RPG & DB2 Summit: Skills Fitness for Modern IT
January 10, 2012 Dan Burger
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RPG & DB2 Summit: Skills Fitness for Modern IT
There is something new to learn every day. This idea pops up on people’s radar screens each year around this time in the form of New Years resolutions. It’s a great time for fitness centers to recruit. As a CEO, you might be thinking about the fitness of your business. As a CIO, the fitness of your staff might be a concern. As a staff member, you might be taking a look at the fitness of your skills. If you want to be fit, you have to put in the training time. So if you are feeling a little bit flabby in the IT skills area, booking some time at the IT skills gym could put you in the shape you want to be. Coincidentally, the announcement for the next RPG & DB2 Summit arrived last week. The event is scheduled for March 26 through 28 at the Sheraton Fort Worth Hotel and Spa in Fort Worth, Texas. This twice-a-year, programmer-oriented training event specializes in skill building and strengthening IT departments. For companies looking for better collaboration between IT and business goals, skill building is typically a priority. “The uncertainties of today’s economy have forced many companies to rethink their more ambitious modernization projects,” says Jon Paris, one of the individuals behind the RPG & DB2 Summits. “This has given IBM i professionals a window of opportunity, a chance to demonstrate their relevance to the organization by rapidly modernizing the rock solid applications they already have. But they need to be able to react quickly. In this environment, it’s particularly important for RPGers and their management to have mastered modular architecture techniques and be up-to-date on UI and database options so they can move forward efficiently and decisively. Appropriate adoption of Open Source solutions also plays a major role.” The curriculum at the Summit includes IBM i-based modernization skills for beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. There’s emphasis on modular RPG development architecture, leveraging languages such as SQL and PHP, and creating mobile access to IBM i applications. A listing of educational sessions, including individually priced headstart seminars, is available at the Summit website, where there’s also a listing of speakers. One of the strengths of the RPG & DB2 Summit is the quality of instruction. It begins with Paris, Susan Gantner, Paul Tuohy, and Skip Marchesani, the core group that began the Summits in 2006. Marchesani just retired from the team, which calls itself System i Developer, however, he will continue to be among the speakers at the event. Also speaking at the conference are highly regarded instructors such as Scott Klement, Aaron Bartell, Mike Pavlak, Scott Salisbury, and IBMers Mike Cain, Kent Milligan, and Barbara Morris. Marchesani is stepping aside from a full-time role with System i Developer to have more family time and enjoy retirement. He has been one of the top database and SQL authorities in the IBM midrange for more than 43 years. His career spanned the System/3, System/38, and AS/400 up through the current IBM i on Power Systems. Marchesani started with IBM in 1968, fresh out of college. Much of his IBM career involved working at the Rochester, Minnesota, lab, where he was involved with various System/38 projects and the development of the AS/400. He was also part of the team that taught early AS/400 education to customers and IBM lab sites worldwide. After retiring from IBM, Marchesani continued consulting, teaching and speaking for IBM i-oriented user groups and technical conferences around the world. He is an award winning COMMON speaker and has received that organization’s Distinguished Service Award. Marchesani will continue to work as an independent consultant and collaborate with System i Developer on special events. An early registration discount for the Summit, priced at $1,095, is available through February 10. After that, the rate is $1,395. Headstart seminars are priced at $215 for one or $295 for two seminars. Past RPG & DB2 Summit attendees and their colleagues are eligible for discounted alumni registration rates. For more information and to register, go to www.systemideveloper.com. RELATED STORIES Innovative CIO Keynotes at RPG & DB2 Summit RPG Summit to Emphasize Mobile Apps this Fall RPG & DB2 Summit Emphasizes Improved Skills to Defend IBM i RPG and DB2 Summit Sees Turnaround in Training Budgets Who’s the Fool When it Comes to Training?
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