• IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 19, Number 24

  June 21, 2017 Doug Bidwell

  It is interesting to note in this week’s IBM i PTF Guide that support for Samba Windows-style System Message Block (SMB) file serving has been added (in 5733-OPS, Option 11) and that it is being patched as needed. The Security PTF is because the Samba project has added bug and security fixes into the Samba 3.6 source that need to be included in the IBM i PASE package.

  Additionally, the HIPER and Security Group PTFs are being updated on V7R3 and V7R2, and the HIPERs on V7R1. As always, its recommended you stay as current as possible on at least …

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• Ought To Be Committed

  June 19, 2017 Timothy Prickett Morgan

  Reassurance is a paradoxical phenomenon. If we are secure about something, we don’t look to be reassured about someone’s commitment to that thing; if we have our doubts, reassurance can help calm our nerves and soothe our fears, but ironically, the very act of reassurance can, in a way, undermine our confidence even as it helps reinforce it.

  Funny, isn’t it?

  It is with this irony in mind that we ponder some recent statements by IBM concerning its commitment to the RPG and COBOL compilers and Rational for i development tools for the IBM i platform. To be specific, back …

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• Will AI Replace ERP?

  June 19, 2017 Alex Woodie

  Programmers in the midrange space are used to coding IBM i applications, like ERP, supply chain, and retail management systems, using RPG, Java, and COBOL. It’s simply what they do. But what happens when machines program themselves and react to events in real time? One impact, according to prominent members of the software industry, is the end of the enterprise software business as we know it.

  Led by Web giants like Google and Facebook, the computing industry is making rapid advances in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). The advent of deep learning techniques, such as convolutional neural networks, …

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• Guru: How Do You Do That With RDi? Part 3: Complex Compiles

  June 19, 2017 Susan Gantner

  In an earlier tip I tried to convince RDi users to give up compiling in PDM because the RDi compile interface has the time-saving Error List to offer. I offered some tips that help me with my compiles in RDi. Here I’ll continue my “Compile in RDi” campaign by offering some additional ideas for those who have more complex compile processes.

  There are two common issues I hear that keep people returning to PDM for their compiles. One is that their library lists aren’t set up correctly for the compile and the other is that they need to do something …

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• Mad Dog 21/21: Nervous Nellies

  June 19, 2017 Hesh Wiener

  IBM has about 375,000 employees. Five years ago, the company’s payroll covered roughly 430,000 employees, some 55,000 or around 15 percent more than today’s estimates. IBM didn’t simply trim its workforce. Rather, IBM dismissed tens of thousands but also hired many others. The corporate headcount numbers reflect the net impact. Meanwhile, in every single quarter since 2012, IBM’s revenue declined compared to the year earlier period. So, to cut costs, IBM may continue to pare its payroll. Many IBM employees are worried. Yet they may be the lucky ones: They still have their jobs.

  The potential for sweeping layoffs at …

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• A Fresche Emphasis On Services

  June 19, 2017 Dan Burger

  How does your organization plan its IT roadmap? If that roadmap includes implementing new technologies and modernizing legacy systems while staffing has been set at maintenance mode levels, your choices are to hire additional staff, admit the roadmap goal is unattainable, or contract the work to be done by a company with experience helping organizations meet their needs with expertise for hire.

  The decision is not an easy one regardless of how easy it may seem to offload your problem onto someone else’s shoulders. Trusting a professional service provider with specific experience in what you need may seem like an …

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• IBM i Picks Up The Slack

  June 14, 2017 Alex Woodie

  Have you heard about this new thing called Slack? While it may sound like something your least productive programmers might do, Slack is actually one of the hottest new productivity apps in the land. And now it’s coming to the IBM i, thanks to BVS Tools.

  Brad Stone’s BVS Tools recently rolled out a new application called GreenTools for Slack, or G4SLK. The product is an extension of Stone’s existing communication tools that integrates the IBM i server with Slack.

  Slack, if you’re not aware, is a free Web-based service designed to help companies communicate and collaborate more effectively. …

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• Maxava iFoundation Grants Available; IBM i Community Benefits

  June 14, 2017 Dan Burger

  When it comes to investments in the IBM i community, the leading-by-example philanthropy of Maxava, now in its seventh year, has hit the target of making meaningful change. The company’s iFoundation has put funds in the hands of local user groups where it encourages IBM i professionals to become active in the community and get people thinking and moving and becoming more connected and more engaged.

  Maxava just confirmed another $50,000 to fund foundation grants to local user groups that promote training and education in IBM i technology. This program reminds me that change is better served by good …

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• A New Data Connection From IBM i To Watson Analytics

  June 14, 2017 Alex Woodie

  Big data analytics is everywhere these days. It simply can’t be helped. And now that IBM is supporting the capability to load DB2 for i data directly into the Watson analytics service, it could be worth your IBM i time to check out what IBM has cooking in Cognitive.

  IT Jungle recently checked in with Steve Sibley, IBM’s vice president and business line executive in charge of systems, to talk about the latest developments with Watson, including the new DB2 for IBM i Connect tile on BlueMix.

  The new tile “is designed to make it easier for our clients to …

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• Four Hundred Monitor, June 14

  June 14, 2017 Dan Burger

  An IT strategy is often a major resource strategy. Where to allocate resources and how much to allocate is a big part of it. When you are the chief architect for IBM i, you set your priorities beginning with the DB2 for i database and work from there. There are competitive strategies to take into account and collaborative strategies as well. In this article, Steve Will talks mostly about the need for collaborative strategies.

  You could say open source is an important collaborative strategy for IBM i. There’s a legitimate emphasis in that direction. Building skills and increasing the IBM …

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