• IBM Rolls Out Security Analytics and Managed Service Offerings

  November 8, 2011 Alex Woodie

  IBM last week unveiled a host of new security solutions aimed at helping customers stay on top of the complex and evolving security threat landscape. The new offerings include four new analytics tools that are available as subscriptions, and one managed security information and event management (managed SIEM) offering that uses on-site hardware and IBM know-how on the other end of the wire. IBM shook up its computer security business a month ago when it created a new Security Services division immediately following its acquisition of SIEM solution provider Q1 Labs. The creation of the division marks a strong push

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• Ari Kugler to Discuss IBM’s IBM i Cloud Strategy in Symmetry Webinar

  November 8, 2011 Alex Woodie

  Ari Kugler, IBM‘s director of business development for the IBM i business, will discuss IBM’s cloud strategy for the IBM i platform in a keynote address this Thursday during a free Cloud University webinar presented by IBM i cloud hosting provider Symmetry Corp. IBM’s cloud business strategy for the IBM i platform has become a mixed message. On the one hand, the company has strongly endorsed efforts by ISVs and business partners to set up IBM i-based cloud systems and sell the services to customers who would be unwilling to buy and run their own IBM i gear. Symmetry

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• ManageEngine Updates Apps Manager

  November 8, 2011 Alex Woodie

  ManageEngine has delivered Applications Manager version 10.1, a new release of its systems management software that works with IBM i and other servers. The new release introduces expanded support for VMware environments, improved SSL monitoring, and better Web services support, among other features. ManageEngine’s Applications Manager is an enterprise-class systems management tool that monitors the gamut of gear found in data centers, including servers, databases, networks, Web applications servers, Web services, SAN arrays, and some ERP applications. The software works in virtualized environments, offers a cloud connector, supports service level agreement (SLA) management, and monitors PHP, Java, and Windows app

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• Quadrant Ships IRS Forms Packs for 2011

  November 8, 2011 Alex Woodie

  The holidays are almost here, which means that people are beginning to think about gingerbread men, mistletoe, eggnog, and … taxes. But fear not, for the folks at Quadrant Software have just released their 2011 Tax FormsPack, which makes generating employee tax forms easy. One of the benefits of using document management software is the automatic generation of tax forms. Companies that use Quadrant’s document management software, called Formtastic, can easily generate the required W2, 1099, and 1096 forms using employee data housed on the IBM i server. The software also allows users to customize their forms with corporate logos

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• Jack Henry ATM Deposit Solution Integrated with Core Banking Systems

  November 8, 2011 Alex Woodie

  Jack Henry & Associates last week announced that its ImageCenter ATM Deposit Management solution, which enables banks to accept checks directly without using an envelope, is now available as a fully integrated solution for all three of its core banking systems, including SilverLake, CIF 20/20, and Core Director. The race is on for banks to replace their old ATM deposit solutions that require envelopes with new automated deposit terminal (ADT) solutions that scan the check directly into the system at the ATM. Aside from customer convenience, it’s not surprising to find that money is driving the change. Jack Henry cites

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• SugarCRM Bolsters Development, Admin Features with Version 6.3

  November 8, 2011 Alex Woodie

  SugarCRM last week unveiled a new release of its popular open source customer relationship management system. With Sugar 6.3, users gain new administrative controls, better integration with third-party apps, and the capability to benefit from more open collaboration with the broad Sugar development community. The SugarCRM Open+ Developer Program was started in late 2010 to provide more collaboration and a tighter feedback loop with customers and the Sugar business partner community that writes add-ons. As an open source project, SugarCRM estimates there are 30,000 Sugar developers around the world, and more than 1,000 extension projects on SugarForge. Since the

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• Kronos Launches New InTouch Time Clock

  November 8, 2011 Alex Woodie

  Kronos kicked off its KronosWorks conference in Orlando, Florida, yesterday with the launch of InTouch, a new time clock platform that features a color touch screen, Internet cloud connectivity, and the capability to run applications for employees outside of common punch-in and punch-out times. The InTouch time clock is a relatively small device, with a seven-inch color LCD touch screen. Employees can clock-in and clock-out using any of the popular methods, including smartcards or biometric identification. The device prevents employees from punching outside of scheduled start and stop times, and also provides an attestation feature to allow employees to sign

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• Fun With IBM i Software Pricing

  November 7, 2011 Timothy Prickett Morgan

  Last week, as I was building the Power 7 motor comparison monster table to see how the pricing on the new Power7 Gen 2 machines, announced on October 12, stacked up to the prior Gen 1 machines, I kept thinking about the sticker shock that comes with that IBM i 7.1 license fee. No matter how you try to massage it or rationalize it, IBM i represents somewhere between 65 percent to 85 percent of the cost of a base configuration of activated processors and systems software running on it. Even when you add in memory, storage, and other peripherals

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• JD Edwards Solution Edition Fights Oracle

  November 7, 2011 Dan Burger

  David Ziolkowski has a unique view of the IBM i installed base. He works almost exclusively with companies running the JD Edwards ERP software. His employer, Sirius Computer Solutions, is IBM‘s largest business partner in the reseller channel. His clients are deeply entrenched in their IBM i environments, but because of Oracle‘s ownership of JD Edwards, they are caught in the crossfire of two competitors trying to some extent to be cooperative. To hear Ziolkowski tell it, Oracle’s chances of making inroads to the IBM i users he works with are slim. His confidence is rooted in

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• Profits Boom As Magic Software Snaps Up BluePhoenix AppBuilder Biz

  November 7, 2011 Timothy Prickett Morgan

  Earlier this year, when IBM i development tool maker Magic Software Enterprises turned in some explosively growing financials, we commented that the company, which was flush with cash, might soon be on the prowl for acquisitions because of that hoard. And indeed it was. Last week, Magic Software shelled out $17 million to acquire the AppBuilder product line and customer base from BluePhoenix Solutions. While it is perceived as being mostly a vendor of IBM mainframe development tools, BluePhoenix sells tools that work on other platforms. The AppBuilder workbench is a code generator that can spit out code for

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