Dan Burger
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Computer Keyes Launches Automated Two-Way Communications from IFS
July 30, 2013 Dan Burger
… Read moreCompanies that are building mobile access to an IBM i-based system take note. Automated communications with access to documents on the IFS could help increase user self-service and reduce inefficiencies in workflow processes. Think of it as a strategy that includes registered users and limited access, much like you experience with online banking. Downloading and uploading information to and from an IBM i system is now available using kLink from Computer Keyes.
Just two months ago, Computer Keyes introduced kLink, software that accesses IFS files from any Web browser, including those running on mobile devices. However, it was limited
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PowerTech Delivers IBM i Security Data to HP ArcSight SIEM
July 30, 2013 Dan Burger
… Read morePowerTech, one of the security software divisions under the Help/Systems umbrella, has taken another step toward multi-platform interoperability with its recent announcement that it has received Hewlett-Packard ArcSight Common Event Format (CEF) certification. Interact allows users to monitor, capture, and send security-related events from IBM i servers to the HP ArcSight platform.
This capability allows HP ArcSight users to correlate event data in real time from several sources including the IBM i security audit journal (QAUDJRN), the IBM i operating system, Apache Web logs, and PowerTech Network Security & Authority Broker, which runs on the IBM midrange platform.
The
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RPG Teams Picking Up Mobile Development Skills
July 22, 2013 Dan Burger
… Read moreFinding mobile development skills on an RPG development team is sort of like finding a homemade lemonade stand on a hot summer day in Cleveland. They’re out there. They’re a welcome relief. But they are rare. Not as rare as they used to be, however. And the numbers are growing quite nicely. I have not seen any mobile developer guesstimates for RPGers, but the mobile projects keep multiplying and there is little reason to believe the projects won’t increase in quantity and quality for years to come. How are IBM midrange shops handling this and how will they handle it
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Sirius Considers Expanding Its Power Cloud Capacity
July 22, 2013 Dan Burger
… Read moreSirius Computer Solutions launched its Power Cloud just about a year ago. It created two cloud environments specifically for small to midsize IBM midrange shops. Those two clouds are three-quarters full now, says Jay Johnson, director of managed services for Sirius, and the company is evaluating an investment in more cloud capacity. The existing multi-tenant clouds are built on Power 720 boxes. The next configuration may include a PureFlex system.
Although 90 percent of the Power Cloud workload is IBM i-based and the growth trajectory is i-based, Johnson says there are customers interested in the capability to include AIX and
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App Supporter Rimini Street Posts Another Record Quarter
July 22, 2013 Dan Burger
… Read moreThird-party maintenance and support contracts seem to be a good alternative for companies feeling the pointy stick from the likes of Oracle and SAP. The popularity of that choice is readily apparent. For instance, Rimini Street, a third-party provider, just announced another record-breaking second quarter, noting 57 new client transactions and a 165 percent increase in new sales.
This isn’t the first time Rimini has reported impressive increases in its business. It is the 13th consecutive quarter of financial gains.
Its total invoicing for the second quarter of 2013 totaled $15.7 million, which it pegs as a 64
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Sirius Scopes The IBM i Power Systems Market
July 15, 2013 Dan Burger
… Read moreStoked by Power7 and Power7+ server sales and growing interest in PureFlex pre-integrated infrastructure, storage developments, and the emergence of managed systems, Stan Staszak of Sirius Computer Solutions is a happy guy. Staszak, the director of Power Systems solutions at Sirius, describes 2013 at the halfway point as “one of the best years we’ve seen in a while.” He gives partial credit to the rebounding economy, but most of it to the price/performance of the Power7 and Power7+ product lines and an IBM Power Systems lineup on the rise.
That’s not surprising for an executive in the IBM sales channel,
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The IBM i Community Is Eying the MSP Option
July 15, 2013 Dan Burger
… Read moreThe successes of companies that are pioneers in the adoption of managed services–what some call hosting and others call cloud computing–will encourage others to follow. There just haven’t been all that many successes so far. At least not in the IBM midrange community, and especially if you separate the disaster recovery and high availability business from companies who would put their production server in the cloud.
I think the successes in the DR and HA environments are terrific, and they do encourage others to follow that lead. But that is still a long way from loading day-to-day, mission critical enterprise
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Leaders, Followers, and Product Development
July 15, 2013 Dan Burger
… Read moreWhile writing the article about the current scene in the IBM i market as told to me by Stan Staszak, the director of Power Systems solutions at Sirius Computer Solutions, which appears elsewhere in today’s edition of The Four Hundred, I was reminded of something that Steve Will, chief architect of the IBM i, told me when we talked about his view of the IBM i back in April at the COMMON Annual Meeting and Exposition in Austin, Texas.
His comment was that he often works with companies doing the newest implementations and that “in development, it almost
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VAI Introduces Tablet App to ERP Customers
July 9, 2013 Dan Burger
… Read moreManufacturers, distributors, and retailers that use VAI‘s S2K ERP software are getting acquainted with a new tablet application that provides order entry capability to a mobile sales force. The app was announced in late June, but has been available since mid-May. For now, it’s available only for Android-based tablets, but the company predicts a mobile apps for Apple tablets and both Android and iOS smartphones in the first quarter of 2014.
The S2K Tablet Order Entry application is designed so that S2K customers can have their sales reps quickly take orders from the field with the convenience of a
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High Maintenance IBM i Application Therapy
July 8, 2013 Dan Burger
… Read moreHigh maintenance is not what you want your IBM midrange applications to be. Unfortunately, that’s what happens in many instances. The neediness of the application is directly proportional to the age of the application. Neediness also grows alongside the size of the application. Big ol’ applications with hundreds of thousands and even millions of lines of code are very needy. It often takes a team of people just to keep them contented and predictable. And that sometimes makes other platforms look more attractive than they actually are.
Software maintenance, which occupies way more babysitting than it should, is really a