• Frank Soltis Discusses A Possible Future for Single-Level Storage

  November 23, 2020 Alex Woodie

  Single-level storage is one of the most unique and compelling characteristics of the architecture underlying the IBM i server and its predecessor business machines. But how would it look running in a massive supercomputer or deep learning system? According to Frank Soltis, who spoke last week at COMMON Europe’s virtual event, it’s something that’s being considered.

  Doctor Frank, of course, is a much-revered figure in the history of the IBM midrange line. He was part of the team at the IBM lab in Rochester, Minnesota, that led the development of the single-level storage memory architecture in the S/38 machine that …

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• IBM i Turns In Good Numbers For Q3, Bolstering Power Systems

  October 26, 2020 Timothy Prickett Morgan

  Historically speaking, the Power Systems division, now the Cognitive Systems division officially within IBM, has its worst period of sales in the first quarter of any year and its second worst 13-week revenue run in the third quarter of any year. And true to form, the third quarter of 2020 was not a great one for sales of Power iron, according to our model. That model is derived from IBM’s financial results and other data, and we update it every quarter when Big Blue reports to Wall Street.

  Thanks to the fact that the Power9 generation of machines is entering …

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• The Many Layers Of IBM i Managed Services

  October 26, 2020 Timothy Prickett Morgan

  (Sponsored Content) One size rarely fits all across datacenter sizes and industry types, and the needs of the IT department change because conditions in the business change over time and across geographies, too. And that is why it is important to find a managed service provider that has both wide and deep experience with any particular platform.

  Datanational’s Managed Services division is one of the early players in the IBM i space, and while its origins are in the American Midwest, its current operations spread out across the United States and span the globe from there. We recently …

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• IBM Further Extends Service Extension For IBM i 7.1

  October 5, 2020 Timothy Prickett Morgan

  Some operating system releases are like Clint Eastwood, and some are like George Burns. And, may Clint Eastwood make it to 100 like George Burns did, now that we think about it. (He’s 9/10ths of the way there.) We don’t mind the word “legacy” as much as some folks, and use the term “vintage” and “heritage” to express the idea less pejoratively and without the negative connotations and baggage.

  I don’t go on LinkedIn all that often, and usually only to connect with people I want to interview or have interviewed, but last week when I logged in, I saw …

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• Modernization Trumps Migration for IBM i and Mainframe, IDC Says

  September 23, 2020 Alex Woodie

  Organizations that modernized their IBM i and System z applications not only had higher satisfaction rates and lower costs than organizations that migrated off those platforms, but they also benefited from higher levels of innovation in things like AI, IoT, and mobile enablement, according to an IDC study commissioned by Rocket Software.

  In “The Quantified Business Benefits of Modernizing IBM Z and IBM i to Spur Innovation,” IDC analysts Peter Rutten and Randy Perry set out to quantitatively measure and compare various aspects, ramifications, and results of modernization and migration projects involving big iron from IBM. The analyst group …

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• The Dollars And Sense Of Business Continuity

  September 21, 2020 Timothy Prickett Morgan

  (Sponsored Content) Those companies that have been in the IBM midrange market for a long time and are still alive and kicking have undergone a lot of change over the decades. But as is also the case, the core people at the company have been there for a long, long time and they understand how to leverage change to drive business and absorb change to help customers cope.

  That is one of the secrets of longevity for Datanational, founded in September 1979, which is located in the Farmington Hills suburbs of Detroit and which has always had …

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• The Converged Systems Conundrum

  September 21, 2020 Timothy Prickett Morgan

  The idea behind converged and hyperconverged systems was one that AS/400 and IBM i shops have long been familiar with, but which customers using other systems had become unfamiliar with or had never known as they adopted other systems for their mission critical systems. It’s so simple that it can be expressed in one word: integration. Yes, that’s the i in IBM i, and while this is the hallmark of the System/38, the System/36, and the AS/400 platforms from decades ago, ironically the IBM i platform is not considered a converged or hyperconverged platform by the market researchers at …

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• COVID-19 Delivers 2020 Clarity for Omnichannel

  September 9, 2020 Alex Woodie

  The viral pandemic is impacting society in profound and multi-faceted ways. In the consumer goods supply chain, which includes a good chunk of IBM i shops, COVID-19 is forcing manufacturers, distributors, and retailers to get a lot nimbler in a hurry — particularly as it relates to diversifying sales channels and embracing omnichannel fulfillment strategies.

  Ecommerce has exploded during COVID-19 and the ensuing lockdowns, as consumers elect to make purchases online instead of venturing into stores, which raises the risk of being exposed to the novel coronavirus. According to Adobe Analytics’ Digital Economy Index, ecommerce spending surged by 78 …

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• JD Edwards Co-Founder McVaney Leaves A Legacy

  September 2, 2020 Alex Woodie

  Ed McVaney, who emerged from a frugal childhood in Nebraska to eventually lead one of the most successful enterprise software companies in the world, died this past June at the age of 79.

  McVaney is best remembered as the co-founder and CEO of JD Edwards, the Denver, Colorado-based company that would become known as the gold-standard for ERP software on the AS/400 and its predecessor and successor machines. In 2016, more than a decade after JD Edwards was sold to PeopleSoft, McVaney founded NextWorld, a cloud ERP software company that is run by his daughter, Kylee.

  McVaney was the …

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• Drilling Down Into The Power10 Chip Architecture

  August 24, 2020 Timothy Prickett Morgan

  Last week, we told you some general things about the future Power10 chip from IBM based on a roadmap briefing that we got from the IBM tech team ahead of their presentation at the Hot Chips 32 chip conference last week. IBM was gracious enough to let us talk about the Power10 chip generally before that presentation, because we have a Monday morning deadline no matter what. And this week, we can drill down into the Power10 architectural details a bit more.

  The presentation at Hot Chips was given by William Starke, the chief architect of the Power10 processor who …

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