• Some Power Systems Tweaks And Sales Withdrawals

  February 6, 2017 Timothy Prickett Morgan

  We didn’t expect any major announcements from IBM’s Power Systems division here in the first couple of weeks of the year, but the company has made done a bunch of little things that might affect some IBM i shops that you ought to be aware of just the same.

  In announcement letter 117-013, which was put out on January 24, IBM made good on its promise to make the new I/O peripherals and memory cards that came out with the midrange Power 850C system announced last year available on the prior generation Power 850 box, which debuted in May …

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• Lack Of Ciphers In IBM i 7.1 Raises Concern

  February 1, 2017 Alex Woodie

  Companies running IBM i version 7.1 may be up for a rude awakening when they try to establish an encrypted communication session with a trading partner. According to several reports from users, IBM i servers on V7.1 are being blocked from accessing partner systems via SSL/TLS because they’re not using the latest encryption algorithms required by their partners.

  “There are a number of ciphers major trading partners are insisting you use for SSL communications which are not available on IBM i 7.1,” Rob Berendt, a system and security analyst at Group Dekko, says in a recent LinkedIn post titled Is …

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• See Something, Say Something

  February 1, 2017 Larry Bolhuis

  Only so many times can you see something and not say something. Time to say something.

  Most of you know I spend most of my time working on the most reliable, capable, flexible, and modern business system anywhere. And, of course, that would be IBM i on Power Systems. What you may not know is that I spent time driving a bus. I drove a very large bus with a huge wide bumper backed by an air horn. It was 40-feet long and 11 and a half feet high, weighed 40,000 pounds loaded, and was propelled by a supercharged V8 …

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• IBM i Priorities For 2017: Pivot To Defense

  February 1, 2017 Alex Woodie

  IBM i shops around the country will be concentrating their efforts more on defensive IT measures like security and high availability this year, as offensive measures like application modernization and mobile app development take a back seat on corporate to-do lists, according HelpSystems’ recent marketplace study.

  While digital transformation is still an important topic that IBM i shops should have on their radar, an even bigger priority in 2017 will be getting one’s digital house in order before hackers, disgruntled employees, or natural disasters conspire to compromise data and disrupt operations.

  That message came through loud and clear in HelpSystems …

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• 2017 IBM i Predictions: Take Three

  February 1, 2017 Alex Woodie

  In our third and final installment of our 2017 IBM i predictions series, we hear from several more IBM i professionals, including those from Profound Logic, Fresche, and Curbstone. We also hear from a prominent voice in the youth movement taking place in the IBM i community, as well as from the founder of the IBM i community’s newest local user group, MAGIC.

  Our first prediction comes from Stephanie Rabbani, a PHP expert who works at Alan Seiden Consulting. Rabbani has 14 years of developing on the IBM i platform and is involved in COMMON and other community …

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• Cilasoft Polishes IBM i Security And Compliance Auditing Software

  February 1, 2017 Dan Burger

  Regulatory compliance mandates have forced many companies to examine their security policies and procedures. But even companies without compliance issues are concerned their data security may be inadequate considering the increased sophistication of the attacks, the integration of their systems of record with their systems of engagement, and the realization that IBM i is not an inherently secure system. The security landscape has changed, says Guy Marmorat, president of Cilasoft, which just updated its security software.

  Additional reporting and automation capabilities are at the top of the list along with expanded integration points and an emphasis on cross-platform security …

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• Power Systems Is Now Cognitive Systems

  January 30, 2017 Timothy Prickett Morgan

  For as long as we can remember, every couple of years or so IBM has changed the executives that have been in charge of its midrange systems and over a slightly longer term, of maybe five to seven years, it has rebranded or somehow significantly changed the marketing message driving those midrange systems. It looks like 2017 might be a year for both.

  In a series of brief internal memos put out by Ginni Rometty, the company’s president, chief executive officer, and chairman, and Tom Rosamilia, senior vice president of IBM Systems group, IBM is rejiggering its executive lineup and …

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• State of Resilience? Not So Great, Vision Says

  January 30, 2017 Alex Woodie

  More than eight out of 10 companies don’t have a disaster recovery plan or lack total confidence in their plans, according to the 2017 State of Resilience report recently published by Vision Solutions. The main culprit appears to be increasing IT complexity, the high availability software provider says.

  For the past decade, Vision has conducted an in-depth survey to explore the state of resilience among its customer base and prospects. In addition to exploring HA and DR topics, this year’s report, which is based on responses from about 1,500 technology professionals, examines company activities in the areas of migrations, …

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• Guru: Got A Great Idea? Tell IBM!

  January 30, 2017 Susan Gantner

  People often talk to me at conferences or via email about ways they wish RDi worked differently, or about a built-in function that RPG should have, or about other changes to IBM products that they think would make life better for IBM i developers. Sometimes I agree that they are great ideas and I wish IBM would implement it, too.

  Sometimes, even if I do think it’s a good idea, I think there are other more important things to be done before that. Occasionally, I struggle to understand why anyone would want that feature. I suspect many of you have …

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• As I See It: Collaboration And Context

  January 30, 2017 Victor Rozek

  Blitzkrieg is a German term meaning “lightning warfare.” It describes a rapid, overpowering mechanized strike. Armored columns pour into enemy territory with overwhelming speed and numbers, crushing any opposition.

  While this concept is now well integrated into modern warfare, in September of 1939 when Germany invaded Poland, it was revolutionary. Portions of the Polish border were still defended by cavalry, matched against waves of tanks and heavy armor.

  A year before the invasion an industrialist received the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Nazis: The Grand Cross of the German Eagle. He received it for his support of the Nazi …

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