• IBM i Strategist Sets Priorities, Balances Resources

  July 27, 2015 Dan Burger

  IBM is a company with a boatload of resources. How those resources are applied to its large and prosperous IBM i market segment is a topic that we like to discuss from the perspective of you can’t do enough for IBM i and, by the way, we think you are doing too little. Chief architect for IBM i, Steve Will, bristles at the accusation. IBM i strategy is his domain. Resource allocation is his tight rope to walk. One of those resources is of the human variety. People and teams that take the ideas and turn them into innovations that

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• Keeping Up With Security Threats To IBM i

  July 27, 2015 Alex Woodie

  When it comes to security, the IBM i server is a different beast, as you well know. It’s not subject to the same sorts of malware attacks that afflict Windows, Linux, and Unix systems. But thanks to its unique architecture, it has its own peccadillos when it comes to security, and understanding those strengths and weaknesses is critical for keeping up with security on the platform. A new tool from Skyview Partners should ease the work. In most organizations, the IBM i server runs the application of record, and as such stores the organization’s most vital data. This fact, in

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• Strong Dollar Hurts Power Systems Sales In Q2

  July 27, 2015 Timothy Prickett Morgan

  It is a story that every big multinational public organization is telling as they reveal their financial results for the second quarter of the year. Economic uncertainty in parts of Europe, South America, and Asia have pushed up the value of the U.S. dollar relative to the other currencies, which is great if you are an American traveling. But if you are an American corporation bringing a big chunk of your overseas sales back home for financial reporting, it is not so much fun. Such is the case with IBM‘s Power Systems line during the quarter ended in June,

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• Mad Dog 21/21: If It Ducks Like A Quack, Part 2

  July 27, 2015 Hesh Wiener

  A century ago, Thomas J. Watson’s IBM prohibited employees from drinking alcohol, even in off hours. Yet IBM was hardly alone in its penchant for probity. In 1920, America amended its Constitution to usher in Prohibition. But there was an unintended consequence: organized crime, fueled by the booze biz, metathesized. Times have changed dramatically, and now it is easier to buy dope in Denver than insulin in Ithaca. And IBM, yclept Dr. Watson, an Aesculapian bean-counter enlightened by AI, is injecting itself into medicine. As the temperance folk asked after banishing demon rum, “What could go wrong?”

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• Legacy ERP Conversion Under Way At Dietz & Watson

  July 27, 2015 Dan Burger

  Legacy ERP Conversion Under Way At Dietz & Watson When an ERP system becomes a drag on business efficiency, it’s time to make a change. Inefficiencies increase costs and get in the way of expanding production and customer bases. An ERP system, particularly those that are 20-something years old and of the home-grown variety, are seldom equipped for modern business demands. What’s the strategy for companies facing this dilemma? Keeping a lid on costs and disruption are priorities and understanding what works for your company cannot be sacrificed for a one-size-fits-all solution. Dietz & Watson has taken that step. The

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• IBM i 6.1 Upgrades: What’s In Your Box?

  July 15, 2015 Dan Burger

  With IBM’s official end of support for the IBM i 6.1 operating system coming up at the end of September, it’s natural to wonder what effect this will have on the IBM i community. It’s not exactly a long walk off a short pier for those organizations using 6.1 as their primary OS. The upgrade is uncomplicated. IBM has an extended support plan for the undecided. But what about the unsupported? The winding down of 6.1 is certainly not going to stir up things like when this release was the freshest rose in the garden and support for V5R4 was

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• Robot Job Scheduler Gets a Fresh New Look

  July 15, 2015 Alex Woodie

  In the world of Web design, a user interface built with a “responsive design” is equally at home on a smartphone as a Windows PC. HelpSystems took responsive design to heart with the latest update to Robot SCHEDULE, which now features a Web-based user interface that will give customers deeper insight into how jobs are running on the IBM i server. With the new interface, Robot SCHEDULE users will be able to see IBM i jobs as they’re running, and interact with them through a mobile device. If a problem crops up with a job, the interface will notify them

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• Faction Offers IBM i Hosting In Cloud Marketplace

  July 15, 2015 Alex Woodie

  Faction, one of the largest owners of cloud data centers that you’ve probably never heard of, is getting into the IBM i hosting business through a partnership with Data Storage Corp. While Faction doesn’t intend on shifting its focus very far from its core business of hosting VMware environments, adding IBM i to the mix will be beneficial. Faction supplies tens of thousands of virtual machines to its business clients via eight cloud “nodes” running in data centers in the US and the UK It’s one of the top five providers of VMware based clouds, and is listed on

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• Trial Date Set in Oracle vs. Rimini

  July 15, 2015 Alex Woodie

  Rimini Street and Oracle are prepping for a September trial that should help conclude the five-year legal battle over Rimini’s third-party ERP maintenance business. However, the clock is just starting on a fresh lawsuit Rimini filed against Oracle in which it hopes to clarify the legality of its new business model. Despite the legal murkiness, both Rimini and its top competitor, Spinnaker Support, report brisk sales. The trial in Oracle vs. Rimini that’s slated to begin in about two months should decide whether Rimini stole Oracle’s copyrighted material relating to its JD Edwards and Siebel applications and, if so,

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• Infor Delivers IBM i-Based Cloud ERP for Automakers, M3 Update

  July 15, 2015 Alex Woodie

  In June Infor delivered two products that are relevant to its IBM i installed base, including the 13.3 release of its M3 ERP suite and a new IBM i-based offering called AutoRelease Cloud. The new cloud version of AutoRelease, which is based on an iSeries-based product once used by more than 100 companies in the automotive business, includes software from Infor’s business partner InterForm A/S. Infor has been trying to get customers to upgrade from older versions of CRM AutoRelease for the better part of 10 years. Four years ago, the company had about 130 customers running the i5/OS-based

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