Top OS/400 Stories from Around the Web

(IT Jungle) Server consolidation is being redefined at IBM. Not technically speaking, but in terms of brand marketing. System i and System p are being "consolidated" into the Power Systems Group. That's not official. There are no press releases from IBM on this. But if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, what do you think it is? READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) If you think of small to mid size business worldwide as a meat market, the System i, iSeries, and AS/400 installed base is where you'll find the prime cuts of beef. Nothing against weenies and baloney, mind you. Some server platforms sell a lot of that and do quite well. But to oust the System i from a shop where it is established is a big prize, and the competition is licking its chops for the opportunity to move in. READ MORE >

(MCPress) Most System i users simply want to run i5/OS applications. So why does IBM continue to design and promote the server as a system that can run AIX and Linux when hardly any of their existing System i customers care? In this interview with Ian Jarman, manager of IBM's Power Systems Division, the strategy for offering a wider choice of applications--not just those that run on i5/OS--is defined as what customers will come to appreciate. READ MORE >

(System iNews) How sweet does Microsoft taste to organizations that have been eating System i home cooking for years and years? These are companies that grew up on the meat and potatoes AS/400s and iSeries application servers. Are they switching to neuvo cuisine? Read this article about the Midrange Alliance Program, but don't miss the feedback from Doug Fulmer that is published below the article. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Regardless of how much work goes into the preparations or how great the anticipation, sometimes the rocket never leaves the launching pad. Such is the case with Rocket Software's $69 million attempt to acquire the host connectivity and application modernization software maker NetManage. Fizzzzt. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) There are mere mortals, and then there is Superman. There are mere models, and then there are supermodels. Likewise, there are mere computers, and then there are supercomputers. They used to be rare, but now there are enough to push overall server growth in an otherwise flat market. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) The ongoing System i and BladeCenter sales promotion, which began in October 2007, has a few new wrinkles that might test the limits of what customers will pay in order to get something free. All that can be said in this small space is that the purchase of certain System i configurations include a free BladeCenter H chassis and two HS21 blade servers. The intricate details will require further reading. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) For some companies, the benefits of outsourcing back-office computing functions such as human resources, content management, and finance and accounting fit quite nicely into the scheme of things. BPO Management Services, a company that specializes in handling these functions for other companies, put on an 86 percent sales growth spurt in 2007 and now has a partnership deal with one of IBM's largest resellers. READ MORE >

Vendor Announcements, Promotions, and Deals

(IT Jungle) You're pretty much stuck with the brain you were born with. How you use it or how much you use it is another matter. It's much the same in the data centers of most organizations. It's about the information that's stored there and how companies do or don't use it. Thus, we have the proliferation of business intelligence software. If you're running a J.D. Edwards ERP package, this story might give you reason to think about what information you're missing. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) The shadow of regulatory compliance darkens your IT department like gathering storm clouds over Omaha in the spring. People on the prairie have storm shelters. What do you have to protect your company from the ravages of a full-blown audit? Maybe what you need are regulatory reporting and forensic analysis capabilities. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) On a scale of one to five, how well does your company manage customer and supplier relationships? Give yourself a five if you haven't had any problems relating to the back and forth flow of purchase orders, invoices, and shipping notices. But even if you haven't lost a customer or a supplier, are you as profitable as you could be? READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Babysitting the System i is not only unnecessary, it's unproductive. Pity those people who are chained to their server or servers and shame on those companies that have their IT professionals doing a job that requires almost no skills. Automating workloads means ramping up the value of the IT staff. Let the machines do the mundane stuff. Put your people to work solving problems. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Don't say you've never heard of commercial open source data integration software. Even if it's true, after today you won't have to say that anymore. What we have here is a Java-based data integration tool suite that creates reusable logic and moves data among disparate systems. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Creating digitally signed PDF documents from System i spool files is one way to distribute spool files while keeping them secure from unauthorized tampering. If you think the risk of tampering is small, you might want to take a harder look at the list of corporate accounting scandals that led to the Sarbanes Oxley Act. READ MORE >

Redbooks, White Papers, and Other OS/400 Resources

(IBM) Application development is witnessing an expanding role for APIs, and not just for the most highly skilled developers. This report, written by noted RPG experts Susan Gantner, Jon Paris, Paul Tuohy, and Gary Mullen-Schultz explains how to find and use APIs and how to interpret API documentation. READ MORE >

(COMMON) The online session guide for the upcoming COMMON Annual Meeting and Exposition provides a quick and easy overview of topics that are of interest to System i professionals. Browsing these topic areas and brief session descriptions might give you some ideas for advancing your career or getting a work project off the back burner. READ MORE >

(IBM) All programs moving to i5/OS V6R1, which will be available in March, will need a degree of conversion to run. In order for a program to be converted, its creation data (sometimes referred to as observability) must be available for the system to make use of during a conversion process. Programs created for V5R1 or later have their creation data automatically saved during program creation. Those with programs created for OS/400 V4R5 and earlier need to ensure that the creation data is available for the conversion process. This technical paper provides a focus on what you should expect in terms of conversion processes. READ MORE >

(BCD) This white paper discusses PHP as a technology and as a productive method for transforming legacy applications to Web applications or creating new Web applications from square one. It explains the popularity of PHP, how it is different from other technologies, and uses the company's WebSmart PHP as the focal point for Web application development. READ MORE >

(IBM) This report provides an overview of the traditional OPM style methods of implementing exception/error handling and how they change in the ILE environment. It also discusses to use "pure" ILE methods to replace some of the more traditional RPG methods. 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 20 -- Fairfield, New Jersey - Guest speaker Charles Guarino will discuss XML and RPG at the regular monthly meeting of the North Eastern Systems Technology Users (NESTU) meeting. Topics will include the process of receiving an XML document and parsing it to a database file. The event begins at 5:30 p.m. and will be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. LEARN MORE >

March 25 -- Webinar - SAP enterprise software is widely popular in manufacturing, distribution, and similarly complex applications. It is also a solid environment for implementation of ACOM's EZConnect EDI-XML Windows-based data translation solution for untended to-from automation of trading partner transactions. This webinar explores the integrated elements that ACOM has developed in the EZConnect EDI-XML solution that enable SAP user companies to deploy EDI in as little as two weeks and normally at about one-eighth the cost. LEARN MORE >

March 26 -- Seekonk, Massachusetts - The enhancements built in to the newest version of the operating system i5/OS V6R1 will be the featured topic at the monthly meeting of the New England Midrange Users Group. Guest speaker Steve Fier--an IBM sales specialist with expertise in application development, DB2 for i5/OS, Windows integration, and server consolidation--will also discuss the program conversion that is necessary with this OS upgrade. The meeting is held at the Ramada Inn and begins at 5:15 p.m. LEARN MORE >

March 28 -- Chicago, Illinois - A one-day application modernization technical seminar focusing on service oriented architecture, Web services, and extending the value of RPG-based applications and OS/400-based system hardware is being presented by ASNA. This event provides an introduction to Web Services and service oriented architecture while emphasizing team skills. LEARN MORE >

March 30-April 3 -- Nashville, Tennessee - COMMON's 2008 Annual Meeting and Exposition features five full days of in-depth System i education (i5/OS, iSeries, and AS/400) that includes all-day pre-conference workshops, all-day Integrated Seminars, open labs and a wide variety of regular-length sessions. More than 500 sessions will be offered. The full agenda includes numerous networking events throughout the week and the world's largest System i-related Exposition with more than 80 industry exhibitors including IBM. A separate IT Executive Conference is also planned. COMMON is the world's largest users group of midrange IBM and IBM-compatible technology. More than 4,000 individual and corporate members are a part of the organization. LEARN MORE >