Jenny Thomas
Jenny Thomas is the Publisher and Advertising Director for Guild Companies' IT Jungle newsletters. Thomas has 25 years of experience in the publishing industry and has worked as an editor and writer in several industries, including the IT and medical fields. Thomas has a bachelor's degree in journalism from San Diego State University.
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Four Hundred Monitor, November 15
November 15, 2023 Jenny Thomas
If you’re looking for the next generation of IBM i, let us introduce you to the COMMON Education Foundation. CEF is dedicated to educating and engaging future IT generations. This week, CEF is hosting a virtual meet and greet to bring students together with working IBM i professionals and organizations who are seeking talent. CEF is a nonprofit supported by community contributions and volunteers who want to see the IBM i ecosystem continue to survive and thrive. Find out more about the meet and greet on November 16 in our Redbooks, White Papers, Blogs, Podcasts, and Other Resources section below. …
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Four Hundred Monitor, November 8
November 8, 2023 Jenny Thomas
Depending on where you live, you may be struggling this week from the dreaded time change that happened to many of us over the weekend. I, for one, and definitely dragging this week, and it got me wondering: What would happen if clock changes were abolished? We’d reduce schedule disruptions and having to remember which clocks auto-update. Without losing an hour of sleep in March, you’d probably wake up feeling more refreshed and less tired than on that same weekend in past years. Even falling back has an effect as we try to establish a new rhythm and get used …
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Four Hundred Monitor, November 1
November 1, 2023 Jenny Thomas
There is so much happening in our world today that as startling as it is that we have already reached November, it might be a good thing to see this calendar rollover and have a new year to begin again. For now, we’ll focus on our little piece of the world, which also has a lot if different things happen as we try to keep up with the advancements in AI, quantum computing, and, of course, Power Systems. So let’s kick it off with some good news from our fearless leader (and editor in chief) TPM as he takes a …
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Four Hundred Monitor, October 25
October 25, 2023 Jenny Thomas
Get ready to add a new column to your org chart. Artificial intelligence is growing at such a rapid rate that some organizations aren’t asking the existing CIO to wear another hat. Instead they are adding a new position. A chief AI officer, or CAIO. This position would have a lot of responsibilities, including staying on top of emerging AI technologies, develop an AI strategy, and make sure that AI implementations align with business goals. Sounds like a big job, doesn’t it? Based on what we’re seeing in the news cycles, it also seems like it’s becoming exceedingly necessary. Read …
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Four Hundred Monitor, October 18
October 18, 2023 Jenny Thomas
“How do you eat an elephant?” The answer seems obvious. “One bite at a time.” The point being that you can’t complete a very large job or solve a very complex problem all at once, but you solve it by accomplishing one small task at a time and sticking with it until it is completed. The elephant in the room these days is application modernization. Many of you are tackling it within your organizations in many different ways, just like we report on it from many different angles. We start this week’s Top Stories with a quick opinion piece on …
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Four Hundred Monitor, October 11
October 11, 2023 Jenny Thomas
When it comes to AI, every day seems to bring some new potential catastrophe for humanity. Except today, because after saying AI would automate many back-office tasks and result in job loss for humans, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna now says it is not correct that increases in productivity have to lead to job losses. In fact, he believes AI will create more jobs that it will eliminate. In our Top Story below, Krishna explains IBM has plans to increase the number of software engineering and sales roles in the next three to four years. And then conceded there would be …
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Four Hundred Monitor, October 4
October 4, 2023 Jenny Thomas
Investing in the future of the IBM i is not something we hear much about. So, when we learned about a new fellowship program from Kisco Systems, we were all ears. The goal of this new program is to encourage IBM i customers to launch careers by helping them develop IBM i skills in house. Applicants for the fellowship must be sponsored by an active IBM i customer and will receive: free IBM i and RPG training; a one-year COMMON membership including registration for two conferences; and recognition in the IBM i community through podcasts and the COMMON Education Foundation. …
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Four Hundred Monitor, September 27
September 27, 2023 Jenny Thomas
Investing in the future of the IBM i is not something we hear much about. So, when we learned about a new fellowship program from Kisco Systems, we were all ears. The goal of this new program is to encourage IBM i customers to launch careers by helping them develop IBM i skills in house. Applicants for the fellowship must be sponsored by an active IBM i customer and will receive: free IBM i and RPG training; a one-year COMMON membership including registration for two conferences; and recognition in the IBM i community through podcasts and the COMMON Education Foundation. …
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Four Hundred Monitor, September 20
September 20, 2023 Jenny Thomas
In June, NPR published an analysis of the existential threat artificial intelligence poses to humanity. Hopefully IBM is heeding that warning as it puts into motion its plans to train 2 million people in AI technologies in the next three years. Readers of Monitor know we have been keeping a watchful eye on IBM and how AI is playing a role in its strategy moving forward. We recently shared articles about IBM hiring freezes and layoffs that were attributed to the adoption of AI, and we continue to keep you in the loop on more developments, as you will read …
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Four Hundred Monitor, September 13
September 13, 2023 Jenny Thomas
The team at IT Jungle has been part of the “work at home” crew since the beginning. Not to age ourselves, but this goes back a couple of decades, so long before we all sheltered in place for the pandemic. Now granted, some jobs, like news writing for instance, do require some solitude, but companies that formerly had employees gathering in an office are looking to re-establish that as the norm – including IBM. Our Top Story this week is about IBM requiring all software division employees who work within 50 miles of an office to report to work at …
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