Help/Systems Launches Comprehensive Security i5/OS Suite
by Alex Woodie

When Help/Systems set out 15 years ago to develop a suite of systems management tools for the AS/400, the company always intended for a security tool to be part of the mix. Now, the Minneapolis-area company is making good on that commitment with this week's launch of Robot/SECURITY, a collection of five security modules that help protect System i servers from internal as well as external threats. READ MORE >

Database Optimizing Goes Autonomic with New Tool from Centerfield
by Dan Burger

Remember when the IT version of the snipe hunt was sending the new kid looking for the AS/400 database administrator? That was back when the rookies didn't realize the AS/400 needed a DBA like a fish needs a bicycle. Ever since SQL and SQL-based applications took root in iSeries shops, things have changed, and the trend toward increasing database performance shows no sign of diminishing. And companies like Centerfield Technology are designing software specifically for database performance and simplification. READ MORE >

SkyView Opens Up Security Policy Product
by Alex Woodie

SkyView Partners is now shipping a new release of Policy Minder, a product it launched in 2005 to analyze and enforce security policies on i5/OS systems. With version 1.3, SkyView published an API that makes it easier for customers and other software vendors to hook into Policy Minder's capabilities. And customers can now use Policy Minder to monitor and enforce nearly all i5/OS system settings, not just those related to security. READ MORE >

NGS Brings Modern DB2/400 Query Development to BI Suite
by Dan Burger

At the heart of business intelligence solutions is the capability to easily and quickly take care of query and report-writing tasks. In the IBM native System i, iSeries, and AS/400 environment, such tasks have been the primarily confined to green-screen development. Well, guess what? It's time for graphical point-and-click, drag-and-drop query and report writing courtesy of New Generation Software, which earlier this month introduced IQ Client, a new query development module within the NGS business intelligence product suite. READ MORE >