Whether your application integration project involves System i 5250 or System z 3270 emulation, here's an option for connecting legacy applications with applications written in Microsoft ActiveX or .NET. You may be wondering if it includes encryption. You betcha. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Sensitive data (Is there any other kind?) can easily end up in the wrong hands. Every day that lesson is being learned the hard way by people who you'd think should know better than to leave their most precious stuff unprotected. When Hyundai wanted a method to segregate job roles and data access that was scalable and cost-effective, this is what they decided to do. READ MORE >

Redbooks, White Papers, and Other OS/400 Resources

(New Generation Software) This white paper presents a methodology that can be used by computer professionals or business analysts to implement a data warehouse and business intelligence system. It is based on the successful implementation by a $300,000,000 services-oriented company. READ MORE >

(Bytware) The Integrated File System is one of the most ignored parts of the system, yet it enables many of the most powerful and most used features on OS/400. Most people don't realize that even if they are not using their system as a Web server or a network file server, they should have concerns about the IFS because what you don't know could weaken the security of your system. This white paper is authored by security expert Carol Woodbury. READ MORE >

(IBM & Zend) This technical report will help you install, configure, and become productive with PHP on System i using Zend Core for i5/OS and Zend Platform for i5/OS. If you are evaluating PHP, this book will also help by providing background information and comparisons with other tools. READ MORE >

(LXI) The priority for disaster recovery planning used to be summed up as "can we recover?" Now it has become "how fast can we recover?" If you need to assess, adjust, or improve your disaster recovery plan, this white paper can provide direction. And it's available without registering. READ MORE >

(Xdata) Business objectives typically include: meeting customers' requirements, maintaining minimum inventory levels, accurately calculating profitability in every transaction, and minimizing the time and effort required to produce accurate and timely business data and financial information. Find out how this all comes together in this white paper titled "Understanding Manufacturing and Inventory Cost Accounting Practices." READ MORE >

Chats, Webinars, Seminars, Shows, and Other Happenings

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

February 6 -- Webinar - Web services and service oriented architecture (SOA) are playing an important role in application development at many shops. This presentation describes how existing RPG or COBOL applications and skills can be reused in an SOA environment. A practical example will be demonstrated of a composite application which reuses an existing iSeries application, and 'snaps' in new functionality. This event, hosted by looksoftware, begins at 1 p.m. EST. LEARN MORE >

February 6 -- Beaverton, Oregon - A presentation on DB2 is the highlight of the regular monthly meeting of the Cascade iSeries User Group. Guest speaker is Paul Conte. The Cascade User Group serves the greater Portland, Oregon, area and meets the second Tuesday of each month. Meetings are held at the IBM offices, 15300 S.W. Koll Parkway between 1 and 4:30 p.m. LEARN MORE >

February 8 -- Webinar - Business drivers, benefits, and recommendations for System i modernization will be the focus of this presentation on the issues that companies face when deciding whether to modernize legacy applications. Peter Kastner, vice president and research director of the Aberdeen Group, will discuss modernization strategies and lessons learned by organizations that participated in an Aberdeen study of this topic. A second guest speaker will be David Brault, product marketing manager for LANSA Americas. LANSA produces application modernization software that moves the user interface into a graphical application framework and extends application functionality using SOA and related technologies. The Webcast begins at noon EST. The Webcast will take place at 12 EST. LEARN MORE >

February 8 -- Maryland Heights, Missouri - Alison Butterill, from the IBM Toronto Labs, will discuss Embedding SQL into Application Programs at the monthly meeting of the Gateway/400 Group, an iSeries user group serving the greater St. Louis area. The meeting time is 11:30 a.m. with lunch at noon and the presentation following lunch. RSVP no later than Monday before the meeting date. LEARN MORE >

February 8 -- Webinar - Using /Free format logic in RPG programs will be the topic of this session presented by RPG expert Susan Gantner. The topics to be covered include: the basic syntax rules, built-in functions, and other language features that replace unsupported operation codes and new operations only available in /Free form. The event, hosted by Linoma Software, begins at 11 a.m. CST. LEARN MORE >

February 13 -- Reno, Nevada - An RPG "Free-For-All" is on the agenda of he Reno-Sparks Midrange User Group meeting. Guest speaker Barbara Morris, from the IBM Toronto Language Lab, will discuss topics such as incorporating user functions; using C functions within your RPG programs; and working with the IFS files. The meeting begins at 11:30 a.m. LEARN MORE >

February 13 -- Orlando, Florida - Guest speaker Terry Okus, of IBM Global Services, will be talking about the Information Technology Infrastructure Library during the Central Florida Midrange Users Group meeting. ITIL outlines a set of management processes that support businesses in achieving both quality and value for money in IT operations. The presentation will cover service support, delivery, and management. The IBM Office, 315 East Robinson Street, Third Floor, is the event site, and dinner is scheduled for 7 p.m. with the presentation at 8. RSVP required. LEARN MORE >

February 14 -- Seekonk, Massachusetts - WebSphere Development Studio client and RPG will be the featured topics at the monthly meeting of the New England Midrange Users Group. The meeting is held at the Ramada Inn and begins at 5:15 p.m. LEARN MORE >