• Is It Worth Investing in IBM i and RPG?

  August 21, 2024 Alex Woodie

  Nobody is mistaking the IBM i server as a brand-new system. It can’t hide from its status as a legacy platform. But does that mean that it’s no longer worth investing in IBM i and RPG? That’s the focus of a new paper by the outsourcing company DDC FPO.

  DDC FPO is an Evergreen, Colorado-based business process outsourcing company that serves the trucking industry and specializes in things like freight billing and customer service for truckers. Considering the continued popularity of the IBM i server in the trucking business, it’s not surprising that DDC has taken an interest in the …

  Read more

• IBM Bolsters Run SQL Scripts In ACS 1.1.9.6

  August 12, 2024 Alex Woodie

  IBM last week shipped a new release of Access Client Solutions (ACS) that contains several user-requested updates for Run SQL Scripts (RSS), the popular tool that allows users to execute SQL statements. ACS 1.1.9.6 also brings enhancements to the data transfer, IFS, and 5250 emulator components of ACS, among others.

  ACS, of course, is the universal Java-based utility that IBM unveiled 12 years ago to replace Client Access. It’s a must-have tool for any IBM i user, as it contains a slew of facilities for interacting with the system, including RSS, data transfer, IFS file viewing, spool file management, 5250 …

  Read more

• NGS Bolsters Excel Integration in New Release

  August 7, 2024 Alex Woodie

  As far as legacy IT products go, Excel is right up there. Microsoft launched the spreadsheet tool back in 1985, making it three years older than the venerable IBM AS/400. For companies that run both of those products – well, the IBM i server, anyway – an upgrade of New Generation Software (NGS)’s flagship business intelligence tool will have users singing a happy tune.

  While the IBM midrange server is a bit of a niche platform, Microsoft Excel is about as mainstream as you can get. The software is estimated to be used by 750 million people, or about one …

  Read more

• What’s In the Latest Update to PowerHA

  July 24, 2024 Alex Woodie

  A handful of new capabilities have been released for PowerHA customers over the past few months, including support for asynchronous policy-based replication in FlashSystem, new administrative functions, support for SQL services, and the addition of new management functions in an updated Web interface.

  As IBM notes in its announcement letter for IBM i 7.5 TR4, there is a long history of integration between PowerHA SystemMirror for IBM i and IBM Spectrum Virtualize, the software for managing IBM FlashSystem SAN arrays. This tradition includes native support in PowerHA for various Spectrum Virtualize replication mechanisms, including Metro Mirror (synchronous replication), Global Mirror …

  Read more

• Future-Proof Your Data Strategy With LANSA BI

  July 22, 2024 Stephen Strake

  Last October, with no warning at all, IBM suddenly pulled the plug on its Db2 Web Query business intelligence tool for the IBM i platform. This left a lot of customers in the lurch, since Db2 Web Query is based on but very different from the WebFOCUS business intelligence tool from Information Builders.

  IBM and Information Builders, we later learned, could not come to terms on how to re-license the WebFOCUS engine at the heart of Db2 Web Query, and thus far, IBM has not provided an alternative BI platform or a migration tool for any third-party applications.

  The upshot …

  Read more

• Where Do RPG Programmers Come From? And Other IBM i Questions

  July 10, 2024 Alex Woodie

  The IBM i community has faced a skills crunch off and on for the past decade or longer, as Baby Boomers retire and IBM i shops struggle to find replacements. One big reason for the hiring gap is that the old ways of finding new RPG programmers and other IBM i professionals no longer work like they used to, according to IBM i educator Jim Buck.

  “What they did for years was they just stole from the guys down the road,” said Buck, who is the president and CEO of IBM i training company imPower Technologies. ‘“I’ll go to …

  Read more

• Thoroughly Modern: The Synon Transformation Journey, From Legacy To Modern Java Solutions

  July 8, 2024 Chris Koppe

  In today’s evolving tech landscape, companies that run CA 2E (Synon) on IBM i face significant challenges hindering progress and sustainability. Synon represents a fraction of the market share in IBM i environments, far behind RPG and COBOL, and IBM’s recent announcement to cease PL/I support in future OS versions will impact compliance for SOX-regulated and other industries.

  Moreover, shifts in ownership – from Computer Associates to Broadcom – cast doubt on Synon’s long-term viability and continued support. A dwindling pool of Synon developers, brittle applications that are difficult to integrate with modern technologies, and cryptic database structures further add …

  Read more

• Guru: Parsing JSON That Has Spaces In The Key

  July 8, 2024 Mike Larsen

  One of my favorite tasks is working with APIs. I’ve worked with many APIs over the years, and some introduce unique challenges that must be overcome. Recently, I worked on a project where I was to consume a REST API that provided a JSON payload. While that seems straight forward, I quickly discovered a challenge.

  The JSON payload had keys that have spaces in them (Figure 1). That may be considered bad practice, but I still needed to figure out how I could parse it correctly. Having never seen JSON like this before, I started with a Google search. I …

  Read more

• Profound Brings GenAI Tech To IBM i Apps with Profound AI

  June 24, 2024 Alex Woodie

  For more than 20 years, Profound Logic has been at the cutting edge of bringing the latest Web, mobile, and API technology to IBM i shops. With the launch of Profound AI, it’s now helping IBM i shops adopt the latest in user interface tech: natural language and generative AI.

  GenAI has taken the world by storm since OpenAI launched ChatGPT in late 2022. Since then, nearly every large enterprise has explored the potential for using large language models (LLMs) to develop a range of GenAI products, including chatbots, autonomous agents, question-and-answering systems, and knowledge management apps.

  Despite the potential …

  Read more

• Thoroughly Modern: Still Making These Six IBM i Security Faux Pas? STOP!

  June 10, 2024 Alan Hamm

  As the backbone of many enterprise IT environments, IBM i platforms are known for their robustness, reliability, and security. However, even the most resilient systems are not immune to vulnerabilities if not properly managed.

  Despite their powerful capabilities, IBM i environments often suffer from outdated security practices that can expose your organization to significant risks. This article highlights the most common IBM i security faux pas and provides actionable mitigation strategies.

  The Most Common IBM i Security Challenges

  1. Outdated Operating System

  One of the simplest yet most overlooked steps to secure an IBM i environment is to keep the …

  Read more

Previous Articles Next Articles