• What’s Old Is New Again: The IBM i Means Business

  August 11, 2017 Dan Burger

  It seems like a lot of companies are simply dumbfounded when it comes to IT staffing. Maybe it’s the inability to cope with the accelerated evolution of information technology. Determining how much upgrading is necessary for a given business model is not a follow the leader game. And an IT strategy based on “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” has led to trouble for many businesses where IT is broken and in need of repair. Too often there’s a rush to save business with technology without taking care of the business first.

  “The biggest challenge of business is learning …

  Read more

• IBM Boasts of Big Tape Breakthrough

  August 9, 2017 Alex Woodie

  Reports of tape’s death have been greatly exaggerated in recent years. But if IBM Research can turn a technological breakthrough it made with Sony in the lab into an actual product, tape will remain relevant for decades to come.

  IBM last week announced that it set a new record for areal density on magnetic tape when it achieved 201 gigabits per square inch with a prototype for a new “sputtered” magnetic tape format, which it says is 20 times the areal density used in current state-of-the-art commercial tape drives. The achievement could enable the production of a tape cartridge that …

  Read more

• SoftLanding Gives Supermon A New Look

  August 9, 2017 Alex Woodie

  They say looks aren’t everything. But for the folks at SoftLanding, the new Web interface created for the Supermon performance monitoring tool will help customers see exactly how their IBM i servers are running, and that’s definitely something.

  Supermon for iSeries is a real-time performance monitoring tool that UNICOM Global acquired with its 2009 acquisition of Macro 4, one of several acquisitions the Los Angeles-area company made during that stretch. The software – which bears the name of a server that IBM hasn’t sold in over a decade – enables customers to monitor IBM i-specific server performance metrics …

  Read more

• Subscription-Based Change Management Added To IBM i MSP Menu

  August 9, 2017 Dan Burger

  Software subscriptions can be a good solution for companies looking for operational benefits using cloud hosted services for their development systems, as well as their backup systems. Because this type of IT strategy is forecasted to become increasingly common – companies will search for greater efficiencies and cost savings – IBM i vendors Midrange Dynamics and iTech Solutions have partnered to provide a new set of subscription services.

  iTech will add subscription-based Midrange Dynamics Change Management Software (MDCMS) to the portfolio of solutions that the Power Systems solutions and services company offers.

  The subscription includes codes for HA/backup systems, as …

  Read more

• Four Hundred Monitor, August 9

  August 9, 2017 Dan Burger

  We all know the short answer to the “What is Watson” question. Watson is IBM’s cognitive computing superstar. What to do with Watson and how to do it is a little foggy. If you’ve read the IT Jungle articles, you’re ahead of most. But if you’re still sorting out artificial intelligence, machine learning, and deep learning, this interview with IBM’s Alison Butterill and Jesse Gorzinski could help see cognitive more clearly.

  Also in this issue, internship programs can help grow your IT staff while injecting youth and new skills. Internships attract talent. Think of it as an extended interview and …

  Read more

• IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 19, Numbers 29 Through 31

  August 9, 2017 Doug Bidwell

  It is catch up week for us here in the PTF Realm of IBM i Land, with The Four Hundred being on hiatus for a couple of Wednesdays during the summer doldrums. So let’s go through what happened in the prior three editions of the IBM i PTF Guide in sequential order so you can keep track of it.

  In Issue 29, the PTF rundown looked like this. There were updates to Backup Recovery Solution for V7R3, V7R2, and V7R1, as well as for DB2 for IBM i V7R3 and V7R2. WebSphere Application Server V8.5 for V7R3, V7R2, and V7R1 …

  Read more

• IBM i Gets Some Development Help

  August 7, 2017 Dan Burger

  Faster, faster, must go faster. In order to pick up the pace of IBM i development, Big Blue has enlisted the support of HelpSystems, with the goal of accelerating enhancements to Rational Developer for i, PowerHA System Mirror for i, and Backup, Recovery and Media Services (BRMS) on i. HelpSystems will take the product enhancement development lead, while working with the existing team in Rochester. IBM will continue to integrate and deliver these products into the IBM i operating system.

  The transition is under way. Roadmaps are being discussed. IBM and HelpSystems are building the infrastructure and environments required for …

  Read more

• A Fresche Start For Mike Pavlak

  August 7, 2017 Alex Woodie

  If you’ve ever dealt with PHP on IBM i, it would be tough to avoid hearing about Mike Pavlak, who worked directly for Zend Technology, which is the PHP company. But after nine years with the firm, Pavlak is now teaming up with Fresche Solutions, where he aims to work directly with IBM i clients on a wide range of open source and modernization projects.

  Pavlak has been a familiar face on the IBM i speaking circuit for just as long as PHP has been supported on the platform. His technological acumen and positive demeanor have been instrumental in helping …

  Read more

• Guru: The PHP Path To Victory, Part 2

  August 7, 2017 Chris Ringer

  Part 1 of this article discussed the path a PHP request takes on its way to your backend RPG program through the magic of an external SQL stored procedure. You may need to review the SQL, PHP, and RPG code there before continuing here. If you have not yet downloaded the code to your IBM i (found in Part 1), now would be a good time to do that.

  Part 2 will give you the confidence to troubleshoot those times when something unexpected occurs in this PHP environment. And if you are a developer for large company, the responsibility of …

  Read more

• What Is Driving Application Modernization?

  August 7, 2017 Timothy Prickett Morgan

  What you don’t measure you cannot manage, the old adage says. And the key vendors in the IBM i community, ever chasing that next opportunity, do a pretty good job querying the installed base of customers about what they are up to and why. A better job than Big Blue, which should be the biggest beneficiary of the 125,000-strong IBM i base, if you want to be truthful about it.

  We are always on the hunt for any insight into what is going on out there in IBM i Land, and Rocket Software, a provider of application modernization and …

  Read more

Previous Articles Next Articles