• Vision Analyzes i OS Server Health with Free iSCORE Tool

  October 13, 2009 Alex Woodie

  A pair of free tools unveiled by Vision Solutions last week will help i OS and AIX customers maximize the performance and uptime of their critical Power Systems-based information systems. The tools, called iSCORE and the Availability ROI Tool (ART), will be discussed in a Webinar this Thursday that features former IBM chief scientist Frank Soltis, who now works as a consultant to Vision Solutions. With most things in life, there is a direct relationship between performance and cost. If you want higher performance, it’s going to cost more money. The equation is also applicable to the Power Systems server,

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• LANSA Integrates with Oracle for Supply Chain Interoperability

  October 13, 2009 Dan Burger

  Supply-chain managers live in a snake pit. They try to synchronize data so trading partners have current information in their systems, but they forever wrestling with data quality and data classification issues that result in errors, inefficiencies, and sometimes regulatory compliance issues. Those working in this environment are familiar with the Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN) and its standards that make data synchronization a reality. That makes GDSN certification a big deal, especially in companies that have multi-platform systems based around Oracle software or the IBM AS/400. Last week, LANSA introduced a version of its Data Sync Direct software that’s

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• Phantom Fireworks Gets ERP Upgrade from VAI

  October 13, 2009 Alex Woodie

  Phantom Fireworks will be better able to track its inventory and financial data as the result of an upgrade to S2K 5.0, the latest release of VAI‘s ERP software for i OS. The implementation was completed earlier this year at B.J. Alan Company, Phantom’s parent company, with additional point-of-sale functionality expected to be rolled out in 2010. From its headquarters in Youngstown, Ohio, Phantom Fireworks has grown into one of the largest distributors and retailers of consumer fireworks in the United States. The privately held company operates more than 50 stores, while its products can be found at more

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• Wavelink TE Gets More Automated

  October 13, 2009 Alex Woodie

  Wavelink recently issued an update to its Terminal Emulator (TE) product line, which connects wireless barcode scanners to ERP and WMS systems running on System i, System z, Unix, and VMS servers. The new release, Wavelink TE version 7.2, features enhancements in the areas of the user interface, voice features, scripting tools, and better support for wireless wide area network (WWANs). Wavelink is a Midvale, Utah, provider of terminal emulators and other software that allows users of mobile devices (such as barcode scanners) to connect to host applications via 5250, 3270, VT100, and other common emulation protocols. The company claims

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• IBM Updates WebSphere Middleware

  October 13, 2009 Alex Woodie

  IBM last week delivered a slew of updates to various WebSphere products that are broadly aimed at helping customers take advantage of business performance management (BPM) functionality in the context of a service oriented architecture (SOA). The newly announced products run the gamut from infrastructure components, such as a new release of WebSphere Enterprise Service Bus to industry “content packs” aimed at providing BPM templates for companies in specific industries. The WebSphere product lineup has never been easy to understand. There are at least 40 different products in the WebSphere family, and at least two or three times more when

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• GroundWork Cuts Price on Open Source Systems Management Tool

  October 13, 2009 Alex Woodie

  Organizations looking for the type of functionality one would get with a “big four” systems management tool, but don’t want to pay a premium price, may want to check out the new pricing scheme laid out last week by GroundWork Open Source, which develops commercial open source software for managing heterogeneous computing environments. GroundWork develops open source systems management tools that can be used to monitor and manage tens of thousands of devices. The company’s products are largely based on dozens of different open source products and standards, including the Ganglia grid and cluster management software, the Nagios systems

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• Sparxent Issues First Update of XAware Data Integration Tool

  October 13, 2009 Alex Woodie

  Sparxent recently announced the release of XAware version 5.4, a new release of its open source, Java-based data integration tool. Notable features in the release include a new data transformation wizard, support for the JSON data format, and support for Max OS X. XAware is a data integration tool suite that allows users to create reusable logic to move data among disparate systems, including System i, Windows, Unix, and Linux servers. The product, which is composed of an Eclipse plug-in and a server component, promotes a high-level, configuration-based approach to data integration that relies heavily on the reuse of components

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• Lawson Finds Search Software a Good Fit for M3

  October 12, 2009 Alex Woodie

  The search engine has become a ubiquitous and indisposable tool during the Internet Age. Without search sites like Google and AltaVista, many people wouldn’t know where to start on the Web. As Internet technology trickles down into enterprise software, it’s no surprise that ERP software developers are looking to include search-engine-like functionality in their products. Lawson Software is the latest i OS ERP developer to add the capability to its product. Earlier this year, Lawson got started with search functionality when it added a search engine called Enterprise Search to its S3 suite of ERP software, which is run

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• IBM’s DB2 Pure Scale–Not Quite iDatabase V1

  October 12, 2009 Timothy Prickett Morgan

  A few weeks ago, in the wake of the launch of the Exadata V2 database machine from Oracle and Sun Microsystems, I got all excited about the possibilities that IBM might remember that it had similar database clustering technology back in 1996 for the AS/400 and that it could take today’s Power Systems and build a powerful, yet relatively inexpensive, database cluster for i shops, something I dubbed iDatabase V1. Imagine my excitement when I found out early last week, ahead of IBM’s official announcement last Friday, of something Big Blue is calling DB2 PureScale, which is a

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• Early Views on iManifest: ISV Expectations, Public Misconceptions

  October 12, 2009 Dan Burger

  The results of those with knowledge and a little money who act are worth far more than the results of those with knowledge and much money who remain idle. I think that’s an appropriate way to describe the current state of the iManifest U.S. initiative. The match has been struck. It just needs a little gasoline to light the bonfire. There are more than a few who believe, and have spoken out, that fighting for the IBM i platform is somehow akin to fighting a house fire with a squirt gun. It’s viewed as impeding progress and is, therefore,

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