The reasons why organizations undertake IBM i application modernization initiatives are as varied as organizations themselves. Sometimes, it’s people-driven, while other times, the technology itself needs a refresh. With 12 years in the modernization business, the folks at Fresche Legacy (formerly Speedware) have seen it all. Recently, the company shared details of three current IBM i modernization projects.

Fresche Legacy is a Montreal, Quebec, company that specializes in application modernization. Much of its work entails IBM i servers, IBM i technologies, and IBM i-centric languages, such as RPG, COBOL, CL, and SYNON. The company is as well-versed with IBM i

When it comes to learning PHP, there is no shortage of information available on the Web, where thousands of tutorials and forums can be accessed with the touch of a button. But for RPG veterans who prefer a little handholding with their PHP, like IBM i consultant Russ Khoury, a different approach is warranted. Khoury found the WebSmart PHP package from BCD provided a way to learn PHP in an environment that is both structured and productive. New templates just released in WebSmart PHP 9.5 should further boost productivity.

Khoury has been developing and maintaining applications for clients in the

The more applications are changed, the more complicated they get. What was originally designed with a certain set of facts in mind, over the course of 10, 20, or more years, almost always becomes convoluted, complex, and unable to keep up with changing business requirements. Many IBM midrange shops face this problem. They spend more time maintaining old complex and inflexible code than providing new business solutions. Many struggle to assess that situation.

Understanding the challenges of legacy systems is the purpose of the partnership that teams vLegaci and Databorough. The result of this partnership is a service called

Tango/04 last week announced the general availability of SmartConsole 8.0, the latest version of its multi-platform systems monitoring tool that includes new iOS and Android tablet interfaces and a cloud back end. The software can be used for much more than delivering notification of a failed job on the IBM i server, as Tango/04 is setting is sites on helping customers to monitor a wide range of business events as a means to increase agility.

Tango/04 built a name for itself by providing systems monitoring and management capabilities for the IBM i platform with its flagship VISUAL Message Center product.

Surround Technologies recently shipped Accelerator for .NET version 4.0, a major new release of its .NET-centric development tool for creating new applications from IBM i database files, or modernizing existing ones. The new version includes an HTML5 client that can support nearly all of the same user interface controls that Surround Tech has supported on its full Windows client, as well as faster code generation.

Version 4 represents a milestone for Accelerator for .NET, an application framework that includes a series of pre-built components and wizard-driven code generators that plug into Microsoft Visual Studio. Surround Tech has been working toward

Linoma Software just increased the potential marketplace for its GoAnywhere software as the result of being awarded a General Services Administration (GSA) Schedule 70 contract, which streamlines the purchase of the managed file transfer (MFT) software by federal, state, and local governments.

The folks at Linoma had been working on the GSA Schedule 70 contract for some time. Attaining such a contract involves a fairly comprehensive investigation of the vendor and its products, and can take up to a year. Just the same, the process went through quickly for Linoma, says Dirk Zwart, director of technology alliances for Linoma.

“The

It didn’t take any fancy big-data analysis to show that Tableau Software had a very good day Friday, when its stock price soared 63 percent from its opening price. The company, which makes data visualization tools, enjoyed another 11 percent gain in early trading yesterday, giving it a market capitalization of around $365 million.

Tableau is a small player in the overall market for business intelligence software, but it’s garnering lots of attention–especially after the successful IPO. The Seattle, Washington, company says its software, which is based on its VizQL (visual query language) technology, enables even non-technical people to explore

Infor Hooks Ming.le Social Platform to S&OP App

Infor yesterday announced that users of its Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) application can now utilize Infor’s Ming.le social platform to foster collaboration among various stakeholders in an organization.

Infor unveiled a brand new S&OP application more than two years ago to replace the old Mercia S&OP tool that Agilisys (the precursor to Infor) bought nearly a decade ago. The Windows-based software features an OLAP core, and is designed to boost the efficiency of supply chains by providing a framework that ties together people, processes, and software products.

The software pulls data

Corus360 last week announced a data vaulting offering for servers running IBM i, Windows, Linux, and AIX operating systems. With Vault360, customers back up their servers over the network to Corus360’s data center, which can also provide recovery services if needed.

Corus360 is no stranger to disaster recovery (DR) offerings. The Atlanta, Georgia, VAR to IBM, HP, EMC, Dell, and Hitachi runs its own division called RES-Q that is devoted to providing all types and sizes of DR and business resiliency offerings for customers running a variety of business systems.

Data vaulting has been on the

Rimini Street has been providing third-party support and maintenance services to users of SAP Business Suite ERP software for four years. Now, the company is offering support for SAP’s BusinessObjects business intelligence software, too.

Rimini Street says BusinessObjects customers who sign support contracts can save up to 90 percent compared to what they were paying SAP. That includes the 50 percent savings that Rimini Street says it provides for all ERP customers who sign support contracts. SAP customers who use Rimini for their ERP and business intelligence support and maintenance will save the most, the company says.

Rimini will provide