Top OS/400 Stories from Around the Web

(IT Jungle) When the former i5/OS security architect at IBM says security in the IT industry is a disaster, a crowded and noisy room full of people can become deathly quiet. But you can bet it won't stay quiet for long. That's because Pat Botz, who left IBM to captain his own ship, is placing the blame for horrendous security with too much responsibility in the hands of the technical experts. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Even if it is lonely at the top, IBM doesn't seem to mind. Not when it comes to raking in the winnings from server sales anyway. Big Blue remained on top even though it didn't play its best game in the third quarter of 2007. Weak results from the Systems z mainframe and System i midrange sales didn't help, but, according to a Gartner report, IBM out-earned HP $4.03 billion to $3.75 billion. Dell produced $1.58 billion in sales for third place. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) What's the outlook for fourth quarter System i sales? The Power6 servers will be available early in 2008, as will V5R6. Early adopters and companies that can put to use a substantial performance surge will wait before upgrading. But what about shops that have AS/400s and iSeries machines humming along without a care in the world? OS/400 V5R3 comes off the shelf in about six weeks and that will affect upgrades paths. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) When IBM recently dropped Cognos into its shopping cart, the executives in the Global Services division picked up their forks and knives in anticipation of devouring another fine meal. GS, the filet mignon of revenue generators at IBM, should do quite well in the business intelligence business. Its clientele, the world's largest organizations, should be rewarded as well. Meanwhile, in the majority of companies, those that fight it out in the small to mid size market aren't likely to invite Cognos, with or without Global Services, into their data centers. READ MORE >

(System iNetwork) Follow this link for more viewpoints on the IBM acquisition of Cognos, including how Big Blue sees it fitting into its concepts of Information on Demand and "a single version of the truth." By Information on Demand, IBM means the elimination of proprietary silos of information, and its idea of "the truth" has to do with the old "garbage in, garbage out" truism. READ MORE >

(MCPress) After an inglorious third quarter where System i revenue fell 21 percent, it's expected that evaluations of this performance will vary from harsh to cautiously optimistic depending on who has the soap box. This analyst attributes the Q3 slide to three factors: product transition, the annual year-end slack in demand, and a customer base that is considering retooling. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) It becomes a bit of a tangled web when one ERP software company (SAP) owns a maintenance and support company (TomorrowNow), whose business is servicing customers using a rival company's (Oracle) ERP software. This combustible situation became more volatile when Oracle filed a lawsuit (earlier this year) against SAP because TomorrowNow inappropriately downloaded software fixes and support documents from Oracle's Web sites on behalf of its customers. The latest twist: several top executives at TomorrowNow have resigned and SAP may sell TomorrowNow. READ MORE >

(MCPress) The idea of open source software is more than an infatuation, but it would be a lie to say that businesses in the United States or around the world are smitten with it either. It is fair to say that love is in the air though. Will proprietary software be jilted? Not in the near term, but software vendors will have to adapt in order to survive. READ MORE >

Vendor Announcements, Promotions, and Deals

(IT Jungle) The Rubik's Cube was invented in 1974. Shortly thereafter I threw mine at a road sign while going the maximum legal speed on I-77 south of Canton, Ohio. Frustrated? Oh, yeah. You may be familiar with frustration on a grand scale if you have attempted to deliver a 5250 screen through a Web browser, or expose legacy code as a Web service, or develop a composite application. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Take a look in the IT mirror. If this is what you see, I pity you. Here's an accounts receivable task that involves manually checking 1,000 accounts for payments. Can you spell a-u-t-o-m-a-t-i-o-n? The good news is that this billing department eventually awoke from this IT nightmare. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Managing multiple environments on a single server is a System i strength. It automatically responds to changes in processor demand with logical partitioning, manages a variety of IT resources with storage virtualization, and provides growth options that avoid the spider web of server sprawl. Are you in control of your Windows, Unix, and Linux servers? I mean really in control? READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Distributors, manufacturers, and retailers that run their ERP applications on the System i are accustom to functionality and features that are unmatched by applications running on other platforms. Warehouse management is just one area where advantages can be put into play and, not surprisingly, the System i plays an important role. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Some of you keep a close watch on application performance and understand the intricacies of workload management, which in simple terms relates to sizing hardware against workloads. It's performance tuning that keeps data flowing like a fire hose instead of a kitchen faucet, and with the precision of a water jet. How performance is analyzed is the key. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Document management covers an array of tasks including the designing of both electronic and print forms, barcode labels, and umpteen other workflow enhancements. A level of automation that adds value is having print jobs select the printer, the format, the number of copies to print, and the color and paper stock. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) BluePhoenix Solutions, the vendor of legacy application modernization tools, is using a round of financing to pursue its growth strategy. The proceeds are earmarked to repay debts, create working capital, and potentially to make acquisitions. BluePhoenix merged with ASNA in August. READ MORE >

Redbooks, White Papers, and Other OS/400 Resources

(YouTube) I don't spend a lot of time on YouTube. Honest I don't. And I would never recommend you waste your time (especially if it's really your employer's time) laughing at silly video clips of dogs wearing costumes or IT professionals racing mainframe server racks in the parking lot. However, I will recommend you watch this six-part series of videos titled "Mainframe: The Art of the Sale." Three of these are about a year old. The other three only have been posted for several weeks. READ MORE >

(MySQL) Interest in MySQL is growing along with the interest in PHP among the System i developer crowd. Find out what MySQL database users are doing based on a variety of survey responses posted on this site. Two examples: What database connectors/APIs are being used or are planned for use with MySQL? And, How do you backup your production MySQL databases? Many additional insights can be found here. READ MORE >

(IBM) All programs that use the i5/OS Machine Interface will need a degree of conversion to run on V6R1, which is scheduled for release in February 2008. In order for a program to be converted, its creation data (sometimes referred to as observability) must be available. 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 >

(Bytware) What are your security worries? Perhaps your security policy is shot full of holes or it is time consuming, difficult to manage, or error prone. This white paper distinguishes between an object-based approach and a transaction-based approach. When security is your responsibility, you should know all the potential weaknesses. READ MORE >

Chats, Webinars, Seminars, Shows, and Other Happenings

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

November 30 -- St. Louis, Missouri - A one-day application modernization technical seminar focusing on the 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's skills. LEARN MORE >

December 3-5 -- Las Vegas, Nevada - Gartner's Application, Architecture, Development and Integration Summit at the Rio All Suite Hotel & Casino features six educational tracks and 68 sessions that cover topics such as Gartner's roadmap for SOA, Web services, and Web 2.0; measuring and improving the value of SOA; best practices in software security, testing, quality, configuration, and requirements; the challenges of legacy integration and modernization; organizational and cultural practices that enable change and agility. Also on tap are keynote addresses that examine SOA horror stories and the future of the software industry. LEARN MORE >

December 3 -- Chicago, Illinois - The CRM Acceleration Summit is a one-day event focused on customer relationship management best practices. Session topics include expanding typical CRM uses, structuring CRM around your customer approach; implementation, customer data management, and user adoption; and maintaining customer focus within your IT strategy. The event is hosted by CRM software vendor SugarCRM. LEARN MORE >

December 4 -- Minneapolis, Minnesota - An introduction to the new i5/OS V6R1 will be presented by IBM's Craig Johnson, a product manager in the Power Systems group, at the regularly scheduled local user group meeting. The event begins at 2 p.m. LEARN MORE >

December 5 -- Webinar - This session focuses on leveraging RPG code and objects when creating PHP applications using BCD's WebSmart. Duncan Kenzie, chief technical officer of BCD's product line, explains the calling of RPG programs and stored procedures from PHP applications, the use of library lists, and accessing data areas. There will be an emphasis on protecting the investment in System i resources. This session begins at 12:30 p.m. EST. LEARN MORE >

December 5 -- King of Prussia, Pennsylvania - The Delaware Valley Computer User Group's annual education seminar will include three session tracks: Java, HMC, and System Management. Keynote speaker, Al Barsa, will discuss the soon-to-be-released i5/OS V6R1. An early bird registration fee of $150 is available until November 21 for DVCUG members. LEARN MORE >

December 5 -- Seekonk, Massachusetts - This one-day seminar will cover WebSphere Development Studio Client (WDSc) for System i. It starts with improving productivity, which highlights Remote Systems Explorer (RSE) - the tool that replaces SEU, SDA, and PDM. Other topics of focus include advanced functionality like customizing the environment, how to use System i Projects, the Integrated System i debugger, the WebFacing tool and HATS toolkit. Also of importance is the introduction of RBDe-EGL. Enterprise Generation Language (EGL) is IBM's high level programming language designed for business-oriented developers, who have little or no experience with Java, Web technologies, or Service Oriented Architecture. Nazmin Haji, IBM's technical lead for RSE, will present the material. Haji is responsible for design, development, testing, and maintenance of WDSc. This seminar is part of the COMMON 2007 Seminar Series and is being held in partnership with New England Midrange User Group (NEMUG) and New England Systems (NES) user group. It takes place between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. at the Ramada Inn located at 940 Fall River Avenue. LEARN MORE >

December 5 -- Webinar - IBM's Paul Godtland will be discussing i5/OS V6R1 with an emphasis on programs created for previous releases of the operating system that us the i5/OS Machine Interface (MI) and must be converted for V6R1 compatibility. Godtland will explain the benefits of program conversion, and the use of a free tool on V5R4 or V5R3 to estimate conversion times and check whether you have any programs that cannot be converted. This one-hour session begins at noon CST. LEARN MORE >

December 7 -- Atlanta, Georgia - A one-day application modernization technical seminar focusing on the 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's skills. LEARN MORE >