Dan Burger
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Winners and Users: IBM’s ISV and SMB Choices
June 27, 2011 Dan Burger
… Read moreThe manner in which IBM co-exists with its independent software vendors (ISVs) says a lot about how Big Blue has changed its business plans in the Lou Gerstner-Sam Palmisano era. The IBM i user base is a good example, even though it is unique in many ways. None of IBM’s other platforms have or had the participation of so many application and tool vendors. From the time the AS/400 was introduced, it was the application server. And it was extremely successful. Thanks, in large part, to the ISV community.
In those halcyon days of business computing, particularly in the
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RPG Summit to Emphasize Mobile Apps this Fall
June 27, 2011 Dan Burger
… Read moreMobile applications are a hot topic today and looking like an even hotter topic next week, next month, and into the foreseeable future. A good indicator of that is the attention given to this topic at the upcoming RPG and DB2 Summit, the bi-annual conference that emphasizes modern IBM i development topics. It was just announced last week that the fall Summit would take place October 17 through 19 in St. Louis, Missouri.
“The first time we did a session on mobile computing maybe seven or eight people sat in on it,” says Paul Tuohy, one of the principle
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Survey Says: 24 Hours Is The Disaster Recovery Target
June 20, 2011 Dan Burger
… Read moreDisasters make great news. We read and watch these reports of tornados and floods and earthquakes and tsunamis, but even if we take the time to consider what we’d do if a disaster crashed into our lives, those thoughts are fleeting. We settle back into our routines and wait for the next report of a disaster that doesn’t directly affect us. Most IT departments are run with this same attitude. So it was with equal parts amusement and dismay that I examined a survey of IBM i shops conducted by United Computer Group.
UCG is a provider of online
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How to Succeed In The i Biz By Really Trying
June 20, 2011 Dan Burger
… Read moreBrian May has been an integral part of the Young i Professionals organization since its inception. He is a frequent speaker at COMMON conferences and a member of several advisory committees for that organization. He’s a subject matter expert in RPG. Numerous local user groups have brought him in as a guest speaker. You might say he gets around.
A couple of months ago May landed at Profound Logic, where he is now an IBM i modernization specialist for the application development and modernization tool maker based in Dayton, Ohio. His primary project at this stage is rebuilding product
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Education Matching Innovation: OCEAN Tech Conference
June 20, 2011 Dan Burger
… Read moreHo-hum or gung-ho? Which is it going to be? It’s just about that time for the annual OCEAN Tech Conference, an opportunity to see and hear about the new technologies that apply to the IBM i platform. You know, it’s only a legacy system if you allow it to be one. And if you and your IT staff have no modern skills, what does that make you? A legacy programmer? A legacy systems admin?
The OCEAN Tech Conference is not the only place where you can pick up the pace of what’s happening in your IT department. But it’s a
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Skybot: When Automated Scheduling is Not for IBM i
June 14, 2011 Dan Burger
… Read moreAssuring jobs run on time and in the right order is a frequent operations issue. To reduce the risks that come with jobs running out of order and those that never run due to malfunctions or oversight, companies frequently turn to job scheduling automation software. In IBM i shops, one of the trusted names in this line of work is Help/Systems, a company that’s taken care of such things for more than 25 years. Recently Help/Systems expanded its reach beyond IBM i-centric software.
Skybot Software is Help/Systems’ first foray into a non-IBM i market. It’s been set up as
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LotusLive Adds to Security, Mobile Access, and Cloud Features
June 14, 2011 Dan Burger
… Read moreIBM‘s LotusLive Notes–the email, calendaring, and contact management offering available via a Web browser or a Lotus Notes client in the LotusLive cloud–just added a few new fancy duds to its already extensive business wardrobe. IBM, which is fond of describing Notes as “enterprise ready” and making the implication that its rival, Microsoft Exchange, is something less, continues to put the spotlight on integrated applications designed to simplify and improve everyday business activities.
However, with this latest release, LotusLive Notes 1.4, the enhancements come in the categories of user conveniences, which include not only end users but also the
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IT Budget Relief from High Hardware Maintenance Fees
June 13, 2011 Dan Burger
… Read moreCertain companies thrive during a recession. Those that can tighten budgets, run leaner without killing productivity, actually put themselves in an advantageous position. Some try to do it with smoke and mirrors with short-term relief causing long-term pain. Sort of like deciding to save money by not paying the electric bill. That’s not a good long-term plan. But as you shine a light on the IT department, what about an option to reduce hardware maintenance charges? What can you do and how dangerous is it?
If your company fits in with the majority of IBM i shops–a small to midsize
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The Long and Short of Modernization
June 6, 2011 Dan Burger
… Read moreCompanies that take on application modernization projects almost always have a great notion. Many of those expectations have come up short. The quickest way frequently doesn’t deliver the hoped for objectives and what often is realized is that more effort than expected is required. Alison Butterill, IBM‘s application development offerings manager for Power Systems, has seen it play out many times. Taking care of the interface is the easy part, she points out, but she also offers advice to make back-end transformations much easier.
The single biggest driver for modernizing applications continues to be users who don’t like the
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Multifunction Printer Workflow and Document Design Get inFORM’s Attention
May 24, 2011 Dan Burger
… Read moreDocument production and distribution specialist inFORM Decisions has expanded its multifunction printer support on the IBM i server along with updating its data mapping tool for reports, forms, checks, and other business documents. During the COMMON 2011 Annual Meeting and Exposition in Minneapolis, Minnesota, earlier this month, inFORM president Dan Forster provided IT Jungle with an overview of his company’s developments.
With the increasing popularity of multifunction printers (print, fax, copy, email, and scan capabilities in one machine), Forster was most eager to talk about inFORM Decisions’ iDriver 3.0, which expands on the limited support of MFP devices that is