Top OS/400 Stories from Around the Web

(IT Jungle) Some people have a tendency to worry about things from all angles. Others sum up the situation and conclude things are not as bad as they appear. Yes, System i server sales are down in seven of the last eight quarterly reports from IBM, but the sky is not falling according to the independent software vendors (ISVs) who are in the best position to know which way the wind blows. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Data centers suck electricity. Consumption has doubled in the past five years and is on pace to increase 40 percent by 2010. The bill comes due each month. Your company's bottom line takes the hit. What can you do to set automated energy-consumption thresholds in your servers now that energy management plays a much bigger role in cost management? READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Viruses, cyber crime, and the epidemic levels of security risks are like pouring sand in the IT gas tank. And they certainly aren't good for the business engine. While the Internet is the funnel in many cases, software with built-in vulnerabilities are many times the problem when it should be part of the solution. Here's an overview of what's gone wrong and some prediction of where and why it will continue. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Getting old isn't so bad when you consider the alternative. In a similar way, economic growth, even in small increments, is better than the alternative. When it comes to IT budgets for 2008, one of the best-known forecasters (they seem to come out of the woodwork this time of year) is predicting an increase in spending at both large and small companies. It won't be as big as 2007, but that's still better than the alternative. READ MORE >

(ServerWatch) The pros and cons of Java and WebSphere are considered in this historical perspective with a view toward the present day and the future. As with most discussions about Java, this one takes the "either you love it or hate it" approach. IBM gets credit for bringing open source options to WebSphere, but in total this article asks more questions than it provides answers. READ MORE >

(MCPress) A few weeks ago, IBM distributed press releases about its Blue Cloud project that is designed to expand IT system capabilities and performance without expanding data centers. There are many unanswered questions regarding whether this project will ever mean a thing to the System i user base, but it has a software as a service approach that might have some appeal this time around. READ MORE >

(System iNetwork) The topic of required program conversions when upgrading to the next version of i5/OS has some folks stirred up. But it ain't rocket science according to this article, which is based primarily on the opinions of Paul Godtland, IBM's technical expert who leads the conversion team, and Ian Jarman, the System i product manager. READ MORE >

(MCPress) Vision Solutions is the preeminent high availability software vendor in the System i market. No question about it. In this interview with Nicolaas Vlok, Vision's president and CEO, Vlok provides his insights into the demand for HA software, the effects of private equity investment in the company, the IBM decision to split the System i into enterprise- and SMB-focused divisions, and his company's lesser-known products that are outside the HA market. READ MORE >

Vendor Announcements, Promotions, and Deals

(IT Jungle) A graphical database tool for the System i that allows users to move through DB2/400 tables potentially containing millions of records while improving the view of DB2/400 data is a pretty good idea. Imagine having "file", "edit", and "view" drop-down menus, quick-launch buttons for library coordinates, and drag-and-drop capabilities for ease of use. Making it affordable might be a pretty good idea as well. READ MORE >

(Bytware) That's right, Sherlock. The i5 virus mystery continues. If you haven't seen this intriguing game of who dunnit that was designed to raise awareness of the possible security exposures of running PHP on the System i, the case is close to being closed. According to the mastermind behind this fictional report of cyber crime involving cracked System i security, more than 8,200 viewers have checked out the game site and more than 1,100 viewers have seen it on YouTube. If you have what it takes to become the next Dick Tracy, Sherlock Holmes, Sam Spade, or possibly Inspector Clouseau, get into the game, gumshoe. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) There are some people at IBM Lotus who think they can take their Microsoft counterparts to the wood shed and teach them a lesson about collaborative software and unified messaging. That's easier said than done, but the products Lotus is releasing are reason enough to applaud IBM and its very serious dreams of woodshed whoopins. If you think the Lotus Notes family of products are hopelessly uncool, it's your ideas that need to be updated. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Any company's most important asset is its customers. The quality of its customer service distinguishes a company as much as the quality of its products. Top companies manage their customer relationships not only from the perspective of the sales force, but also with details that are pertinent to upper level management, help desk personnel, and product development staff. That's why CRM software has taken on an important role in many IT departments that support business operations. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Businesses in the healthcare field have specialized needs when it comes to information technology. Just as its ERP system wouldn't be the same one used by a manufacturer, the type of business intelligence solution it deploys has some wrinkles in it that won't be found in a manufacturing environment. Not only that, but few organizations can churn out reports like healthcare facilities can. There's nothing worse than a healthcare facility with an IT department that belongs in triage. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Building resiliency into servers through disaster recovery and high availability solutions is an excellent idea. But don't overlook the importance of including the phone system in those plans. If your customer service representatives can't field phone calls, how much good are your other disaster recovery efforts doing for you? READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) In the brave new world of virtualized server environments, there remains a cross-over point to the physical environments inhabited by networks and storage hardware. Earlier this year, Hewlett-Packard bridged that gap with a virtual switch and storage area networking technology that has not gone unnoticed. IBM is about to unveil its own version of this technology, which virtualizes I/O in its BladeCenter servers. READ MORE >

Redbooks, White Papers, and Other OS/400 Resources

(Quadrant Software) Streamling the customer service process by moving to electronic documents in the accounts receivable department is the focus of this report, which emphasizes improving business processes while reducing operating and labor costs. This white paper examines how paper-dependent processes can be modernized with Paperless Process Management (PPM) and illustrates through case studies how various organizations revamped business processes leveraging the System i and existing business applications. READ MORE >

(IBM) A preview of i5/OS V6R1 is presented by IBM with an emphasis on security, business resiliency and virtualization capabilities. Topics that are sharing the spotlight include system cluster management, simplified methods for testing and deploying applications, and storage virtualization that allows broader access to network storage devices. READ MORE >

(MKS) Requirements may be the most critical aspect of the software development cycle. More than 60 percent of software projects in the U.S. fail and poor requirements are one of the top reasons. This paper examines requirements management and how the company's Integrity software can help in areas such as parallel development, versioning, and base lining. READ MORE >

(IBM) Several new additions to the IBM white paper library have been added in the first days of December. Here are three titles that relate to the System i and JD Edwards software. "Using IBM System i to IBM System x iSCSI connection with JD Edwards Enterprise One 8.11," and "Implementing JD Edwards World A7.3 in an IASP environment on IBM System i5," and "IBM System i5 and JD Edwards EnterpriseOne 8.10 - Batch Performance with Unicode vs. Non-Unicode Database." READ MORE >

Chats, Webinars, Seminars, Shows, and Other Happenings

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

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 >

December 11 -- Webinar - Packaged data marts and analytical templates that enable users to go beyond queries and production reporting is the topic of this online session hosted by New Generation Software (NGS). Topics include why to retain your data on the System i and how to load data into an off-the-shelf data mart to cut the design and development typically required for a data warehousing project. Central to this session will be a demonstration of NGS' Decision Assist software for business performance, financial performance, and healthcare. Features of this software include a secure, Web portal of real-time reports, interactive dashboards, and multi-dimensional views. LEARN MORE >

December 12 -- Woodbury, New York - The guest speaker at the Long Island Systems Users Group monthly meeting will be Trevor Perry making his presentation titled "How to be an IT Survivor." This session will include advice on maintaining current skills and developing new skills in order to remain competitive as individuals and drive businesses in the right direction for a future of change. LISUG meetings are held at the Fox Hollow Inn and begin at 6 p.m. LEARN MORE >

December 13 -- Milwaukee, Wisconsin - Developing Modern RPG Web Applications is the topic of the day at the monthly meeting of the Wisconsin Midrange Computer Professional Association. Guest speaker is Jim Cooper, Coordinator of the Internet Application Developer program at Lambton College. Cooper has taught System i technology since 1991 and serves as the liaison with the IBM Academic Initiative program. This session will focus on the development of browser-based applications using native RPG and embedded SQL, but without CGI, Java, Apache, WebSphere, PASE, WebFacing, HATS, or third-party generator tools. This program will be presented in two sessions. The first begins at 4:30 p.m. and the second begins at 7:30 p.m. In between will be the traditional cocktails, networking, and dinner. The event will be held at Klemmer's Banquet Center located at 10401 West Oklahoma Avenue. LEARN MORE >

December 13 -- Webinar - The Hardware Management Console, how it's managed and how it's connected to the System i, will be explained by guest speaker Larry Bolhuis of Arbor Solutions. Topics of discussion will include the new browser-based interface plus remote access to the HMC, the ASMI, and to i5/OS console sessions hosted by the HMC. This one-hour session begins at noon CST. LEARN MORE >

December 13 -- Maryland Heights, Missouri - Roxanne Reynolds-Lair, chief information officer for the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM) will discuss IP telephony at the monthly meeting of the Gateway/400 Group, an iSeries user group serving the greater St. Louis area. FIDM estimates a cost savings of several thousand dollars per month since switching from PBX to VOIP. Gateway/400 meetings are held at the Graphic Communication Banquet Facility located at 105 Progress Parkway. LEARN MORE >