How do you spell “success”? If you’re Idiom Technologies, it depends on what language you’re starting from, and where you want to end up. The Waltham, Massachusetts, company writes Java software that helps global companies take the pain out of translating their work–whether it’s software documentation for Oracle (one of its customers) or owner’s manuals for General Motors (another one)–and streamlining its ongoing maintenance. 2006 was a breakout year for Idiom, which says it tripled its customer base over 2005. Que bueno.

Idiom got its start last decade when Eric Silberstein, a Microsoft employee, was stationed in Bejing

One of the downsides of the rise of multi-platform, n-tier computing environments most iSeries shops live in is the complication of security. Potential break-ins may not be detected and stopped by scanning iSeries logs, and changes may need to be made across multiple systems. To help iSeries shops get a handle on cross-platform security problems, PowerTech is teaming up with OpenService to bring greater OS/400 depth to OpenService’s security event correlation and reporting tools.

OpenService sells a collection of security tools, which it classifies as Security Information Event Management (SIEM). Under this SIEM umbrella lays the company’s flagship Security Management

As IBM Lotus prepares to introduce a public beta program for Notes/Domino 8 leading up to the product’s ship date in mid-2007, Big Blue continues to emphasize the theme of open standards as its primary anti-Microsoft message. Collaboration, particularly as it applies to linking with applications that go beyond basic e-mail, continues to play an expanding role, as social networking tools are introduced to the workplace as an integral part of project management and the bridging of information silos.

The public beta program for Notes/Domino 8, the final beta phase, will launch in February. N/D 8 has been in what

In the world of application development, speed means everything. The faster you can write a program and get it live using real data, and the faster that application hits that database, the sooner you start improving and scaling your business for profit. Speed–of the development, integration, and performance kind–was the focus of a recent round of improvements unveiled by development tool maker mrc.

The folks at mrc have seen a lot since the company was founded in the early 1980s. The Chicago company–whose initials stand for Michaels, Ross, and Cole–made its name with a fourth-generation language (4GL) development tool

Now you can go faster, for less money. Kisco Information Systems recently announced that the price of its performance-enhancing iSeries utility, called GoFaster, has been cut by 25 percent.

GoFaster is a performance tool Kisco unveiled more than two years ago to help iSeries shops get the most performance out of their i5/OS and OS/400 IBM midrange servers.

While Kisco doesn’t say exactly how GoFaster works, what it does is not in question: It somehow bypasses the CFINT governor to apply the maximum CPW processing power of a given machine for 5250 OLT workloads, as opposed to batch, or server,

Business intelligence software developer SPSS recently unveiled a new version of Clementine, the data mining software that’s often deployed alongside CRM systems to help detect customer patterns, like fraud. Version 11 includes better data cleansing and transformation capabilities, many new calculations, and improved output.

Clementine is one of several predictive analytics products from SPSS that help companies improve their visibility into their customers’ buying trends and habits. In a nutshell, the software accomplishes this little feat of magic by analyzing information on past circumstances along with present events, and projecting their future actions, such as whether they might stop being

A Wisconsin dental chain will have reason to smile following the implementation of a document and check management system, consisting of software from Captovation, IBM servers, a few dozen thin client workstations, and Fujitsu scanners, that should significantly reduce the amount of paper in its eight offices.

Dental Associates is a growing family dentistry chain serving more than 320,000 patients in central and eastern Wisconsin. Each time one of those patients visits an office, one of the 850 Dental Associates employees must pull his or her file, and new paper is inevitably added to the pile.

Trouble ensues when

Zephyr Development is now shipping PASSPORT Host Integration Objects 2006, the latest release of its programmatic application integration solution for iSeries and zSeries servers. The new release includes better security and new code samples, the vendor says.

Zephyr is one of a number of host access vendors in the Atlanta area that sells emulation and integration tools that enable companies to access their iSeries and zSeries applications (using 5250 and 3270 emulation), or take the first steps toward modernizing them with a “screen scraper” integration tool. The PASSPORT line includes both thick-client Windows emulators, as well as a Web-to-host option

Hyundai Motor America (HMA) is taking steps to ensure that sensitive data doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. The changes, which encompass software from OS/400 security vendor nuBridges and Ingrian Networks, also helped HMA satisfy new regulations, including SB1386 and the Gramm-Leach Bliley Act.

HMA, like all large, publicly traded companies, has come under greater scrutiny from regulators and privacy advocates concerned at the growth of identity theft. The company, which is headquartered in Fountain Valley, California, and sells cars through a network of 740 dealerships across the nation, decided it needed a better way to safeguard how its

CCSS last week announced it has retained the ServerProven certification from IBM for 2007, giving iSeries shops peace of mind that CCSS’ systems automation products will work as advertised, as well as easing the impact on the pocketbook.

iSeries shops can get a rebate of up to $68,000 when they buy ServerProven software and run it on a new System i, or purchase an eligible upgrade, according to IBM’s ServerProven Web page. The ServerProven program also covers the System x line of products, and provides rebates of up to $5,000 on that platform.

There are more than 1,000 ServerProven