• Dynamic Solutions Launches New VTLs for IBM i

  September 2, 2015 Alex Woodie

  Dynamic Solutions International recently launched a new line of virtual tape library (VTL) systems that the company says was designed specifically for IBM i shops. With five systems in the DSI400 line, Dynamic Solutions says it has VTL solutions for everybody, from the VTL newbie to the established enterprise. Since their introduction to the data center over a decade ago, VTLs have established themselves as a core component of a modern storage strategy. They’ve been particularly well-received in organizations that want to consolidate multiple backup devices (usually tape drives) with a single flexible device that can support a variety of

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• HelpSystems Acquired By Private Equity Giant H.I.G. Capital

  August 31, 2015 Alex Woodie

  HelpSystems is set to be acquired by H.I.G. Capital, a Florida-based private equity and alternative assets investment firm with more than $19 billion in assets. Terms of the deal, which is not yet finalized and is subject to regulatory approval, were not disclosed. It will be the fourth sale in 10 years of HelpSystems, the Minnesota software company that has since become the biggest provider of systems management tools and utilities for the IBM i server. So who is the company now behind HelpSystems, which has grown its influence over the IBM i market following a long string of

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• A Hypothetical Future IBM i System

  August 31, 2015 Timothy Prickett Morgan

  A few weeks ago, in the main story in this newsletter, I showed you the Power processor roadmap running out past the Power10 chip in 2020 and later and talked about the contrast between the huge amount of processing capacity that IBM is delivering in its Power Systems line and the relatively modest amount of oomph that the vast majority of IBM i shops need to do their daily work to make their daily bread. The gap, as I showed, is quite large, and it will continue to be so if current trends for usage growth and capacity growth continue.

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• What IBM Can Learn From Free-Form RPG

  August 31, 2015 Dan Burger

  Three weeks ago, I wrote an article about free-form RPG, a runner-up in the IBM best kept secrets game and second only to magnificently camouflaged IBM i. Since then, I’ve collected the opinions of several more free-form observers. I’ve not talked with anyone who believes IBM is doing enough to encourage free-form conversion of old RPG code. But there is more to say about whether the benefits and the effort it takes to make the code conversion. Technically, the conversion from fixed-format to free-form RPG is pretty simple. Tools from IBM i ISVs ARCAD and Linoma Software are capable and

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• Mad Dog 21/21: Putting Money Where Its Malthus

  August 31, 2015 Hesh Wiener

  In 1798 Robert Malthus triggered a perpetual debate about the damaging effects of demographic pressure. An Essay on the Principle of Population asserted that, unchecked by canon, custom or calamity, a nation’s fecundity will outpace its ability to produce or procure food. A similar phenomenon can weaken a company. IBM’s revenue per employee has fallen since 2004, two years into Sam Palmisano decade-long reign. IBM’s subsequent leader, Ginny Rometty, hasn’t been able to reverse this dire trend; consequently, IBM’s corporate culture is losing vitality as its employees become financially undernourished. For IBM, as for other cultural aggregates since biblical

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• Profound Hires Guru Editor; Begins IBM i Internship Program

  August 31, 2015 Dan Burger

  Profound Logic Software, one of the leading IBM i vendors in the application modernization field, has hired Ted Holt, editor of our Four Hundred Guru newsletter. Holt is well known in the IBM midrange community for his knowledge of the platform, advocacy for IBM i education, and his contributions as a writer and speaker. His position at Profound will be senior software developer. He will continue as editor of Four Hundred Guru. In his new role at Profound, Holt will contribute to the development of new and existing products. The company’s graphical user interface suite, known as Profound

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• Sony Ends MO Production–What Are Your Long-Term Archive Options Now?

  August 19, 2015 Alex Woodie

  Sony finally ended production of its magneto optical (MO) media at the end of 2014, forcing customers downstream to look for alternatives, if they haven’t already. That includes a number of customers in the government and healthcare industries who use MO drives with IBM‘s midrange server. These customers have a number of options available to them. Sony’s decision to end production of all MO media, including 9.1 GB, 5.2 GB, 2.6 GB, should not come as a shock to anybody who is paying attention. The company had ceased manufacturing MO drives a while ago, but continued to make MO

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• Linoma Simplifies and Strengthens MFT Lineup

  August 19, 2015 Alex Woodie

  Linoma Software delivered a major overhaul of its flagship managed file transfer (MFT) solution last month with the release of GoAnywhere MFT 5.0. Workers will appreciate the shiny new HTML5 interface that lets them set up and execute file transfers with a few touches of the mouse, while behind the scenes, enhancements to GoAnywhere’s logging, security, and reporting functions will win points with regulation-wary administrators. In launching GoAnywhere MFT, Linoma is making a big product positioning change for the GoAnywhere lineup. GoAnywhere MFT combines two of Linoma’s previous MFT products, GoAnywhere Services (GAS) and GoAnywhere Director (GAD). GAS was aimed

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• SoftLanding Job Scheduler Goes with the Flow

  August 19, 2015 Alex Woodie

  When it comes to picking a job scheduler, IBM i shops shouldn’t feel as though they must buy software from incumbents, like IBM or others. In fact, you may be surprised at the number of job schedulers available from third-party suppliers. One of these, the AUTOMON for iSchedule job scheduler from SoftLanding Systems, recently received some notable improvements. Job scheduling on the IBM i platform has largely been a green-screen affair. But as job scheduling gets more complex and job dependencies get more convoluted, prospective buyers are increasingly looking for job schedulers with graphical user interfaces (GUIs) to help

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• ‘Workspace Aggregator’ Touts Mobile Access To IBM i Apps

  August 19, 2015 Alex Woodie

  A Belgian company named Awingu is touting its capability as a “workspace aggregator” to deliver cloud-based access to a variety of corporate applications and data from any browser-enabled device. Among the applications Awingu says it can tap into and securely deliver are those running on IBM i. The explosion of smartphones and other mobile devices is having a huge impact, not only how we live and play, but how we work too. Thanks to the rise of liberal bring your own device (BYOD) policies and mobile-enabled software as a service (SaaS) applications like Salesforce.com, many companies are not only allowing

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