Four Hundred Monitor, February 26

February 26, 2020 Jenny Thomas

February may be the shortest month but sometimes it feels like is might be the longest. That could be because news on the computing front has been a bit slow in the last few weeks as we are getting ready for the announcements that come along with the Spring conference season. As February wraps up, we have a smattering of news to share from around our community, and we hope you’ll be sure to check out the growing list of Chats, Webinars, Seminars, Shows, and Other Happenings in the last section below, where the news is sure to be happening.

Top Stories From Outside The Jungle

(Business Insider) Just like computers can get viruses, so can the people who run them, which explains why IBM is among some big name companies pulling out of the cybersecurity conferences of the year.

(The Street) Who doesn’t love a good timeline? This one walks us back through the history of IBM.

(eWeek) Was 2019 a good one for IBM? This article offers some reasons why it should be considered a banner year.

(Seeking Alpha) This author explains his reasons for buying into IBM

(Fast Company) Sometimes it’s fun to take a break from IBM news. Here’s a look at the iPad, which recently hit double-digits, and why it’s important for the future of computing.

Redbooks, White Papers, Blogs, and Other Resources

(Fresche Solutions) How are you leveraging your systems and innovating for the future? Fresche’s 2020 IBM i in Business Survey will provide critical understanding into the role that IT plays in business. Participants will receive a report and invitation for a live session about the results.

(GoAnywhere) This blog looks at why automation isn’t too good to be true and offers  insight into why automation is a key for success.

(Profound Logic Software) Do you have an opinion on modernization? Profound wants to hear it. The goal of this survey is to get a clearer picture of the state of IBM i modernization in today’s businesses. Your responses will help to paint a picture of how the platform is being used, and what the future of the platform looks like.

(COMMON) A new keynote for the POWERUp has been announced featuring Robert Tipton presenting on the meaningful topic of volunteering.

(Connectria) This case study follows a managed service provider that was looking for help finding a secure, HIPAA-compliant AWS environment.

Chats, Webinars, Seminars, Shows, and Other Happenings

March 17-19 – Delavan, Wisconsin– The Spring Technical Conference of the Wisconsin Midrange Computer Professional Association (WMCPA) features workshops and talks from a variety of IBM i experts.

March 23-24 – Dallas, Texas – The CIO Summit is a complimentary event for IT executives, hosted by IBM i Champion Alan Seiden. Participants exchange tips and brainstorm ideas for addressing common challenges faced by IBM i CIOs and IT Directors, such as managing new technology, hiring the right skills, and keeping IT aligned with business. Special guest Heidi Schmidt, leader in IT generational change and knowledge transfer, will join in to share her experience in creating more efficient, innovative IBM i development teams.

March 24-26 – Dallas, Texas – The RPG & DB2 Summit heads to Dallas with new sessions, new workshops, new ideas, and new tools. Paul Tuohy, Susan Gantner and Jon Paris lead a team of 13 top experts teaching the critical skills you need to excel with modern IBM i development. SQL, RPG, Db2, ILE, open source, ACS, RDi, data analytics, web services, web and mobile apps — it’s all packed into a highly-concentrated three-day learning experience.

March 25 – Webinar – Join Profound Logic for a webinar to learn about the power of Node.js and NodeRun, and how you can: quickly create data-driven business dashboards; reduce software development time-to-market with a streamlined approach that requires fewer developers; create applications to access data from multiple sources, including relational databases and RESTful API; and make the data visually appealing with charts, grids, and other widgets

April 6-8 – Framingham, Massachusetts – Join the Northeast User Group (NEUGC) Conference where attendees will be saying cheers to 30 years. NEUGC is the largest technical conference in New England for IBM i.

April 19-22 – Atlanta, Georgia – POWERUp 2020 will offer between 350-400 sessions presented by more than 100 IT professionals, and features the largest exposition of its kind. This conference structured to give you the pure education and professional connections needed to best enhance your career.

May 12-14 – Orlando, Florida –The nation’s leading ERP software event, the ESS – Enterprise Software Showcase for Manufacturers and Distributors heads to Orlando, May 12-14. Formerly known as the Vendor Shootout, this is the longest running event of its kind. ESS brings together ERP software buyers and vendors to facilitate the software selection process. Created by Technology Evaluation Centers (TEC), and hosted by TEC and Godlan, Inc. ESS is a learning hub for businesses to see live demos from 5 of the top ERP Software packages all in one place – all while gaining an understanding and getting tips on how to make informed, smarter software decisions.

May 20-21 – Nashville, Tennessee – php[tek] is the longest-running web developer conference in the United States that has a focus on the PHP programming language. The event is broken up into multiple days. The main conference happens over the course of two days (May 20-21) and includes keynotes, talks, and networking options. It will be broken into three tracks on Tech Leadership, PHP Development, and Web Technologies. There is an optional Workshop day that precedes the conference that lets attendees take two separate in-depth half-day workshops. We also offer full-day training classes preceding the conference on May 18 on deep technical topics for independent