Top OS/400 Stories from Around the Web

(IT Jungle) What do you need to know about the new Capacity BackUp (CBU) Edition boxes? Permanently activated processors, for one. The capability to backup i5/OS Standard Edition machines (not just Enterprise Editions), for two. And, (we'll stop at three reasons for now) there are six CBU models to choose from. The incentives are there to rethink your backup and recovery and high availability choices. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Roughly 80 percent of the day-in-and-day-out data collected by companies is unstructured, which means unorganized from an enterprise-wide perspective. Getting a handle on this boatload of data and using it to increase revenue is the goal of enterprise content management software. FileNet is a company that has excelled in the development of industry-specific content management and workflow solutions. IBM wanted FileNet, and it's not often that IBM doesn't get what it wants. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) You might not be surprised to discover that the AS/400-iSeries-System i plays a major role in the business part of agribusiness. But you probably will be surprised to learn that many agribusinesses share boxes in a partnership arrangement that doesn't commonly exist in other industries. In this instance, you might consider it as sharing the fruits of IT resources. READ MORE >

(iSeries Network) Are you thinking that your base salary is way off base? Maybe it's not the base pay (well, maybe it is), but it could be that your organization hasn't heard about skills pay. Did you know there are project managers who earn 14 percent of their base salary as skills pay? Getting certified in the most highly sought solution categories could, or should, pay off nicely. READ MORE >

(SearchCIO) Most companies have a single-minded idea when it comes to telecommuting. Sadly, it comes down to this: If employees are not in the office, they must not be working. Cost savings, productivity gains, and worker morale be damned. It's even been shown that disaster recovery can be added to the benefits telecommuting can offer. And the best news is that more companies are beginning to understand the upside. READ MORE >

(InformationWeek) Opinions are like (fill in the blank). Everybody has one. However, I'm sure you will agree that some opinions are more worthy than others. That brings us to an article titled "What's the Greatest Software Ever Written?" Agree or disagree, be entertained or infuriated, but have a look. READ MORE >

Vendor Announcements, Promotions, and Deals

(IT Jungle) Encrypting backup tapes is a levelheaded tactic when addressing a security issue that has put millions of people at risk because data such as names, addresses, and social security numbers are lost to people and organizations with bad intentions. But before you vote for heavy-duty encryption, take into account that it comes with a system performance penalty. Fortunately there are levels of encryption that you can dial in while balancing security and performance. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) When the business executives at your company start talking about continuous data protection and you've been invited to a meeting to explain why your data recovery is hours or maybe days away from anything approaching real time, what do you have in mind to tell them about your backup and recovery strategy and how much it will cost to deliver what they are asking for? READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) It was a wise old IT sage who said beware of customers who have a bad experience with your customer service system. Those customers will unleash a vicious resentment against your company. This barrage of hatred typically results in a visit from someone at your company with a better parking space than you have and who has an evil look in his eye. It looks like you have to extend the life of your existing customer service system or it's rip and replace time. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Much has been made of modernizing legacy applications as one of the first steps in creating a service oriented architecture. It's often overestimated in terms of how easy it is to make that step. But as difficult as that action is, some would say it's easier than determining exactly what it is that you want the modernized applications to do because of the sheer number of people who have a stake in what the new applications are capable of doing. Here's what to do. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Our healthcare system could use an open source national electronic medical records system that supports the fast and easy exchange of healthcare information. IBM deserves kudos for contributing important source code to the Eclipse Foundation's Open Healthcare Framework. READ MORE >

Redbooks, White Papers, and Other OS/400 Resources

(PowerTech) This Open Source OS/400 Security Policy establishes a baseline security standard for the iSeries. The vendor is soliciting responses, comments, and suggestions to improve the policy in a fashion that is similar to open source software. As it is now, the implementation of this policy will minimize unauthorized access to proprietary information and technology. READ MORE >

(Winchester Systems) This white paper compares the added protection of RAID 6 with the typical RAID 5 arrays and emphasizes the importance of improving data protection. Of particular note is the issue of protecting against data loss after a drive failure in large disk arrays that require lengthy rebuilds before getting back to full operation. READ MORE >

(QuantiSense) This document examines the benefits of creating a data warehouse that is separate from the operational systems and then discusses the benefits of business intelligence in the retailing business environment based better information about customers, operations, merchandise, and the competitive market. No registration is required for this white paper. READ MORE >

(IBM) The top-ranked download from the IBM AlphaWorks site is a combination instant messaging and e-mail tool for LotusNotes called NotesBuddy. It provides message handling and alerts by voice, pager, or display. It's supported by Windows 2000 and Windows XP, and available on a 90-day evaluation license. 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 22 -- Webinar - Monitoring IT infrastructures and operations to obtain better service levels and improve business process performance is the main topic of this Web-based seminar hosted by the software vendor Tango/04 Computing Group. Topics of discussion will include attaining 24/7 availability, high performance, and strong security across multiple platforms and applications. The session begins at noon EDT. LEARN MORE >

August 22 -- Lombard, Illinois - RPG in the open-source world could mean applications calling RPG business logic or RPG applications calling open-source utilities, but the need for RPG and Java to interact is becoming more important every day. Joe Pluta will discuss a variety of RPG/Java inter-communication topics ranging from Java calls to RPG using the new Java prototypes to Java calling RPG using everything from IBM's Java toolbox to direct JNI calls. This session is part of the monthly the monthly meeting of the OMNI User Group, which serves the greater Chicago area. The meeting begins at 5 p.m. at the Embassy Suites Hotel. LEARN MORE >

August 24 -- Webinar - Automating the help desk to improve workflow, reduce support costs, and speed customer problem-resolution is the focus of this Web-based presentation hosted by Unipress Software. Topics of discussion include centrally managed tracking for requests by phone, e-mail, the Web, and wireless devices; knowledge management; e-mail management; service level management; dynamic access to LDAP-based corporate address books; automated asset discovery and tracking; live e-support; and automated reporting. The event begins at 2 p.m. EDT. LEARN MORE >

August 24 -- Webinar - During this Web-based technical overview, Linoma Software experts will cover the modernization of RPG source code to RPG IV and /FREE form RPG. Topics will include various command options, as well as tips and techniques to maximize the modernization process. A demonstration of the company's RPG Toolbox is also part of the presentation. The session begins at noon CDT. LEARN MORE >

August 24 -- Webinar - This session takes the position that System i extensibility and interoperability depends on support for native features such as DB2/400, ILE/RPG/COBOL program calls, user space access, data queue process, and command line processes. This session takes these native System i features and demonstrates how they can be incorporated with proven standards like XML and HTTP for reliable transport, formatting, and display of data within business processes. System i vendor, Magic Software, puts its iBOLT Integration Suite in the spotlight during this one-hour event that begins at 9 a.m. PDT. LEARN MORE >

September 6-8 -- San Francisco, California - This workshop provides Web services education and training using both IBM and Microsoft application development tools. Sessions will include topics such as the scope of Web services standards, practical experience with currently implemented Web services, and understanding the new Web services security profile. After completing this course, attendees should be able to evaluate how to use Web services in future projects and whether to implement secure Web services. LEARN MORE >

September 7 -- Toronto, Ontario, Canada - IBM has a service oriented architecture road show titled "WebSphere Live for SOA" designed to ease the progression along the SOA adoption path. The agenda at each of these presentations includes: SOA real world engagements that return positive ROI; an analyst perspective of the SOA market; the steps to make SOA happen at your organization; and the WebSphere products that support SOA. LEARN MORE >

September 8 -- Atlantic City, New Jersey - This one-day iSeries application modernization seminar is designed to introduce the concepts of Web Services and service oriented architecture while exploring the use of .NET technologies that take advantage of existing iSeries assets. The presentation is hosted by ASNA, a well-known iSeries software vendor, and features ASNA solutions that reuse substantial portions of your existing applications or add new service oriented components. LEARN MORE >