Top OS/400 Stories from Around the Web

(IT Jungle) The debut of the i 7.1 operating system will surely get the attention of the IBM i community as people give it the fine-tooth-comb treatment searching for IBM's investment in its prize midrange user group. One thing that's expected to create a ruckus is the open I/O access to RPG applications. The announcement is rumored to be coming ahead of the COMMON conference in early May. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Turn back the clock just a few years. Presenting green-screen applications in HTML format was considered "mission accomplished" for application modernization. Now as projects move forward in companies with some application modernization experience, the emphasis is shifting to business strategies and the big picture approach. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) That cold north wind that sent shivers up the spine of the server business in 2009 has returned to its ice cave. And as frozen budgets thaw, IT needs are being re-evaluated bringing growth to several server segments. Here's how the whiz kids at IDC size up the market, with analysis added by Timothy Prickett Morgan. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Computer science and software engineering wizards used to be in big demand, but today's IT job market has changed. A deep understanding of technology and computing doesn't open doors like it once did. You mix that understanding of technology with some business smarts, though, and opportunity is much more likely to come knocking. It's no coincidence that the COMMON User Group now has a COMMON Business Computing Associate certification. READ MORE >

(MCPress) It's difficult to be integrated with an entire enterprise development environment if you're using a tool no one else uses, says Charles Chu, director of enterprise modernization for IBM Rational Software. And that's one reason why IBM Rational is introducing a development tool kit for all Power Systems users--makes no difference if you're developing for i or AIX. READ MORE >

(Business Week) In a time when the business climate demands companies be innovative, why do so many CEOs keep their feet on the brakes? The IT department can offer so much if not shackled to a business plan that was made for the past millennium instead of the next one. In many cases, it's up to the head of IT to provide a little innovation training and education to executive management. READ MORE >

Vendor Announcements, Promotions, and Deals

(IT Jungle) The reason we haven't seen or heard of many companies involved in voice enabling applications is because it's been both difficult and costly. However, industries where these hurdles are most likely to be overcome--manufacturing and warehousing are two prime examples--are poised to make productivity gains as costs and complexity are coming under control. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) As a general rule, you can put ERP upgrades in the same category with a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. And if you're talking about ERP migrations, then the pain quotient raises to medieval torture levels. There are curses, wailing, and wild promises if only you make the pain stop. Infor says its IBM i customers have had none of that. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) I've yet to hear of anyone who's laughed off the loss of sensitive data or chuckled when red flags were raised during a regulatory compliance audit. These not very pleasant occurrences have led to a great deal of interest in encryption technology, and that has led some to tokenization. And that has led to cross-platform tokenization. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) When the time comes to make the move to a new IBM Power7 server, what's your downtime plan? You know, there WILL be people counting the days, hours, minutes, and maybe even the seconds. Maybe the thought of having a day or more is not even a serious consideration. For those of you with downtime on your minds, this news can get you some much needed relief. READ MORE >

Redbooks, White Papers, and Other OS/400 Resources

(Vision Solutions) Findings from more than 4,000 individuals responsible for the resilience and protection of IBM i (i5/OS) and AIX environments show that organizations are not prepared to meet their recovery time objectives. This survey-based report indicates where things are going wrong and how to get recovery time in line with expectations. READ MORE >

(RJS Software) For those interested in electronic document management, here's a video with voice over explaining the product features of the RJS document management solution. Although product specific, it doesn't sound like a sales pitch and it explains the benefits of a document management system and what the various features can provide. The presentation was created as a Flash Video and should be viewable on most operating systems. READ MORE >

(ProData) Distributed database environments have made data integration and cross-platform access involving the IBM i (System i, iSeries, and AS/400) an important cog in efforts to increase productivity and implement real time processing. This report concentrates on data integration software that eliminates database replication while sharing and synchronizing data. 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

March 11 -- Webinar - Rapidly advancing technologies and increasing pressure for better return on investments are the driving forces behind terminal emulation standardization projects. Managing these projects using products from Open Text will be highlighted in this session presented by Open Text enterprise connectivity experts. The Web event begins at 11 a.m. EST. LEARN MORE >

March 11 -- Maryland Heights, Missouri - Carol Woodbury, former chief security architect of the OS/400 operating system and currently president of SkyView Partners, will make a presentation on step-by-step procedures to object level security at the monthly meeting of the Gateway/400 Group, a System i user group serving the greater St. Louis area. The meeting begins with lunch at noon and the presentation following lunch. RSVP no later than Monday before the meeting date. LEARN MORE >

March 12 -- St. Louis, Missouri - Pat Botz, president of Botz & Associates and formerly the team lead for IBM Lab Services Security Consulting, will discuss object level security, one of the most powerful security features of the IBM i OS, i5/OS and its predecessor operating systems. The meeting begins with lunch at noon and the presentation following lunch. The meeting will be held at Spazios restaurant located at 12031 Lackland Road. RSVP no later than Monday before the meeting date. LEARN MORE >

March 12 -- Conference Call - The Young i Professionals, a group of progressive, career-oriented IT workers interested in the modern business computing work-world and IBM i and Power Systems, will have a conference call discussion on new sandbox applications, open source development, and the upcoming conference season. The call is open to all interested individuals and begins at 1 p.m. CST. LEARN MORE >

March 16 -- Bloomington, Minnesota - A presentation on SQL grouping functions is on the agenda at the regularly scheduled local user group meeting. IBM's Tom McKinley will be the guest speaker. The session begins at 2 p.m. and will be held at the Comfort Inn located at 1321 East 78th Street. LEARN MORE >

March 16 -- Costa Mesa, California - Incorporating AJAX with PHP will be the featured topic at the regular monthly meeting of the OCEAN User Group. This presentation by consultant Jeff Olen will highlight the creation of Web applications that are fast and easy to maintain. Olen is the co-author of "PHP Programmers Guide for IBM i." Dinner and networking begins at 6 p.m. with the presentation at 7. The meeting location is the IBM South Coast Office located at 600 Anton Boulevard. LEARN MORE >

March 16 -- Nashville, Tennessee - This meeting of the Tennessee IBM Mid-Range User Group will feature a presentation on PTFs by Todd Victor, a specialist in IBM i hardware, i/OS, and high availability. His emphasis will be on using Fix Central to download PTFs and using Virtual Image Catalogs to load and apply PTFs without CDs. The meeting will be held at the Holiday Inn Vanderbilt located at 2613 West End Avenue. It begins at 5:30 p.m. LEARN MORE >

March 16 -- Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois - The OMNI User Group meeting this month includes two presentations. Beginning at 5 p.m., guest speaker Pacelli Pujals of Meridian IT will be discussing Power Systems Virtualization and the reasons for combining IBM i, AIX, and Linux workloads on Power. At 6:45, there will be a panel discussion featuring IBM i subject matter experts Aaron Bartell, Alison Butterill, Susan Gantner, Scott Klement, Jon Paris, Mike Pavlak, and Trevor Perry. The panel discussion will be taking place at the Wisconsin Midrange Computer Professionals Association, and is being simulcast to the OMNI meeting site. In between the two sessions, there will be a dinner and networking opportunity. The meeting will be held at Pompei, a restaurant located at 17W744 22nd Street. LEARN MORE >

March 17 -- Seekonk, Massachusetts - Trigger programs will be the featured topic at the monthly meeting of the New England Midrange Users Group. The meeting is held at the Ramada Inn located at 940 Fall River Avenue and begins at 5:15 p.m. LEARN MORE >

March 17 & 18 -- Delavan, Wisconsin - The 25th annual Wisconsin Midrange Computer Professionals Association (WMCPA) Spring Technical Conference will be held at the Lakelawn Resort. A sample of the educational topics that will be presented by some of the System i community's top experts include: security, backup and recovery, RPG, PHP, XML, CL, and SQL. Details of this event will be added to the Web site as they become available. LEARN MORE >

March 18 -- Webinar - Web enablement of 5250 screens--including menus, subfiles, and window lookups will be featured in this online session that highlights BCD Presto. This product demo will also show how to enhance screens with images, links, and other user interface changes. The session begins at 1 p.m. EDT. LEARN MORE >