Four Hundred Monitor, February 11
February 11, 2019 Jenny Thomas
The cloud is booming for IBM, which has recently said it has closed $3 billion in cloud deals already this year. The latest deal is covered in the first Top Story below, and Big Blue has got to be big happy to see the its cloud investments paying off. IBM also had more news on the AI front, revealing plans for a new AI research hub in New York. Now is a good time for you to start thinking about investing in yourself. There are plenty of good opportunities listed in our Chats, Webinars, Seminars, Shows, and Other Happenings section below, including webinars that require no travel, or conferences like COMMON where you will be able to find the team from IT Jungle this year in Anaheim.
Top Stories From Outside The Jungle
(Computer Business Review) IBM recently won a multi-million dollar deal with Smart Energy Water, a U.S.-based provider to the utility sector of SaaS customer engagement and data analytics tools.
(Forbes) Speaking of new deals, IBM Research has partnered with The Freshwater Trust, a nonprofit working to protect and restore freshwater ecosystems, and SweetSense Inc., a provider of low-cost satellite connected sensors, to pilot blockchain and IoT technologies for monitoring groundwater usage in one of the largest and at risk aquifers in North America.
(Bloomberg) Following on to last week’s Monitor, IBM continues to bank on the AI, investing $2 billion into a new artificial intelligence research hub in New York.
(Wired) Summit, the reigning world’s fastest supercomputer, has broken an AI record.
(IBM) To compete with supermarket chains and online retailers, a family owned Belgian wine merchant looked to serve customers through digital channels. The company migrated to a cloud-based version of IBM i running on IBM Power Systems to make it happen.
Redbooks, White Papers, Blogs, and Other Resources
(Connectria) This nine-point IT self-assessment quiz can help you get a handle on your organization’s current situation, which will help you make sure you are prepared for the year ahead.
(The Turtle Partnership Blog) Think you’re missing out? If you wanted to attend IBM Think but couldn’t get to San Francisco, you can still get a taste of the action with these podcasts.
(Tech Republic) There aren’t many who would say they have nothing left to learn. This article offers 10 tips that can help you become a better programmer.
(OpenLegacy) If you are frustrated with delays delivering digital services for web, mobile or cloud applications, this white paper “How to Tackle Core, Back-end System Challenges using APIs & Microservices” may have some good suggestions for you.
Chats, Webinars, Seminars, Shows, and Other Happenings
February 12 – Webinar – If you’re considering an IBM POWER upgrade, attend New Generation Software’s live Webinar for guidance in your evaluation, including paying additional fees for IBM query and reporting software you may never use. See demos of why NGS’ proven alternative, NGS-IQ, could provide you with a more practical, useful solution.
February 12-15 – San Francisco – Learn how to get the most out of current (and future) IBM products and technologies at Think 2019. This conference boasts more than more than 1,000 labs, 1,000 certifications, and 250 deep-dive technical labs. Plus there is a cool lineup of speakers that includes IBM leaders and successful business people. Early registration discount ends this Friday, November 16.
February 19 – Costa Mesa, California – OCEAN’s 30th Anniversary celebration features IBM Champion Charles Guarino and IBM’s Alison Butterill. Learn modern development skills and join the discussion on what’s ahead for 2019.
March 26-28 – Charlotte, North Carolina – The RPG & DB2 Summit will be held at the Hilton Charlotte University Place. The conference will feature a new Db2 for i track updated with additional SQL and modernization techniques, practical skills for IBM i-based queries and analytics, and data integration options. Plus many new sessions on SQL, RPG, RDi, ILE, Python, open source languages and tools; an open source roundtable; an Open Source Squad offering individual help installing and using open source; and pre-conference hands-on workshops on RDi, SQL, Python and Service Programs. The early bird registration rate of $1,295 is in effect through February 15, 2019. RPG & DB2 Summit alumni and their colleagues receive a $100 discount when they register using their alumni ID.
March 25 – Charlotte, North Carolina – The IBM i CIO Summit provides a commercial-free forum for CIOs and IT Directors to meet in person and share ideas on how to address common challenges. With discussions facilitated by Alan Seiden, topics range from managing new technology and hiring the right skills to delivering enhancements, integrations and new applications faster; getting started with modernization; evaluating cloud options; and more. An optional second day includes a CIO roundtable and complimentary participation in the opening day of the RPG & DB2 Summit.
May 19-22 – Anaheim, California – POWERUp19 is heading to the Disneyland® Resort. With over 300 sessions for Power Systems and IBM i education, you can keep your skills up-to-date by creating a custom schedule based on your specific needs.
