Jenny Thomas
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Smart IBM i Shops Get Connected. . . Devices, That Is
April 2, 2012 Jenny Thomas
… Read moreSmart connected devices, which includes PCs, media tablets, and smartphones, are taking over the world. At least, that’s what I decided when I saw IDC reported more than 916 million units shipped and revenues surpassing $489 billion dollars in 2011 for these three classes of devices.
By now, most of us get it. You can’t escape smart devices, which are no longer a personal luxury, but becoming a common tool in schools and in the workplace. But let’s put things into perspective by looking at the numbers.
IDC combined the totals from its worldwide quarterly PC tracker, mobile phone tracker,
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Obama Encourages Engineering Students To Stay With It
March 19, 2012 Jenny Thomas
… Read moreGetting an engineering degree is hard. The work involved in obtaining one is not to be taken lightly, but the rewards awaiting graduates are worth the effort required. That was the consensus among panel members at a live Facebook Webcast last week, which was held in conjunction with the launch of Stay With It, an online resource to support engineering students in an effort to increase the number of engineering graduates from U.S. universities and colleges.
The Stay With It program is the result of an initiative from the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, in partnership with Intel,
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IBM Is Betting On The Power Of Cloud
March 12, 2012 Jenny Thomas
… Read more“Get your head into the clouds and get back to work!” If your boss has recently issued you this order, you are not alone. There was a time when being accused of having your head in the clouds meant you were spending too much time daydreaming and not enough time producing real work. But, according to a recent IBM study, the number of companies turning to cloud computing is expected to more than double in the next three years.
The study, titled The Power of Cloud: Driving business model innovation, surveyed 572 business and technology executives worldwide. The goal
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IBM Helps Open Schools For The Next Generation Of IT Workers
March 5, 2012 Jenny Thomas
… Read moreThe importance of a good education is universally accepted, but it is no longer a guarantee of a good job. In fact, in many instances, a degree doesn’t guarantee any type of job these days. Which is why we should all be happy to hear that IBM is looking to change the odds of America’s students landing a job after graduation.
Last week, IBM released a “playbook” to help educators and business leaders in IT build schools specifically designed to connect public education to employment.
At the same time, IBM announced a plan developed with the City of
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Old School COBOL Gets New School Twist From Manta
February 20, 2012 Jenny Thomas
… Read moreMost everyone in the computing industry can appreciate new technology, but let’s face it, there are some standards that never go out of style. COBOL, RPG, CL, DB2 are ubiquitous when it comes to the IBM i platform, which explains why the newest addition to Manta Technologies‘ online training curriculum, isn’t new to the midrange.
“When we ask people for feedback, one of the things that customers have said consistently over the years is: ‘You’re perfect except I don’t use RPG, I use COBOL,'” said Bill Hansen, president of Manta. “So the COBOL training has been on our list
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Take One Tablet And Call Your IT Manager In The Morning
January 30, 2012 Jenny Thomas
… Read moreThe explosion of tablets is enough to give even the most savvy IT managers a splitting headache. Almost everyone would agree tablets are cool, and those lucky enough to own one can’t say enough good things about them, but the introduction of tablets into the workplace raises legitimate concerns about security and application access.
Cisco Systems recently commissioned a global survey of IT managers and executives in a wide variety of global companies of all sectors and sizes to assess attitudes, fears, and hopes for tablets in the workplace. All 1,500 of the respondents were either primary IT decision makers
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IBM Gets Down to Social Business
January 16, 2012 Jenny Thomas
… Read moreI’m just as sick of hearing the words “social business” as anyone else. But I have come to accept there’s no escaping it so I better figure out how to adapt or risk becoming a social outcast. IBM must also have decided it had better get on this bus, as Big Blue recently announced it is expanding its initiatives to help organizations get on board with the hottest computing trend.
If all the talk is right, there is a lot of business to be had in the social market. Forrester Research recently reported that the market opportunity for social enterprise
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Rometty Kicks Off 2012 With Leadership Team Changes
January 9, 2012 Jenny Thomas
… Read moreIBM‘s first female CEO in its 100-year history, Ginni Rometty, got right to work after officially taking the helm on January 1, announcing changes to Big Blue’s senior leadership team.
The first order of business was to replace herself as the general manager of IBM’s sales and marketing group with Bruno Di Leo, who becomes senior vice president, sales and distribution. Di Leo most recently served as the general manager for IBM’s Growth Markets Unit, which increased revenues 19 percent last year, with 40 countries growing by double digits. Di Leo began his career at IBM in 1975 as
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Help Fund the Al Barsa Memorial Scholarship
November 14, 2011 Jenny Thomas
… Read moreThe Al Barsa Memorial Scholarship, created in 2008 to honor the beloved advocate of the AS/400 platform, is looking to up donations with a challenge grant.
The challenge grant is sponsored by midrange.com, which has pledged to contribute a dollar for every dollar contributed by other people (up to a maximum of $300). The challenge will count for any donations made between now and December 24.
Contributions should be made directly to the COMMON Education Foundation here. Midrange.com needs your help tracking the donations, so after you make your contribution, please email midrange.com owner, David Gibbs, here,
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Small Businesses Agree Social Media Is A Path To Customers
November 7, 2011 Jenny Thomas
… Read moreThe acceptance of social media as a legitimate means of capturing or communicating with customers continues to grow. A recent study by Newtek Business Services, a peddler of services and financial products to the small- and medium-size business market, found that nearly 60 percent of companies polled use social media tools to communicate with customers.
Even if your small business has not dipped a toe in the social media tidal wave, someone in the organization must be considering it. The cost of a social media campaign alone is pretty attractive. The basic expense is just the labor of the