The Top iOS Apps For IBM i
November 27, 2017 Alex Woodie
Despite sharing a similar name with Apple products, IBM i isn’t mobile. You can’t run IBM i on your smartphone or tablet, let alone on your watch or whatever IoT-connected gadget people need now. But that doesn’t mean developers haven’t written a bunch of mobile apps that connect to IBM i. Here are the top 15 iOS apps for IBM i.
Being a developer of propriety hardware and software, Apple won’t share much about, well, just about anything. In fact, the super secretive company from Cupertino, Calif., doesn’t even provide a way to browse the catalog of iOS apps on the Web! (At least IBM – another proprietor of proprietary i gear – offers the Global Solutions Directory, where you can browser thousands of i OS apps to your heart’s content.)
To see what IBM i-connected apps are cooking in iOS land now, we headed on over to AppShopper, which thankfully does provide a searchable catalog of iOS apps. A quick search for “IBM i” resulted in 1,000 apps.
Here are the top 15 apps as rated by the order they appeared in the AppShopper site:
1. The top app on that list was maxView Lite, the free utility from Maxava that monitors essential IBM i performance metrics, including CPU levels, ASP usage, and the number of users signed onto the system. It was last updated in September 2011.
Maxview Lite lets users view IBM i performance metrics from a cell phone.
2. The next one that showed up was Checkin BOL (bill of laden), another free iOS app developed by Power i4 Solution. The software is designed to run on iPads, and connects with the vendor’s Checkin BOL app running on the IBM i. It was last updated in February.
3. Falcon 5250 for iPad is, as you probably guessed, a terminal emulator for Apple’s tablet. The software, which was developed by the Japanese company Intercom, is available in a free version, as well as a $40 version that includes support for function keys, page up and page down keys, the attention key, and the system request key. It was last updated in January.
4. Companies with warehouse operations may be interested in StayLinked SmartTE, a terminal emulator from StayLinked specially designed to minimize dropped sessions. The software can also automatically change the 5250 greenscreen into a GUI look and feel. It was last updated in July.
5. The ProfoundUI Mobile Client from Profound Logic is the iOS client component of a modernization solution that includes the Profound UI server running on IBM i. The software, which is free, supports the Cordova JavaScript framework and installs on iPhones and iPads. It was last updated in July 2016.
6. Field workers who need to take signatures may be interested in Signature Manager Enterprise, an iPad app from Integrated Custom Software. Once a document is signed, the signature is uploaded to ICS’ FormSprint software running on the IBM i where it can be automatically processed. It was last updated in October.
Signature Manager Enterprise lets users upload signed documents to an IBM i server.
7. The kLink Mobile app from Computer Keyes provides a secure way for remote users to login and view documents that reside on the IBM i server. The software, which runs on iPhones and iPads, can also allow the user to download and upload documents to the kLink Server, provided they have permission. It was updated last in June 2014.
8. aXes Mobile is an iOS client used for application modernization. Developed by LANSA, the software is an extension of the aXes product family and provides a way for remote workers to interact with 5250 applications through a modern-looking iPhone or iPad interface. It was last updated in April.
9. SP4i-Push is a notification system from SystemObjects designed to instantaneously notify users about server or application events. The software, which requires a corresponding server component on IBM i, color codes events according to their severity levels. It was last updated in November 2014.
Admins can get push notifications of IBM i events with SP4i-Push.
10. Valence Portal provides a mobile (iPad and iPhone) component for accessing business apps on IBM i. Developed by CNX Corp., the free software requires the Valence framework running on IBM i, and provides integration with Apple hardware, like the phone and GPS. It was last updated in July.
11. CM MatchPoint ALM Mobile is a free extension of the application lifecycle management (ALM) functionality developed by CM First Group to iOS mobile devices. The software lets development manager view and approve change requests, and also to work with timesheets. It was last updated in February 2015.
12. FormsTrack Rental is a mobile iOS client from ICS that’s designed to work with the IBM i-based FormsTrack application. The software lets mobile users note damage and take pictures to prove the damage. It was last updated in October.
13. CPF Smart Management Mobile is a free iOS utility that lets users monitor IBM i activity, such as CPU utilization and ASP usage. The software, which was developed by the Israeli company GegeIT Ltd., also lets users reply to MSGW jobs, control jobs. It was last updated in April 2016.
The CPF Smart Management app lets users monitor IBM i activity.
14. Presto Mobile lets users access modernized 5250 screens from the comfort of an iPhone or iPad. The software is owned by Fresche Solutions, and requires a connection to the server-side Presto software running on the IBM i. It was last updated in December 2015.
15. Reflection for TN3270 and 5250 is a terminal emulator for the System z and IBM i server from Attachmate (now part of Micro Focus). The software supports SSH and TLS encryption, function keys and support for multiple session. It costs $49.99 for the full version; a free trial is also available. It was last updated in August.
Reflection for TN3270 and 5250 gives administrators access to the familiar greenscreen environment from an iPhone or an iPad.
That does it for iOS. Stay tuned for another exciting edition of The Four Hundred to see our list of the top 15 IBM i apps for Android.
