Top OS/400 Stories from Around the Web

(Time) What kind of company grows revenue by 50 percent during a year when most companies are straining to avoid a backward slide? Here's a few of hints. It's the same kind of company that increased its workforce by 50 percent last year. It's a vendor in the IBM AS/400 community. And, Time magazine called it "one of the hotter business-intelligence-software companies around." READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) It's summertime and server inventories belonging to IBM's Systems and Technology Group are moving slower than the lines to Coney Island concession booths. Executives turn their worried eyes to the marketing magicians and ask "What can you do to make this inventory disappear?" There's an awkward silence. Then a voice pops up: "We can always try rebates again." READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) PHP has passed the IBM i application development test with flying colors. It has its native port. It has modern and efficient development tools. And, it has the enthusiasm of a sizeable and growing number of programmers. Could Ruby on Rails be next? READ MORE >

(Technology Review) Us vs. them. The Force vs. the Dark Side. The IT department vs. the technologically retarded. Will workers and their IT departments ever see eye to eye? Or maybe a better question is: Should they? READ MORE >

Vendor Announcements, Promotions, and Deals

(IT Jungle) The 14,000 or so Infor customers that run their critical business processes on the IBM AS/400 can be a persuasive conglomerate. They can also be a fertile field for sales, if Infor gives them what they need. According to the humongous ERP software company, customers have asked for an enterprise-quality CRM application that runs native on the AS/400. This week Infor delivered. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Investments in CRM software are being credited with increasing revenue, customer loyalty, and brand recognition, as well as improving integration among marketing, sales, and service departments. This is all according to the analysts at Gartner, who also noted a 12.5 percent hike in worldwide CRM revenue during 2008. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Midsize companies that are growing into enterprises sometimes look around and notice that the IBM AS/400 is running a lot of critical applications for the companies already at the enterprise level. This is particularly true in the manufacturing and distribution fields where a comparison of application functionality and hardware management simplicity is still a compelling reason to look beyond the Windows box. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Field level data encryption is recognized for being a very powerful security safeguard. It's also has a reputation for being difficult to work with. (If this sounds like a description of your boss, it's purely coincidental.) For those interested in encryption without the hassles, here's some software you will be happy to hear about. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Making tasks fast and easy is often easier said than done. If you're a System i administrator, a good example is identifying whether batch or interactive applications are running at or near top efficiency. And if they are not, how do you discover why they aren't? There's no mystery or magic involved in this. Lots of people figure it out. There are two key points: How much time does it take to find the lazy apps, and could you be fixing performance restraints and moving on to other things in far less time? READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Connecting users with the information that they seek seems to be the basic job of information technology. But based on the recent emphasis on business intelligence and data analytics, you'd have to assume companies are not yet getting the information they need. Last week, IBM spent $1.2 billion to buy SPSS with the idea of bolstering its business analytics capabilities. READ MORE >

Redbooks, White Papers, and Other OS/400 Resources

(Bytware) Although you might think that only Windows users need worry about viruses, the IBM i, OS/400, AIX, and Linux systems in your network are also at risk and could even be the source of infections. This downloadable Webcast covers viruses and malicious code threats, how criminals use malicious code, how viruses gain access to systems, regulatory requirements for virus protection, and how to mitigate the virus threat. READ MORE >

(10ZiG) This archived Webcast examines how desktop infrastructure costs can be reduced using thin clients and centralized management. This session is presented by IBM and its focus is on shared services, desktop virtualization, and achieving a return on investment. READ MORE >

(Gartner) This paper outlines the need for a dynamic infrastructure, a favorite topic at IBM. Key points include examining current infrastructures that are rigid, siloed, outdated, and a detriment to organizational maneuverability. Minimizing costs and complexity are also emphasized. READ MORE >

(YiPs) The Young i Professionals are an international group of business-quality techno-geeks interested in the modern capabilities offered on the IBM Power Systems i. One thing you'll find on the YiP Web site is a sandbox where you can test Sugar CRM, one of the most widely used open source business applications. No one checks ID. So even if you are not so young, have some of what these "kids" are drinking. READ MORE >

Chats, Webinars, Seminars, Shows, and Other Happenings

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

August 6 -- 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. This is session number four titled "The Project Model: Planning and Design." 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 >

August 6 -- Totowa, New Jersey - Guest speaker Trevor Seeney will discuss Web development on the IBM i at the monthly meeting of the North Eastern Systems Technology Users Group. This will be a two-part presentation. The first session will focus on the System/i as a web-server and how to get started using the familiar RPG, DB2 and OS/400. The second session will focus on the client-side browser, with particular emphasis on rendering to SmartPhones. The event begins at 5:30 p.m. and will be held at the Holiday Inn located at 1 Route 46 West. LEARN MORE >

August 12 -- Waukesha, Wisconsin - A Power Systems Technical Briefing featuring IBM i and IBM AIX sessions will be held from 8:15 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. at the Country Springs Hotel. Session topics include active memory sharing, PowerVM, blades, live partition mobility, hardware upgrades and migration tips, and Power Systems management. Registration is free and includes breakfast and lunch. LEARN MORE >

August 12 -- Markham, Ontario - The Toronto Users Group for Power Systems is taking part in an interactive event called the Smarter Planet Think Tank hosted by IBM. TUG attendees will join several Think Tank teams that will be challenged to devise Smarter Planet ideas for Toronto, for Canada, or even for their own companies. The event will be held at the IBM offices located at 3600 Steeles Ave. East. It begins at 8:30 a.m and ends at noon. LEARN MORE >

August 13 -- Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois - A Power Systems Technical Briefing featuring IBM i and IBM AIX sessions will be held from 8:15 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. at the Drury Lane Conference Center. Session topics include active memory sharing, PowerVM, blades, live partition mobility, hardware upgrades and migration tips, and Power Systems management. Registration is free and includes breakfast and lunch. LEARN MORE >

August 13 -- College Park, Maryland - A one-day educational seminar on SQL is being co-hosted by the Delaware Valley Computer Users Group and the Mid-Atlantic Midrange user group. This six-hour seminar is designed as an introduction to SQL on the IBM i, (System I, iSeries, and AS/400) or a review for those needing an SQL refresher course. Topics to be covered include basic concepts, as well as some intermediate and advanced subjects. David Prescott, an AS/400 specialist since 1987, will be the instructor. The sessions begin at 8:30 a.m. and conclude at 5 p.m. and will be held at the Holiday Inn located at U.S. 1 and The Beltway. The course fee is $250 for user group members and $295 for non-user group members. LEARN MORE >