Dan Burger
-
Problem Solved: IBM i Skills Initiatives Need Partners
March 10, 2014 Dan Burger
… Read moreTechnology readiness levels assess and evaluate when implementation success exceeds implementation risk. One component of that assessment is the skill level of those doing the implementing and on-going maintenance of the technology. The IBM midrange computer is a good example. The system has been advanced and enhanced in many areas. We have application modernization, database modernization, storage modernization, and the technology roadmap goes on. What about skills modernization?
It is an issue that does not go away. Investing in the system means investing in the skills.
IBM has two programs designed to handle the ongoing need for new skills and
-
LANSA, 1WorldSync Extend Multi-Channel Commerce Partnership
March 10, 2014 Dan Burger
… Read moreWhen supply chain integration with trading partners works like it’s supposed to significant advantages become readily apparent. With more than 15,000 companies operating from 54 countries, 1WorldSync is a significant product information network and data synchronization platform. Its choice to form a partnership with LANSA, a provider of business process integration and data synchronization software, dates back to 2001.
Obviously they have found success working with one another in the arena that’s known as multi-channel commerce, where companies increasingly depend on mobile/social engagements and trusted product content.
In this partnership, 1WorldSync handles the technology that provides trusted data and
-
IBM Schedules SAP On i Summit, SAP Looks To $30 Billion Goal
March 10, 2014 Dan Burger
… Read moreSAP, the worldwide leader in ERP market share with almost double the market share of runner-up Oracle, is naturally enjoying its dominant position and is confidently forecasting large revenue gains in the upcoming several years. Executives at SAP have raised the revenue bar to $30 billion by 2017.
In January, the company reported $22.7 billion in revenue during its most recent fiscal year. That was an 8 percent increase over the previous year. SAP’s market share stands at 25 percent. Oracle, its chief competitor has a 13 percent market share. Inforand Sage claim 6 percent each, and
-
The Most Talked About IBM i Trends And Technology
March 3, 2014 Dan Burger
… Read moreTrends in technologies that affect IBM midrange shops sometimes makes it feel like you are trying to cross an ocean in a rowboat. . . with one oar, a loaf of bread, and a jar of peanut butter. Part of the technology dilemma is finding the time to sort through the possibilities and their associated costs. You might need some help. One of your best options, if you are a Power Systems shop, is to talk with other Power Systems shops.
Tom Huntington talks with a lot of Power Systems shops. As vice president of technical services at HelpSystems,
-
Wisconsin Tech Conference Underscores Skills, Systems Modernization
March 3, 2014 Dan Burger
… Read moreThe IT industry is an ever-changing beast. As a business owner who values information but is baffled by information technology, it’s not unusual to feel like you are up IT creek without a paddle. Even IT pros, the guys with the paddles, are sweating the IT tsunami. Who would have thought a decade ago (or two or three decades ago in the case of many IBM midrange professionals) that IT could change so rapidly and skills would become so disposable? If you are hanging on to old skills, that makes you disposable, too.
Whether you are a business leader, an
-
Watson Goin’ Mobile, Keeps On Movin’
March 3, 2014 Dan Burger
… Read moreIBM‘s Watson cognitive computing celebrity genius is ready for its road test. By that I mean it is begging to go mobile. IBM is encouraging this behavior by encouraging developers to create mobile consumer and business apps powered by Watson. To whip up some activity, IBM has chosen a competition–maybe because Watson is known for its competitive streak–which it calls the Watson Mobile Developer Challenge.
The program is being driven by the IBM Watson Group, an internal organization with a mindset to advance the commercialization of cognitive computing using Watson as its showpiece. With the building of a new
-
Fear Or Freedom: IBM i ERP Upgrades
February 24, 2014 Dan Burger
… Read moreMajor ERP implementations are like the footsteps of a giant. With each step the ground shakes and you can see terror in the eyes of everyone who feels the tremors. What if this thing fails? The path of destruction will be massive and the cost will be obscene. The fear of failing has stopped or postponed uncounted ERP upgrades. Fear can be a good thing. It can keep you alive, for instance. But it can also build confidence and inspire action.
In the IBM midrange community, ERP software has been around for decades. Having a rock-solid software/hardware combination for business
-
Software And Storage Propel Avnet’s Q2
February 24, 2014 Dan Burger
… Read moreThe significance of IBM de-emphasizing hardware and investing more in software and services can be seen in the reseller channel. Just take a look at the most recent financial report from one of IBM’s largest channel partners: Avnet.
Hardware sales, particularly servers, used to be a cash cow for the Technology Solutions group at Avnet. Back in the day, the master distributor sold AS/400s at a snow-shovels-in-Chicago pace. The revenue piled up like snow drifts. Avnet remains closely connected to a great number of AS/400, iSeries, and IBM i shops. But server revenues aren’t what they used to be.
-
Captains, Commanders, Controllers, And Chiefs
February 24, 2014 Dan Burger
… Read moreRecognizing the potential for innovation. Developing and maintaining a strategic plan. Monitoring major projects. Setting priorities between IT and business processes. Allocating resources.
Who handles these jobs and what makes them good or bad at it?
Depending on the size of the organization, it could be any of a number of people at the executive level or maybe even the supervisory or managerial levels. But IT innovation and leveraging technology is a high priority with expectations of powering growth and providing competitive advantage. Someone needs to deliver on these promises.
For the past eleven years, COMMON has hosted an annual
-
Midrange Dynamics’ Change Management Enhancements a Matter of Perspective
February 18, 2014 Dan Burger
… Read moreA sequel to Escape from Alcatraz, that great old Clint Eastwood movie, is taking shape in IBM midrange shops. It’s called Escape from Green Screens. The plot is still being written and it won’t be done any time soon, but there are more shops using RDi with Remote System Explorer for editing source code. And the new free-form RPG coding is allowing RPG developers to escape green-screen development. A change management system (CMS) that works well in a modern development environment is a big advantage over CMSes that don’t–or no CMS at all.
Midrange Dynamics, for example, is