Dan Burger
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New Round Of Enhancements For Access Client Solutions
August 15, 2016 Dan Burger
… Read moreWith every Technology Refresh there are new features and functions added to IBM i Access Client Solutions (ACS) that make the official announcement list. But in reality, ACS upgrades also occur in between TRs with their announcement held off until the next TR. On July 31, the latest batch of ACS enhancements became available as a download on the IBM i Access webpage. ACS replaced the legacy Access for Windows several years ago.
Like the traditional Access products, IBM i Access Client Solutions is primarily used for 5250 emulation, but is also popular for accomplishing data transfers, printer output,
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IBM i Fundamental Strategy Unchanged, Always Changing
August 8, 2016 Dan Burger
… Read moreThe IBM i Strategy white paper, a document designed to explain how the platform is advancing in conjunction with long-term planning at IBM and how it takes into account the feedback from end users, has been revised. The modifications reflect changes that have occurred since the white paper was originally released approximately 18 months ago. Those changes include the release of IBM i 7.3, the IBM i roadmap as planned through 2028, and areas of investment that have yielded results.
Naturally, the strategy has considerable consequence to the IBM i community and IBM corporate. The i business is large–150,000 companies
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Youth, Talent, Creativity Ported To IBM i
August 8, 2016 Dan Burger
… Read moreLiam Allan doesn’t tell stories about the AS/400s he has known. He’s never worked on an iSeries or even a System i. At just 19 years of age, his brief adventures in the IBM midrange, he knows only the IBM i. The 2016 COMMON conference gave him a stage. Two weeks ago, he started a new job with Profound Logic, an IBM i vendor with a knack for hiring high profile talent.
Allan was pretty much an anonymous member of the IBM i community when we were all buying our 2016 calendars. But after he joined the Team Seiden
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Surviving A Change Management Migration
July 25, 2016 Dan Burger
… Read moreSoftware migrations are the root canals of enterprise IT. Rarely do you find anyone looking forward to them. That’s not to say they are not being considered. High maintenance fees and minimal enhancements have encouraged software replacement strategies to become more widespread than they were just a few years ago. In the IBM midrange community, where application and database modernization is at the top of the priority list, migration obstacles–risk and complexity–are being overcome.
A recent example that has come to the attention of IT Jungle is the replacement of change management software at Vermont Information Processing(VIP), an IBM
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Systems Monitoring Made Easier, Better, GUI-er
July 25, 2016 Dan Burger
… Read moreWith the introduction of its newest systems management software, HelpSystems is showing off what it can do by merging its traditional Robot line with an acquired product from the CCSS family of tools. Raise the curtain, please, on Robot Monitor 14, a feature enhanced version of what was formerly known as CCSS QSystem Monitor now integrated with the Robot IT operations management and infrastructure monitoring software stack.
The new Robot Monitor specializes in keeping watch over system performance from a single, central dashboard. It provides real-time data on:
- job status and performance
- system configuration and performance
- IOP utilization
- resources
- communication
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DRV Check Printing Software A Laser Sharp Cost Cutter
July 20, 2016 Dan Burger
… Read moreLife is full of surprises. For example, why would a company rely on pre-printed, continuous-form checks printed on impact printers? It would seem that simply becoming aware of impact printer prices would prod a decision maker into searching for an alternative. Every company is supposed to have a cost-cutting watch dog. And that dog is also supposed to be watching for ramifications to low cost–things like weakened security and performance degradation.
If you’re that dog, here’s your alternative to expensive and proprietary MICR-enhanced impact printers. It’s called SecureChex and it comes from DRV Technologies, an IBM i software vendor
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IBM i Open Sourcerers
July 11, 2016 Dan Burger
… Read moreWho will inherit the IBM i? And what will that business computer look like? My crystal ball is in the shop, so I’ll have to rely on what is currently going on and make some projections based on that. Collaboration would seem to be the key. Even without my crystal ball, I see new technologies being explored and applied. For IBM i to be relevant to future generations, open source software and the collaboration with other innovation teams needs to take place.
Development of the IBM i platform is not happening on its own island anymore. It’s an integrated world.
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Cloud-Based Email Migrations Keep IBM i Vendor Busy
July 11, 2016 Dan Burger
… Read moreAs more businesses migrate email services from desktops to the cloud, users at IBM i shops look for the tools that allow them to work quickly, efficiently, and securely. You can’t stay mired in the past. You have to adapt. That’s what BVSTools has done with its latest enhancement of GreenTools, which integrate with Microsoft Office 365’s Outlook and Google‘s Gmail for Business, two popular business email options.
“We are noticing a lot of our current customers, when moving to the cloud for email, are choosing Microsoft Office 365 in greater numbers than those using Google’s Gmail for Business
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Advice For IBM i Shops: Balance The Old With The New
June 27, 2016 Dan Burger
… Read moreMost C-level managers realize that progress is impossible without change. Yet making changes can be so damn difficult. Realizing that there has to be some changes made is a good start, but it’s taking that next step when companies actually achieve progress that leads to long-term success. And in the middle of it all is IT. How do companies with legacy IT systems change to keep up with progress?
“One of the considerations that I feel is important is longevity,” says Steven Wolk, chief technology officer at the appliance and electronics chain store PC Richard & Son. “We’re used to
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Fresche Partner Plan Aims At Expanded Reach
June 27, 2016 Dan Burger
… Read moreJust two weeks ago, the company now known as Fresche (formerly Fresche Legacy) announced it was purchasing Quadrant Software and its key IBM i application modernization subsidiary BCD Software. The combination of BCD and Fresche’s previous acquisition of looksoftware puts a smorgasbord of modernization choices on the Fresche menu, including an instrumental application analysis tool. The latest news from Fresche is the rollout of a global partner program.
The company hopes to attract a mix of IBM i independent software vendors (ISVs), value added resellers (VARs), independent consultants, and system integrators to its newly minted Power Partner Program. It