Four Hundred Monitor, May 6

May 6, 2020 Jenny Thomas

Depending on where you live, your life might be getting back to some semblance of normal . . . or the “new normal” as we all now commonly refer to life in a coronavirus world. Hopefully you have found new routines and as the weather improves as we head toward summer, we can all look forward to spending more time outside in the socially appropriate distance of others. Until then, rely on IT Jungle to keep you informed about the IBM i ecosystem and beyond. You can also find our COVID-19 Response section below for a recap on how our industry is managing the pandemic.

Top Stories From Outside The Jungle

(CRN) We now know how much new IBM CEO Arvind Krishna is making in salary, and it’s a lot.

(Dice) COBOL developers demand may be affected by COVID-19.

(InfoWorld) While the IBM i ecosystem already knows about COBOL, this is still a fun read.

(IBM Quantum Experience) You have a couple of days left to celebrate the fourth anniversary of IBM’s quantum experience by solving four quantum programming exercises.

Redbooks, White Papers, Blogs, and Other Resources

(Fresche Solutions) How are you leveraging your systems and innovating for the future? Fresche’s 2020 IBM i in Business Survey will provide critical understanding into the role that IT plays in business. Participants will receive a report and invitation for a live session about the results.

(IntelliChief) Making the switch to a remote workforce can be bumpy road, here are some tips that can help you navigate the transition.

(iTech Solutions) If you’re into podcasts, iTech has been adding to its library on IBM i and Power Systems topics.

(Profound Logic) This annual survey uncovers valuable data on the IBM i industry. The results will be especially important this year as COVID-19 sweeps across IBM i businesses. Take 10 minutes to fill out the survey and get entered to win prizes.

(IBM) Download the Spring 2020 IBM i Performance FAQ here.

Chats, Webinars, Seminars, Shows, and Other Happenings

May 7 – Webinar – This session hosted by IBM’s Jesse Gorzinski is an intro to open source software on IBM i and will address why using open source on IBM i can solve all sorts of new requirements and bring unprecedented value to your business.

May 14 – Webinar – The Mid-Atlantic Group of IBM i Collaborators (MAGiC) will hold its May meetings online. Get more information on “Rapidly Create Responsive Web Applications” at this link. Membership is not required to attend these free meetings.

May 19-June 18 – The Summit Lunch & Learn series – Free online technical sessions for IBM i developers. RPG & DB2 Summit  teammates Jon Paris, Paul Tuohy and Susan Gantner host live sessions led by guest instructors, including IBM Champions, IBMers from the Rochester and Toronto labs, and ISVs with developer-focused tools. Review and register for any or all of the topics here.

May 21 – Webinar – The Mid-Atlantic Group of IBM i Collaborators (MAGiC) will hold its May meetings online. Get more information on “The Zen of Using PHP without Zend Server” at this link. Membership is not required to attend these free meetings.

POSTPONED – June 1-3 – Framingham, Massachusetts – Join the Northeast User Group (NEUGC) Conference where attendees will be saying cheers to 30 years. NEUGC is the largest technical conference in New England for IBM i.

June 10-11 – Virtual Event – i-UG’s annual conference is going virtual and it’s free! Get the details and register here. On each day you will be able to choose from two streams of 45-minute presentations on topics relevant to today by industry specialists, some familiar and some new to i-UG conferences.

June 22-23 – Livonia, Michigan – The Michigan IBM Power Systems Technical Education Conference (MITEC) is still scheduled to take in June and will feature more than 45 sessions covering topics such as system architecture, application development, mobile applications, RPG, Python, business intelligence, disaster recovery, and performance monitoring.

July 23-25 – Costa Mesa, California – OCEAN TechCon20 will be taking place and features three days of inspiration and innovation featuring such many expert speakers including Patrick Behr, Scott Klement, Doug Mack, Aaron Magid, Dan Magid, Eamon Musallam, Mike Pavlak, and Alan Seiden.

POSTPONED – August 31-September 3 – Tampa, Florida – POWERUp 2020 will offer between 350-400 sessions presented by more than 100 IT professionals, and features the largest exposition of its kind. This conference structured to give you the pure education and professional connections needed to best enhance your career.

POSTPONED TO FALL – May 12-14 – Orlando, Florida –The nation’s leading ERP software event, the ESS – Enterprise Software Showcase for Manufacturers and Distributors is the longest running event of its kind. ESS brings together ERP software buyers and vendors to facilitate the software selection process. Created by Technology Evaluation Centers (TEC), and hosted by TEC and Godlan, Inc. ESS is a learning hub for businesses to see live demos from five of the top ERP Software packages all in one place – all while gaining an understanding and getting tips on how to make informed, smarter software decisions.

COVID-19 Response Updates

(cheddar) IBM creates a blockchain solution in assist with the medical supply shortage resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.

(IT Jungle) Our own Timothy Prickett Morgan takes a look at the IBM I before and after the pandemic.

(IntelliChief) This blog looks at the push by many businesses to go paperless in response to COVID-19.

(Raz-Lee Security) In an effort to help organizations keep their employees and families safe while continuing business operations, Raz-Lee is offering its iSecurity Anti-Ransomware solution for free until July 1, 2020.

(iTech Solutions) This Q&A session offers some tips and tricks for working from home with your IBM i. Keep an eye on iTech Solutions website for more webinars to help you through the lockdown.

(COMMON) A new series aimed to help bring together COMMON community members with IBM i and remote work experts is happening on Wednesdays.

(IT Jungle) Will we make it through the current pandemic storm? Out editor-in-chief Tim Prickett Morgan has some thoughts.

(IT Jungle) Tim Prickett Morgan and Alex Woodie team up to profile how IBM i vendors are adapting to the new normal with news from Maxava, CNX, Rocket Software, New Generation Software, Infor, Raz-Lee Security, ARCAD Software, System i Developer, iTech Solutions Group, and COMMON.

(IT Jungle) Chordia Consulting offers our readers a significantly reduced rate for a remote IT healthcheck with a variant tuned specifically for IBM i shops and their special characteristics.

(Maxava) High availability software maker Maxava is making its Monitor Mi8 product, available free of charge to customers using its Maxava HA clustering software so they can monitor and manage their machines remotely

(IT Jungle) Our own Alex Woodie looks at how companies and conferences from our ecosystem is coping with the global pandemic.

(Fresche Solutions) A special deal for free licenses to Presto web development tools for IBM i to help companies with cope with remote workforces.

(System i Developer) RPG & DB2 Summit is planning to replace its March conference with a virtual conference beginning April 1.

(SQL iQuery) Stay in the know with Bob Cozzi’s map of the latest U.S. COVID-10 coronavirus statistics.