From the operating system to the programming languages to the expanding or contracting footprint of IBM i environments, we are learning more about the IBM midrange community from surveys conducted by HelpSystems, one of the largest of the IBM i independent software vendors (ISVs), and assisted by IT Jungle and PowerWire, two sources of IBM i news and analysis. Last week, the results of the second IBM i Marketplace Survey, based on the participation of 834 IBM i shops, were released.

The IBM i is sometimes referred to as IBM’s best-kept secret. Unfortunately, that keeps many IT professionals,

For the first time in many years, a cautious optimism seems to be creeping into the IBM i community. Driven by a somewhat vigorous Power8 server refresh cycle, which has at least given IBM server sales a pulse, Big Blue enjoyed last year the first consecutive quarters of revenue growth in what seemed like forever.

Here’s our first batch of IBM i predictions from the community, edited for clarity and brevity. Stay tuned next week for another round of forecasts.

Pete Massiello, president at iTech Solutions Group and immediate past president of COMMON

“Could 2016 be the year that

The old guard at Big Blue has been gradually retiring over the past several years, and one of the most influential leaders of IBM and one of the more intelligent, successful, and well-spoken of the company’s top brass, retired at the end of 2015. We are talking, of course, about Steve Mills, who ran the Software Group conglomerate for the past decade and a half.

While it may not have been apparent to many of us on the outside, something was brewing during IBM’s reorganization this time last year, where a slew of new executives were given new divisions

Ah, a brand new year, blinding with possibility and so fresh with optimism it can make your eyes water. For most of us, it’s another opportunity to commit to resolutions that will never be kept beyond January. Nevertheless, for the next few weeks, sugar is the enemy, credit cards will be shredded, and every gym in America will be full of people testing the limits of Lycra.

Making resolutions is the national binky, pacifying with false promise. And every January millions resolve to manage two of the more important aspects of their lives–fitness and finance–through a firm, if fleeting, commitment

In theory, modernization is an ongoing process. It’s the opposite of aging. And as we all know, getting old sucks. There are a lot of successful companies that have managed to postpone IT modernization. But eventually age takes its toll and that’s what we see happening in IBM midrange shops, where IT modernization is a big concern. Helping companies modernize is the reason ARCAD Software, the IBM i software vendor, is opening a subsidiary office in Germany.

The IBM i market in Germany is estimated to be the largest in Europe. It is largely defined by a half dozen