Big Blue Pumps Big Bucks into the iSeries
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

The weather in Minnesota has been somewhat mild this year, and I think I know why. All of the cold air that would have normally enveloped the Rochester iSeries labs has somehow been transported to the underworld and Hell has actually begun the process of freezing over. How do I know this? Because on Friday, IBM significantly and vocally said it was increasing its co-marketing and co-development budget for the iSeries platform and the partners who make applications and tools for it. We're talking hundreds of millions of additional dollars. READ MORE >

BCD to Aggressively Build Out Its Business Partner Base
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

Having gotten the blessing of IBM as its wares were added to the iSeries Developer's Roadmap a few weeks ago, Business Computer Design Int'l (BCD) is pulling out all the stops as it attempts to build out its own business partner base. BCD's announcement today that it will be offering partners greater flexibility and lower costs if they use BCD's tools to create or modernize iSeries applications dovetails with IBM's announcements that it will open up the Developer's Roadmap and kick-start application innovation in the iSeries market. READ MORE >

Gartner Gives 2004 Server Report Cards
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

For all the talk about virtualization, partitioning, and other means of driving up server utilization and driving down box counts, the worldwide server market doesn't seem to be listening. This is a great thing if you happen to be selling servers for a living. According to Gartner, companies worldwide consumed and incredible 6.7 million servers in 2004, up 20.5 percent from the 5.6 million machines acquired during 2003. And even with average selling prices going down, server makers still raked in $49.5 billion in sales for 2004, an increase of 7.2 percent. READ MORE >

As I See It: To Tell or Not to Tell
by Victor Rozek

An interesting ethical dilemma was recently posed by an IT Jungle reader. Assume you are about to join the dispirited ranks of the unemployed, a victim of the latest round of corporate cost-cutting. Your job may be old news, but your memory is quite fresh. You take with you a great deal of information about your IT operation, none of it particularly good. There are a number of serious problems that you believe will, in short order, have a disastrous effect on the company if not addressed. The question is: Should you tell anyone before you leave? READ MORE >

   But Wait, There's More

IBM Tweaks ServerProven Rebates . . . IBM's Project BOSS Development Tool Surfaces . . . Quadrant Software Moves HQ to Florida . . . Intentia to Lay Off Employees as Jobs Move Offshore . . . Suppliers Not Living Up to Retailers Expectations, IBM Says . . . MKS Reports 108 Percent Growth in Change Management License Revenue . . . Seagull Turns Profit for First Time in Fiscal 2005 . . . READ MORE >

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