• Why You Might Want To Encrypt Your Syslogs Now

  June 19, 2015 Alex Woodie

  Every day millions of IBM i server events are packaged up in the syslog standard and sent offsite for safekeeping and analysis. In many cases, the syslog files are sent in plain text across the wire because, hey, they’re just boring old log files, and what could anybody ever do with those, right? Wrong, says IBM i security software company Raz-Lee Security. Syslogs are a bread-and-butter data format for IT professionals around the world. Just about every device in the data center uses the syslog format to transmit data about what it’s done. All sorts of IT activities are

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• dbFunnel Provides Native ETL For IBM i

  June 17, 2015 Alex Woodie

  One of the software startups showcasing new wares at the recent COMMON conference was Hamway Software Solutions, which develops an extract, transform, and load (ETL) application called dbFunnel that runs natively on IBM i. As CEO Laura Hamway explains to IT Jungle, the software fills a need for lightweight data extraction and reporting involving DB2 for i. Hamway’s journey to becoming an ISV begins, as so many do, with a consulting gig. The programmer was helping Del Monte Foods with an implementation of an automated data collection system for its packing and warehouse operations. The longtime BPCS shop

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• LaserVault Moves IBM i Backups Forward

  June 17, 2015 Alex Woodie

  There’s no shortage of ways to back up your IBM i data, each of which fills a need according to one’s particular budget and requirements. LaserVault recently provided one more option with UBD Replacador, which is aimed at those wanting to de-duplicate and backup their IBM i data to an IBM Storwize array. The company also announced a significant new feature in its software-based virtual tape library (VTL) solution. IBM’s Intel-based Storwize arrays have traction in the IBM i base, particularly among small and midsized businesses that want the benefits of a centralized storage array but not the cost and

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• Mad Dog 21/21: Big Apple

  June 17, 2015 Hesh Wiener

  IBM was once America’s most valuable company; today Apple enjoys that distinction. Apple’s liquid assets alone significantly exceed the total market value of IBM’s shares. Apple could acquire Big Blue for cash and still have tens of millions left over. Hoping that the knack for making money will rub off, IBM has cozied up to Apple. But saving IBM will take more than a bunch of iPad apps and some press conferences. IBM isn’t going to escape the consequences of its stupidity by shilling for Apple’s most problematic product, the iPad, in Apple’s worst market, Japan. In Apple’s most recent

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• Surround Tech Goes Up The Stack

  June 17, 2015 Alex Woodie

  Surround Technologies is a well-known provider of .NET-based tooling for modernizing IBM i applications. If you want to outfit your 5250 application with Web, Windows, or mobile clients using Microsoft technologies, its flagship Accelerator series can provide that. But with the latest version, Surround Tech is going up the stack by offering pre-built apps for things like document management, content management, and even human resources. Modernizing legacy IBM i applications and moving from 5250 to modern Web and mobile apps is one thing, says Surround Tech CEO Lee Paul. But what IBM i shops need these days goes beyond application

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• IBM i Multiple Language Support Generates Value Decisions

  June 15, 2015 Dan Burger

  IBM i support for multiple programming languages leads to freedom of choice, but that doesn’t necessarily make the choice easy. Many of the application development experts say picking a programming language depends on the goal in mind and, of course, which language skills the user possesses. But to say you can’t argue with that is an oversimplification. RPG is always going to be an IBM midrange programmer favorite no matter what. And then there’s the native versus non-native debate. IT Jungle turned to several application development experts with deep experience and various opinions on programming language decisions. For database access

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• Big Blue Gives MSPs Monthly Rates On IBM i Stack

  June 15, 2015 Timothy Prickett Morgan

  Off and on over the past several years, IBM has tinkered around with special pricing for managed service providers that are building IBM i hosting and cloud businesses. The central issue is that Big Blue charges a perpetual license plus annual Software Maintenance fees for the IBM i stack, but MSPs charge customers by the month. The gap between the initial investment and the initial cash flow can be huge–in fact, big enough that building an IBM i cloud can be prohibitively expensive. Given the legendary ease of use of the IBM i platform and its predecessors, as well as

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• Change Management Plays Major Role In IBM i Modernization

  June 15, 2015 Dan Burger

  The word is getting around the IBM midrange community that application modernization has not reached mission accomplished status after converting the green-screen interface to a graphical user interface. There’s backend work to be done. And if you don’t have software change management tools, or the SCM you have is only minimally adequate, this is a piece of the modernization puzzle to keep in mind. Recent activity in the SCM market has drawn my attention, so I talked with the folks at Remain Software about what’s up. There’s a one-word answer to the question about what’s up. The answer is business.

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• Reader Feedback On Should We Just Call It Power i Now?

  June 15, 2015 Alex Woodie

  Last week’s story “Should We Just Call It Power i Now?” generated a mix of responses. While some thought the name Power i was an improvement on the status quo, others were hesitant to endorse yet another name change. Here are the top reader responses, edited for clarity. IBM has done a really good job of confusing not only current system owners but everybody else as to what the system should be called, apparently even their own business leaders aren’t even sure anymore. Why can’t they just leave it be? Pick something, anything and just leave it for crying out

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• OpenPower Partners Open SuperVessel Dev Cloud

  June 15, 2015 Dan Burger and Timothy Prickett Morgan

  The Power Tech Open Lab in Beijing, China, is the home to the first open development cloud that IBM is firing up to help developers worldwide gain access to Power8 hybrid systems to create innovative applications. The idea is simple enough: servers ain’t cheap, but without some access to cheap or free iron, developers will stick to the X86 systems they know and can prototype on their laptops. The development cloud, known as SuperVessel, was created by the IBM Systems Lab and IBM Research arms, which both have facilities in Beijing. (A certain portion of IBM i hardware and software

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