• What Does ‘Big Data’ Mean for IBM i?

  November 12, 2013 Alex Woodie

  When IBM i 7.1 Technology Refresh 7 (TR7) ships on Friday, it will contain several updates to the DB2/400 database designed to help it handle big data, including an expansion of SQL indexes, easier movement to SSDs, and tools to track the growth of tables over time. But what exactly does big data mean on the IBM i? We set out to find some answers. The traditional definition for big data has to do with the three “Vs,” which refer to the volume, velocity, and variety of data types. IBM sometimes likes to add a fourth “V” to the mix

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• Mobile Password Management App Supports IBM i

  November 12, 2013 Alex Woodie

  The bring your own device (BYOD) movement is freeing users from the bounds of cubicle land. However, forgotten passwords remain a problem and keep users tied to the help desk. Last week, ManageEngine announced a new Apple iOS app for its self-service password reset software, called ADSelfService Plus. It also announced that, with ADSelfService Plus version 5, the software now supports IBM i, giving users the capability to reset their IBM i passwords from iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touches. Forgotten passwords remain a big problem. ManageEngine says that 40 percent of help desk tickets are for password resets, and take

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• Sugar Says CRM-to-Social Opportunity is Sweet

  November 12, 2013 Alex Woodie

  When it comes to user interfaces, business software developers often take their cues from the wider consumer world. That trend continues today with the launch of SugarCRM‘s seventh major release of its eponymous CRM application. With the new Sugar UX user interface, the Silicon Valley firm has incorporated into their CRM system the data and customer relationships that exist in the social media world. In the old world of CRM, data lived in separate silos, and wasn’t easy to cross-pollinate. There was no simple way to take advantage of, say, a customer service representative’s 500-plus LinkedIn contacts within the

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• HCS Moves IBM i Health Care App to Connectria’s Cloud

  November 12, 2013 Alex Woodie

  Since 1969, Health Care Software (HCS) has been developing a suite of enterprise healthcare management applications that run on IBM‘s midrange platform, starting out with the System/3. Last year, HCS launched a software as a service (SaaS) version of its flagship offering. Instead of running the new business from its office building, the New Jersey company looked west to Connectria and its established private cloud environment for IBM i. In mid-2012, HCS launched LTCH CARE Data Set solution, a SaaS offering designed to meet the needs of long-term healthcare providers, such as nursing homes and rehabilitation clinics. A key

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• Deconstructing IBM i Cloud Migration Myths

  November 12, 2013 Alex Woodie

  If you’re an IBM i professional, there’s a good chance you’ve considered what a private cloud means to your organization. After all, if you could save $250,000 per year in support costs without giving up anything that’s critical to your organization, it would behoove you to explore the options and do the math. Unfortunately, separating the myths from the reality of cloud hosting isn’t always easy, as one IBM i private cloud provider, Abacus, recently showed. In a recent blog post titled “6 Myths about Migrating the IBM i to the Cloud,”, Patrick Schutz, director of managed services

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• MyEclipse Secure Gets the Web Goodness

  November 12, 2013 Alex Woodie

  IBM i shops that are looking for an alternative to IBM‘s RAD development tool for Java programming may want to check out Genuitec, the Eclipse member that supports IBM i with its MyEclipse Blue line of products. This month the company upgraded its MyEclipse Secure line of development tools with goodies like support for HTML5, jQuery, PhoneGap, and Maven technologies. Based in Flower Mound, Texas, Genuitec develops programming tools based on the Eclipse standard that offer low-cost alternatives to IBM’s Rational Application Developer (RAD) line of products. MyEclipse Blue is targeted at enabling users to write Java and

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• CGC Announces More Customer Wins for Construction ERP

  November 12, 2013 Alex Woodie

  Computer Guidance Corp. has been on a winning streak lately with eCMS, its IBM i-based construction management system that consistently ranks as the nation’s number one costing/accounting/payroll system for large contractors ($250 million and up). The account wins have been adding up since October for the Scottsdale, Arizona-based company. The company started the month by announcing an expansion of its partnership with Parsons Electric, a Minneapolis, Minnesota-based electric contractor that’s been a CGC customer since 1999. With the upgrade to eCMS version 4, the company will standardize on a single enterprise package that delivers everything from document imaging and workflow

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• Zend Hits the Throttle with PHP Dev Tool

  November 12, 2013 Alex Woodie

  Certain development-related processes will run up to twice as fast in the latest release of Zend Technologies‘ development tool for PHP. Zend Studio version 10.5 also brings enhancements in the area of documentation, testing, and validation. Developers don’t have to use Zend Studio to write PHP-based Web and mobile applications that run on IBM i, Windows, or Linux platforms. But considering the integration that exists between Studio and Zend’s various runtimes, including Zend Server 6 for IBM i, developers who use them together can expect things like debugging, application monitoring, and performance tuning to go a little smoother. That’s

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• Manufacturing ERP Costs Remain High, Panorama Says

  November 12, 2013 Alex Woodie

  Manufacturers spend about $1.6 million more on their ERP installations than companies in other industries spend, largely due to high levels of complexity and customizations, according to a recent report by Panorama Consulting. According to Panorama’s 2014 Manufacturing ERP Report, manufacturers spend an average of $11.4 million to implement their ERP systems, compared to $9.8 million for the average ERP implementation across all industries. Most ERP installations go over budget in every industry, but manufacturers spend about $3 million more than planned, or $1.3 million more than the average for all industries, the report found. Manufacturers also tend to

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• JD Edwards Security Found In the ‘Q’

  November 12, 2013 Alex Woodie

  Q Software yesterday announced Security Manager Pro, a new utility that automates the process of rolling out and managing role-based security and segregation of duties (SoD) in JD Edwards EnterpriseOne environments. The UK-based company’s new offering is designed to work closely with the security controls built into EnterpriseOne version 9. Specifically, Security Manager Pro takes over the management and implementation of task views, roles, and access control in the ERP environments. Many EnterpriseOne administrators try to use spreadsheets to manage these aspects of EnterpriseOne security, Q Software says, but soon run into difficulties with this approach. With Security Manager Pro,

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