Top OS/400 Stories from Around the Web

(IT Jungle) Even the Sage of Omaha, Warren Buffett, has a hard time topping past triumphs. But I wouldn't say the game has passed him by. The same is true about the IBM AS/400, now known as the Power Systems i. In some cases the term legacy is used because that's exactly what was created along the way. In the case of the AS/400, it's been 21 years in the making. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) As IBM flies into the clouds, its Power-based servers will remain well grounded . . . for now. Big Blue's cloud computing business--built to order in your data center or rented to you with the capacity you choose but with the cloud in IBM's data center--will get off the ground using X64 iron. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) If actions speak louder than words, than how loud does inaction speak? IBM has business partners in Japan hooting about the IBM i, because if they don't, no one will. Meanwhile, a COMMON Europe survey shows concern about the platform's survival and the lack of marketing support. IBM has asked its AS/400 customers to speak up in support of the platform as one way to promote the box. They have. But users weren't expecting the AS/400 advocates inside IBM to quietly disappear. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) The Top Concerns Survey solicited and tabulated by COMMON Europe is not the exclusive viewpoint of user group members bound by the European geography. Its scope is worldwide. Most of the points it makes have no boundaries. READ MORE >

(Rochester Post-Bulletin) Sometimes when Big Blue closes the door on employees, another one opens for those laid-off workers. A federal grant is providing funding that will offer workers with education and training to upgrade existing skills or learn new skills in order to gain employment. READ MORE >

(Innovation Tools) For all you project managers (by title or by default), this information can be applied in many ways--an application modernization project is a good for instance. Taking on too much at one time is a mistake. Prioritizing reduces risk and keeps the pipeline flowing. READ MORE >

(Law.com) What is dependable, reliable, and secure and is as big and blue as anything you can think of at IBM? No, not the midrange computer that most people call the AS/400. It's the legal team that has Big Blue's back. In a high tech company where innovation is gold, the lawyers have their fingerprints on it all. And they can be a techno-geeky group themselves. READ MORE >

Vendor Announcements, Promotions, and Deals

(IT Jungle) It's happy hour at the EGL Café and IBM is hosting an open bar. If creating Web 2.0 applications using EGL is to your liking, you're going to love this. If you're not sure about EGL or why you should like it, this is IBM's offer to come on in and learn all about it. Programming tools are generally expensive. It's hard to beat a free offer. In fact, it's sometimes intoxicating. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Many ERP software vendors are facing decisions about how to best handle portions of their customer bases that are running on old software releases. Customers are faced with risk whether they stand pat or make moves to current software releases. They also face increasing costs on the maintenance side and on the new software licensing side. Big mistakes have been made by some of the ERP vendors in their relationships with customers. Infor is hoping to avoid those missteps. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Software maintenance costs can stifle an IT staff's productivity. Programmers get reduced to hamsters running on wire wheels but never getting any place. In most cases, the older the code, the more maintenance required. So how about this idea of RPG as a service? Reduce the amount of maintenance and maybe even facilitate some application modernization. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) And while we're on the topic of application modernization and reduced maintenance, here are two examples of companies that have successfully used PHP Web development to reach different types of goals with different types of skill sets being used by the developers. We've heard much about the popularity of PHP for developing Web apps on the IBM i. It's always good to read about completed projects. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Work flows like a river. But you've all seen how rivers meander and sometimes overflow their banks. To make sure organizational workflows travel in pretty much a straight line and without risk of floods or blockages, there are tools such as automation software that include such tasks as job scheduling. Often the streamlining is platform specific, but its functionality increases if it can go cross-platform. READ MORE >

Redbooks, White Papers, and Other OS/400 Resources

(Halcyon Software) This is an attention-grabbing name for a white paper: "51 Things You Can Automate on Your System i and Prove Return on Investment." The report includes a list of common principles and discusses how good systems management practices can lead to significant cost reductions for companies. READ MORE >

(Zend) This technical paper explains how System i applications can be integrated with external applications and services using PHP. It provides information on creating and deploying Web services that provide the interoperability that many System i shops are hoping to achieve. READ MORE >

(Vision Solutions) Data protection and recovery options include such things as journaling, RAID, vaulting, mirroring, and high availability. There's a lot to consider, but this 29-page report reviews IBM i (i5/OS) and AIX resilience and recovery technologies and best practices choices. READ MORE >

(Vault400) This resource library page features information on data security and online backups, and managed services relating to vaulting. It includes links to a white paper, trade publication articles, System i data sheets, and other sources of disaster recovery information. READ MORE >

Chats, Webinars, Seminars, Shows, and Other Happenings

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

June 25 -- Webinar - DB2 Web Query is not always the best path to modern reporting and business intelligence on the IBM i (IBM Power, System i, iSeries, or AS/400). This online session examines DB2 Web Query features, licensing terms, pricing, and support considerations. It also includes a demonstration of NGS-IQ, an alternative to DB2 Web Query that is available from New Generation Software, the company that hosts this Webcast. This session begins at 2 p.m. EDT. LEARN MORE >

June 25 -- Webinar - An eight-part online session on project management and working with technology vendors to prepare a successful implementation will be presented on an every other Thursday schedule through October 1. Subject expert Susanne States, director of sales and client services at S4i, is the session leader. States is a tenured veteran of organizational development and project management. The focus of these sessions will be on driving efficiency, improving customer service, and gaining competitive advantage by putting in place adequate processes and resources. Each session begins at 11 a.m. CDT and concludes at 12:30 p.m. LEARN MORE >

June 25 -- Fort Washington, Pennsylvania - A one-day seminar on DB2 Web Query for System i is being presented by Paul Lambert. The class agenda includes the purpose, benefits, and implementation strategies for DB2 Web Query and a discussion of the architectural concepts surrounding the IBM software product. Topics include: installation and management, converting existing Query/400 reports, the developer's workbench, OLAP, and many tips and techniques. The seminar begins at 8:30 a.m. and ends at 5 p.m. The course fee is $285 for non-user-group members and $250 for user-group members. LEARN MORE >

June 30 -- Webinar - Building and deploying dashboards with IBM's DB2 Web Query Developer Workbench and Active Dashboards will be covered in this online session that will examine how to combine reports into a single interface that provides a single view of key performance indicators and other "state of the business" data. The session begins at 11 a.m. LEARN MORE >

June 30 -- Webinar - Joe Debella, an executive with the ERP software vendor VAI, discusses the ERP selection process in this online session that reveals why most ERP solutions show very well in a demo, and play to the Windows navigation mentality, but when it comes to the real world only the consultants can make them work. Debella specializes in the small to mid size market. The session begins at 2 p.m. EDT. LEARN MORE >

July 14 -- Webinar - Demystifying the high availability role swap is the goal of this online session featuring the Maximum Availability product *noMAX. Many System i users believe a role swap between primary and back-up systems is a tricky operation that takes time when time is in short supply. Guest speaker Raymond Hammell, a senior technical specialist with Maximum Availability, will discuss role swaps that ensure the accuracy of data, applications, and programs moving from the primary system to the backup system. The session begins at 11 a.m. EDT. LEARN MORE >

July 15 -- Webinar - Managing data changes and data transfers is significant in all organizations, but especially those that are dealing with regulatory compliance issues. This online session explains the importance of data change management by examining the importance of controls on such things as applications that invoke information stored in DB2 database tables and instances when companies isolate data and install it in customers' databases. It also covers topics such as changes to critical parameter settings and configuration data. The session begins at 1 p.m. EDT. LEARN MORE >

July 16 -- Webinar - Demystifying the high availability role swap is the goal of this online session featuring the Maximum Availability product *noMAX. Many System i users believe a role swap between primary and back-up systems is a tricky operation that takes time when time is in short supply. Guest speaker Raymond Hammell, a senior technical specialist with Maximum Availability, will discuss role swaps that ensure the accuracy of data, applications, and programs moving from the primary system to the backup system. The session begins at 2 p.m. EDT. LEARN MORE >

July 20 -- Irvine, California - The 16th Annual OCEAN Tech Conference and Vendor Expo is a one-day education and training event that features sessions for developers, systems support, and IT management. Technical sessions will cover the IBM Power System including System i, System i-OS, and IBM AIX/Unix infrastructure and systems management, programming, and application modernization skills from RPG IV, SOA, EGL, PHP, DB2, Microsoft .NET, Web Services, and how to incorporate open source tools. A "mini-workshop" for executives will be presented by Bob Tipton, who will also present a keynote address titled, "Keeping the Edge Through Innovation." Registration for this event is $120. The event will be held at the Hyatt Regency. LEARN MORE >