Top OS/400 Stories from Around the Web

(Guild Companies) J.D. Edwards (JDE) finishes 2002 in pretty good shape, but takes a hit for 2003 guidance. JDE finished fiscal 2002 with a big push, driving up sales to $247 million in its fourth quarter and ending its fiscal year with overall sales of $904 million. Yet after that announcement, the company's stock slipped from $15 a share to $12 a share when it announced that earnings per share for 2003 would be flat. And why do we care about this? Because JDE is a bellwether for the IT industry in general and the iSeries market in particular, and we might be able to learn something from their situation.

(iSeries Network) IBM creates a new Software Group brand with the purchase of Rational Software for $2.1 billion. An estimated 600,000 users in an 89 countries use tools produced by Rational. IBM even used the Rational Rose product to develop its San Francisco project. Forrester says the Rational purchase will help IBM steal some of Microsoft's development customers, and it may also help Big Blue develop projects in embedded devices and open source Java tools.

(Guild Companies) Yes, CrossWorks will continue to compete in the legacy rehosting business. Last week, California Software sent out a press release saying it would offer support and upgrades to customers serviced by the company's rival, CrossWorks, whom California Software said was rumored to be leaving the legacy OS/400 rehosting business. CrossWorks says there is no truth to the rumor and it has no intention of leaving this market segment. George Adzick, president of CrossWorks, tosses a zinger or two back at California software in this report.

(Guild Companies) First iSeries Model 890 Lands in Europe. Last week, IBM announced the first of what it hopes will be many iSeries Model 890 "Regatta-H" servers sold in Europe. Like the first 890 sold in the United States, this machine went to a healthcare service provider. In this case, the customer was consolidating eight regional data centers into one center using the 890. With 64 GB of main memory and 4.5 TB of disk capacity, the newly installed server lists at $4 million.

(Guild Companies) IBM's Linux Plan Questioned by Aberdeen Report. Aberdeen released a new report, "An Assessment of IBM's Enterprise Linux Strategy," that focuses on Big Blue's Linux efforts in Linux distributions, IBM eServer platforms, infrastructure middleware, and applications support. For a fairly detailed description of where iSeries Linux fits into mix along with xSeries, zSeries, and pSeries, see the highlights of the Aberdeen report here.

(Guild Companies) For those who like their industry news in quick glimpses, "But Wait There's More" sorts through the rock pile for a few choice nuggets. This issue covers IBM's purchase of Rational Software; IBM's announcement of the Linux-only version of its pSeries 630 "Regatta-L" servers; HTE's plan to evaluate its options after Constellation Software (CSI) filed a Securities and Exchange Commission notice to buy all outstanding HTE shares at $4.50 per share; Jacada's establishment of new offices in Mexico and Brazil to satisfy OS/400 and mainframe legacy rejuvenation demand in Latin America; the Viking Group's multi-year contract with Aretech Information Services to manage Viking's AS/400 hardware and software; and SSA Global Technologies' appointment of Brian Kite as vice president of channel strategy and what it could mean for SSA GT's global market strategy.

Vendor Announcements, Promotions And Deals

(IBM) With a probable Q1 2003 availability date for WebSphere Application Server Express V5 for iSeries, IBM announced WebSphere Application Server V3.5 Standard Edition for AS/400 will be withdrawn from marketing, effective March 11, 2003.

(Guild Companies) ACOM Solutions announced an add-on module to its EZPayManager/400--EZPayManager/400-ACH--that allows users to transfer funds over the Automated Clearing House (ACH) network using their AS/400 or iSeries as the primary server. Pricing starts at $3,995 and the module is available immediately.

(Guild Companies) Attachmate formally announced the v2.0 release of its myEXTRA! Smart Connectors. The v1.0 version of these connectors were rolled out to customers earlier this year, but this is the company's formal announcement of these products. The myEXTRA! Smart Connectors eliminate custom coding by automatically mapping host data-including 5250 datastream output-to objects that are compatible with Enterprise Java and Microsoft's .Net framework. Sources say the products will eventually replace Attachmate's existing e-Vantage HostPublishing System software.

(Guild Companies) Brooks International issued a new release of its Remote Print Manager9X for Microsoft Windows 95/98/Me PCs. The latest edition includes a rebuilt print engine, a new resource status window, and a new automatic error recovery function. For OS/400-friendly companies using TCP/IP Line Printer Daemon (LPD) printing, users can perform selective page-range printing and the software can perform automatic conversion of SNA Character Stream (SCS) or EBCDIC data into ASCII formats.

(Guild Companies) Australian iSeries middleware provider looksoftware last week announced that early next year it will begin shipping a new product that allows OS/400 applications to integrate more easily with applications running on other platforms. The new software, called centric, will be targeted at OS/400 shops and ISVs that want to go beyond 5250 screen scraping to provide direct access to OS/400-based ERP programs or the DB2/400 database for integration projects such as CRM implementations.

(Guild Companies) PK Ware issued a new release of the PKZIP OS/400 compression tool that includes new capabilities for managing and compressing OS/400 spool files. According to the report, PKZip OS/400 v5.0.9 will allow OS/400 shops to reclaim DASD while satisfying legal retention requirements for auditing purposes.

(Guild Companies) News Briefs and Product Shorts--Ricoh showcased new IPDS software for its printers at Comdex 2002 in Las Vegas; CNX and Nexgen Software Technologies announced version 3.0 of CNX's Automatic Planning and Execution System, which will make the PRMS version 8.4-to-version 9.2 upgrade process less daunting; IBM says Spanish application service provider Aitana SBS will save at least $12,000 annually from replacing Windows with Linux at its data center; IBM also released a case study on how the city of Orlando is trying to go paperless with a new Lotus Domino-on-iSeries system; B.O.S Better On-Line Solutions has started shipping e-Twinax v3.02, which features new systems failover capabilities and improved security; and Intentia's plans to deploy Vision Solutions' OS/400-based high availability software in its global IT operation.

New Redbooks, White Papers, and Other OS/400 Resources

(IBM) Draft Redbook - Lotus Domino 6 for iSeries implementation. This resource provides information on how to install, configure, and administer Domino 6 for iSeries using either a 5250 emulation (i.e., green screen) approach or by using a graphical user interface.

(IBM) iSeries Nation Web site - IBM has designed this Web site to provide a forum for iSeries customers and developers. One of the highlights of this site is the periodic chat sessions with IBM iSeries executives and technical personnel. It also provides links to other resources, events, white papers, and more. Registration may be required for some areas.

(IBM) Draft Redbook - IBM WebSphere Application Server - Express Handbook. Although WAS Express is not yet widely available, it will be soon. This handbook introduces the product and demonstrates how to use WAS Express for building and deploying Web applications.

(IBM) Draft Redbook - Migrating Applications from WebSphere Application Server Standard Edition to WebSphere Application Server-Express. The title pretty much describes what you'll find in this resource, which you should find available in January 2003.

(Ignite/400) Ignite/400 Web Site - If your interests are focused on ebusiness, then this iSeries user group should prove useful. It has numerous resources, online forums, and a mailing list.

Chats, Webinars, Seminars, Shows, and Other Happenings

January 13-17 -- ASNA presents "Integrating Visual RPG with the Web and Intranets" in San Antonio, Texas. This seminar provides techniques for broadcasting and collecting your AS/400 data on the Web with ASNA Visual RPG and Caviar. For more information, go to http://www.asna.com/seminar_AVR_Web.asp .

January 21 -- The January meeting of the Metro Midrange Systems Association-a Dallas and Fort Worth area IBM iSeries and AS/400 user group-will feature Bill Langston, director of marketing for New Generation Software, as the guest speaker. Langston will be talking about what you should know before you begin a data warehousing project. For 20 bucks ($25 for non-members) you get dinner, Langston's presentation, and the opportunity to talk with other OS/400 professionals. The meeting is near the Dallas-Fort Worth airport, if you're just passing through. For more information, go to http://www.metromidrange.org/index.htm .

January 26-30 -- IBM Lotusphere 2003, Walt DisneyWorld Resort, Orlando, Florida. Take in this annual Lotus conference and expo and take the family to DisneyWorld while you're in the neighborhood. If you can't stand sunshine, Mickey Mouse or Domino, this ain't the place for you. For more information, go to http://www.lotus.com/lotusphere/orlando.nsf/wdocs/lshome03 .

February 10-13 -- Help/Systems will host its twelfth annual iSeries Operations Automation User Conference in Orlando, Florida. Yes, Orlando. The folks in Minnetonka, Minnesota, know where to find some fun in February. The conference agenda ranges from formal discussions on the future of the iSeries to personal development topics. Register by December 31 and receive a $50 discount. To learn more and register, go to http://www.helpsystems.com/education/userconf.html .

February 16-19 -- IBM PartnerWorld 2003 Conference, New Orleans, Louisianna. This three-day event brings together IBM Business Partners and IBM executives for meetings, strategy sessions, and an exchange ideas. IBM rolls out the red carpet for the partners and through keynote addresses and the expo area builds excitement for the year ahead. For more information, go to http://www-1.ibm.com/partnerworld/pwhome.nsf/weblook/pw2003_index.html .

March 5-7 -- Registration is open for ASNApalooza 2003 in San Antonio, Texas. This year ASNA's annual user conference will include a big emphasis on the Microsoft .NET application environment and ASNA's AVR for .NET software. For companies not sure whether to go with Java or .NET, ASNApalooza is three days of technical insight on how OS/400 and .NET can be combined. Early discount rates are in effect until December 31. For more information, go to http://palooza.asna.com .