Infor is arguably the biggest provider of business applications for the IBM i server (formerly AS/400), so it was good to see the old black box getting some love and respect at Infor’s recent user conference, Inforum 2013, held in late April in Orlando, Florida–even if most of the love and respect was coming from customers, and not Infor.

It’s tough to tell exactly how many of Infor’s customers run their applications on the IBM i platform, in large part because Infor’s IBM i products are spread out across different divisions.

Robert Russell, the vice president in charge of development

More and more people are talking about using SQL. The number of classes at conferences continues to rise and the interest level remains on an upward swing. Along with that comes an interest in monitoring and evaluating SQL environments. ProData Computer Services recognized this need, and the result was a product called SQL Audit, which was announced at the COMMON Annual Meeting and Exposition last month in Austin, Texas.

SQL Audit tracks and monitors modifications made to any IBM i database, whether the modifications are made using ProData’s SQL/Pro or DBU, as well as IBM‘s standard SQL functions. All

ERP software has never been “cool” or “fun” to use. But if Infor CEO Charles Phillips had his way, enterprise software would be as enjoyable to use as the latest social networking tools from Facebook and Twitter.

SoHo is the name of the new HTML5-based user interface that Infor is adopting across its various enterprise applications, including its premiere IBM i-based products. We gave you the lowdown SoHo, which was unveiled last month at Inforum 2013, in the story “Infor Exudes Total Confidence at Annual User Confab” in yesterday’s The Four Hundred.

What was clear from Phillips’ comments

It’s true that beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. But it’s also true that ugly websites can be spotted a mile away. To that end, Business Computer Design Int’l. has updated its Presto Web enablement tool to make it easier for customers to generate good-looking Web interfaces for their IBM i applications. Version 4.7 also adds a new spool-file-to-PDF conversion feature.

Many of the Web-related enhancements BCD delivered with Presto 4.7 were made to the Palette component of the Visual Editor. The Palette, which debuted in March 5, makes it easier to design Web interfaces by allowing

Midrange Performance Group last month unveiled updates to its Navigator family of performance management and capacity planning tools. Performance Navigator version 16 gives IBM i shops the capability to see how their applications will run on the latest Power7+ chips from IBM, and also has better modeling for SSDs and specific applications.

Performance Navigator has been used for many years by IBM i shops and resellers to help match IBM i application workloads to IBM hardware. In more recent years, MPG has expanded the Windows-based product to support Unix and Linux environments on Power Systems via its Power Navigator

VAI, the ERP software company known for its IBM i customer base of small and midsize manufacturers, distributors, and retailers, has announced the availability of S2K Integrator, which advances traditional EDI integration to include such items as XML files, flat files, and spreadsheets. S2K Integrator is based on technology derived from a business partnership with EXTOL International, which is OEM-ing its EXTOL Business Integrator (EBI).

As a result, companies using S2K Enterprise, VAI’s IBM i-based ERP software, will gain the capability to connect, share and synchronize data with third parties. It opens the door to such documents as

It’s been a few years since Infor made an IBM i-related acquisition, but that will likely change as the result of the pending acquisition of TDCI, the Columbus, Ohio-developer of two products, including the Windows-based BuyDesign product configurator and MAC-PAC, an IBM i-based ERP system.

Infor announced its intent to buy TDCI in late April at the company’s annual Inforum user conference in Orlando, Florida. Infor says it entered into a non-binding agreement to buy TDCI for an undisclosed amount of money. The company says it expects the deal to close within 30 days.

It is clear that Infor

Maxava has put renowned IBM i disaster recovery (DR) expert Richard Dolewski on the payroll as part of a push to bolster its personnel in the United States.

As Maxava’s new chief business continuity officer, Dolewski will speak at events, provide high-level consulting, and generally function as an ambassador to the high availability (HA) software and services company, Maxava’s senior vice president Simon O’Sullivan explains to IT Jungle. “It’s a really good addition to the team,” he says.

“We are tremendously excited to welcome Richard to the Maxava team,” Maxava CEO Allan Campbell said in a press release. “His

ES Robbins, an Alabama plastics manufacturer, is now protecting its IBM i-based ERP system using VAULT400, the cloud-based backup and recovery service run by United Computer Group.

Based in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, ES Robbins is a specialized manufacturer of extruded polymer products that employs 150 people. The company’s five divisions make a variety of products for different industries, including floor mats, desk pads, bulk roll stripping, and fencing used in horse facilities.

The company recently bolstered its own internal disaster recovery (DR) scheme by subscribing to VAULT400, a backup and recovery service that utilizes EVault‘s native IBM

CYBRA last week unveiled Lock & EnCode, a new line of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags that can be locked. CYBRA sees the new padlock-like devices being used to add security for high-value items, and also to provide a tamper-evident seal.

Lock & EnCode devices serve two functions. First, they bring the user traditional RFID item-tracking functionality. Secondly, they serve as a small padlock (breaking strength: about 29 foot-pounds of force) to secure items in transit.

The devices feature a plastic shell and a metal hasp. Once the lock has been set, the only way to open it is to