• MSP SIaS Waves a Magic Xand

  June 17, 2014 Alex Woodie

  Secure Infrastructure & Services (SIaS), a managed services provider (MSP) based in New York, has selected Xand as one of its new data center operators. Melville, New York-based SIaS manages Power and X86 servers for clients as part of its infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) business, including IBM i, AIX, Linux, and Windows environments. On the Power platform, SIaS provides cloud hosting as well as high availability and disaster recovery as a service. It utilizes logical mirroring software from Maxava and Vision Solutions as well as IBM‘s PowerHA as the backbones for its HA and DR services. Earlier this spring, SIaS announced

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• Oracle Brings Big In-Memory Speedup to JD Edwards Apps

  June 17, 2014 Alex Woodie

  Oracle says the new column-oriented in-memory capabilities of its 12c relational database will make JD Edwards and other compatible ERP applications run 100 to 1,000 times faster compared to using the traditional row-oriented version of the database. The new in-memory options that Oracle CEO Larry Ellison unveiled last week are geared not only toward online analytic processing (OLAP) workloads but also online transaction processing (OLTP) that are the bread and butter of ERP workhorses. Oracle says it clocked 100x to 1,000x speedups while it was testing its new Database In-Memory capability against certain modules of its E-Business Suite, JD Edwards,

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• Quadrant and BCD Re-Align Partner Programs

  June 17, 2014 Alex Woodie

  Quadrant Software and its new subsidiary BCD Software last month rolled out a new business partner program that’s aimed at re-aligning the two companies’ formerly separate reseller programs into a single program. One of the benefits that Quadrant cited in its February acquisition of BCD was access to a broader product portfolio for both companies’ reseller channels. Quadrant has a big presence in the document management and fax routing business, with its Formtastic and QuadraDocV offerings, while BCD’s claim to fame is developing IBM i-based Web and mobile apps with its WebSmart platform (although it offers a number of point

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• Four-Core Power8 Box For Entry IBM i Shops Ships Early

  June 16, 2014 Timothy Prickett Morgan

  The hardware resellers, software peddlers, and IBM i shops that have modest processing needs and generally modest system budgets have all been waiting for it. And IBM did not say a word about it when the initial Power8 systems were launched back in April. But, all of us in the IBM i community knew, without a doubt, that Big Blue would have to put out a four-core machine with an IBM i P05 software tier. The reason is simple: More than 95 percent of the IBM i installed base has workloads that can easily fit into an entry P05 system,

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• Your Next Big Tech Job Is. . . Freelancing

  June 16, 2014 Alex Woodie

  Businesses are increasingly turning toward freelancers and independent contractors to get the expertise needed to complete many jobs, including IT-related tasks. The trend toward a more itinerant workforce will have repercussions for IBM i shops, including those that are struggling to fill jobs left by retiring Baby Boomers as well as those faced with a flood of applicants for a handful of jobs. The world around us is looking more temporary by the day. Instead of buying a car, people get a ride via Uber. Just about anything you can think of–a guitar, a bike, the comfort of a dog–is

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• ERP Investments Rising, Complexity Waits In The Shadows

  June 16, 2014 Dan Burger

  Enterprise resource planning systems are the good, the bad, and the ugly of business computing. The benefits of a smooth-running system with integration throughout the organization are significant when compared to faulty or non-existent ERP. The marginally successful and complete failures are legendary. It’s the classic risk-reward scenario. A recent report by Computer Economics shows companies investing in ERP at a rate that tops all other enterprise software. What does that tell you? The risk is worth the reward? There are huge challenges involved whether companies are choosing to enhance existing systems, rip and replace those systems, or even implement

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• As I See It: The Game Changer

  June 16, 2014 Victor Rozek

  What’s tougher than a diamond, but able to filter water; stronger than steel, but thinner than a butterfly’s wings? Give up? OK, it does sound improbable, unless aliens are involved. So let’s try this: What’s more flexible than a Yoga instructor, and predicted to thoroughly shake up the computer industry? No, it’s not Miley Cyrus. But it is made from the same element on which life depends. Even repulsive life. It is, in fact, pure carbon, and not much of it at that. It’s as thin as thin can get and still be considered a material. In effect, it qualifies

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• PC Users Snag IBM i Data With iWebSrv

  June 16, 2014 Dan Burger

  Somewhere there’s an IBM midrange shop struggling with getting data to frustrated end users. That shop is not alone in its struggle. The end users are not the only frustrated ones. Data queries and the creation of useful reports should not be so painful, so IT labor intensive, so slow, and so expensive. It’s been a long-held belief that direct access to IBM i data from people outside the system is a horrible accident waiting to happen. A couple of guys with a company called iWebSrv think there’s a solution to this problem. “Getting IT people in midrange shops to

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• Power8 Systems Added To Long-Running Trade-In Deal

  June 16, 2014 Timothy Prickett Morgan

  We are getting ready to close out the second quarter, and IBM is in a mood to do a little wheeling and dealing to help move its stockpiles of Power7+ systems as well as the shiny new Power8 “scale-out” systems that came out back in April. In announcement letter 314-067, IBM has outlined the trade-ins for the new Power8 systems that are available under a deal that was last updated last September and that seems to have been running on again and off again for longer than I can remember. The deal is available to customers who replace vintage

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• UCG Champions Technology Upgrade

  June 16, 2014 Dan Burger

  Businesses have a tendency to evolve. If they don’t, quite often, they aren’t in business long. A key part of the evolution is maintaining a technological infrastructure that supports change. Technological evolution is an essential component for businesses in growth mode, even in IBM midrange shops where high-mileage systems that are highly reliable are a source of pride. The Ohio AFSCME Care Plan, which covers more than 41,000 public and non-profit workers in Ohio, realized it needed a technology upgrade to support not only its current requirements, but also its future growth. To assist with its technology upgrade planning and

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