• IBM i Trading Punches In The Automotive Supply Chain

  August 7, 2017 Dan Burger

  Manufacturing in the U.S. is experiencing some drastic changes. In the supply chain, IBM’s midrange computers have been a controlling force. The automotive supply chain is a great example. But are the wheels coming off this legendary IT platform? Future-thinking tier suppliers are brain wrestling with the question of whether to modernize or migrate.

  There is a combination of technologies, architectures, and costs to balance. And then there’s the wild card of partnerships, trusted advisors, customer feedback, and corporate mergers and acquisitions that factor into decision making. How is the IBM i faring in this sea of change?

  It seems …

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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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• Infor Bolsters Cloud Analytics Play with Birst Buy

  May 3, 2017 Alex Woodie

  IBM i shops that run applications from Infor will be interested to know that the ERP giant has acquired Birst, a business intelligence and analytics software vendor with a large cloud presence. The Birst solutions will definitely be sold into Infor’s large IBM i installed base, the company informs IT Jungle.

  Birst is a soup-to-nuts platform that provides many of the software capabilities companies need to build analytic applications that can turn large masses of data into actionable insight. The San Francisco-based company was founded as Success Metrics back in 2004 with a cloud-first strategy and a goal to target …

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• Machine Learning And ERP’s Autonomous Future

  March 13, 2017 Alex Woodie

  What makes Netflix so good at predicting movies you’ll like? A recommendation algorithm based on your viewing history, and the viewing histories of others like you, of course. While consumer technology is rife with such technology, HarrisData president Lane Nelson sees a future when ERP applications augmented with machine learning algorithms can automate nearly all of the back-office decisions currently made by people.

  Machines have been taking over the back-office since the days of the typewriter. But the next wave of innovation occurring around big data analytics and machine learning will likely make the transition to a people-less office nearly …

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• What IBM i Shops Should Know About Digital Transformation

  March 8, 2017 Alex Woodie

  You may have heard the term “digital transformation” bandied about and figured it was probably another two-bit term for a nickel idea. While all the specifics of digital transformation may not apply to the typical IBM i shop, the general idea behind the concept is one that most IBM i shops would do well explore.

  So, what is digital transformation? In an IBM Institute for Business Value report, the company defines it as “Creating new business models where digital meets physical.” Wikipedia calls it “the change associated with the application of digital technology in all aspects of human society.” …

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• VAI And HelpSystems Integrate ERP And Document Management

  March 1, 2017 Dan Burger

  The paper chase continues. File cabinets stuffed like sausages. Purchase orders, invoices, adjustments, and correspondence in an archive and retrieval system that’s been used since the horse and buggy days. Electronic document management has yet to arrive at a surprising number of midsize businesses.

  Data management begins here at the intersection of modern ERP and digital business processing. “Companies in every industry are looking for ways to streamline business processes,” says Joe Scioscia, vice president of sales at VAI, an ERP software company that has added a document management component via a partnership with HelpSystems. Workflow efficiencies are …

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• ERP Modernizations, Migrations, And Maturations

  February 13, 2017 Dan Burger

  There are many reasons to re-evaluate business processes. And one of the first places to look is the current state of your ERP software. How old is it and what are its strengths and weaknesses? A character-based interface might have been appropriate when the software was purchased, but for many shops it has wounded productivity and efficiency by stalling process improvements and technology implementations that could be adding value to your organization.

  The interface, however, doesn’t deserve all the attention. It’s just a visual cue like grey hair and wrinkles. A lot of value can be found behind the inescapable …

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• With RPG Nearly Excised, Infor Ponders ERP’s Future

  February 8, 2017 Alex Woodie

  Would a multi-tenant cloud version of Infor XA fly? That’s one of the questions that Infor’s senior product manager Ross Freeman is pondering as the company gets closer to completing the Java rewrite the ERP system written in RPG by IBM so many years ago.

  The clock is ticking on RPG, not just for Infor XA (formerly MAPICS), but for all of the company’s IBM i-based ERP systems. Infor XA is just further along the process of being re-written in Java using the Infor Development Framework (IDF).

  “The version [of Infor XA] coming out this year or the middle of …

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• Mobile, Cloud, And Analytics Spark Growth For VAI

  February 6, 2017 Dan Burger

  In the ERP software business, you must be on your game to compete with the massive, meat-eating beasts that that have devoured huge portions of the market. VAI competes very well. Its combination of innovation and customer service propelled the company to 11 percent revenue growth in 2016, according to a company statement released last week. That’s not bad at all for a relatively small fish swimming with the sharks.

  VAI didn’t buy its way into the ERP market like Oracle and Infor. Its growth is predominantly organic and its reputation is built on customer service. Its 30-year history …

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