Dan Burger
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Analytical Expectations And Misconceptions Of IBM i
June 20, 2016 Dan Burger
… Read moreOften we recognize we had expectations about the same time as we recognize those expectations have not been met. The IBM midrange computer, a combination of the IBM i operating system running on Power Systems hardware, exceeds the expectations of a high percentage of organizations that rely on it. Reliability, scalability, and securability are its hallmarks. However, some would describe its analytical capabilities as a weakness. Transactional-based business computers, like this one, are limited in what they can do.
Are they analytically challenged? That depends on your expectations.
The type of analytics most IBM i shops are interested in are
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Remain Software Pursues 2E Users, Expands Asian Partnerships
June 20, 2016 Dan Burger
… Read moreLoyalty to IBM‘s midrange computer systems is a strong bond for many companies. Those with CA 2E application development environments are a great example. 2E, originally known as Synon, was one of the most successful fourth-generation language (4GL) development environments on the platform and that community continues to number in the thousands. Like other IBM midrange shops, they are concerned with application development, maintenance, and modernization.
Last week, Remain Software released a CA 2E interface for its IBM i Application Lifecycle Management tool, TD/OMS. The new release supports management of business applications built with the CA 2E case tool
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Fresche Makes Bold Move In IBM i Modernization Arena
June 13, 2016 Dan Burger
… Read moreAnother IBM midrange earthquake was reported last week as two of the big application modernization vendors joined forces to create a single source of a wide range of products and services. Throughout the IBM i community, windows rattled and light flickered as Fresche Legacy–now known simply as Fresche–announced it was purchasing Quadrant Software. According to Fresche, it now has a client base totaling more than 22,000 IBM i customers.
Financial details of the acquisition were not reported, as both software companies are privately owned.
Fresche’s CEO Andy Kulakowski said the purpose of this acquisition was to allow Fresche
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Focal Point Emphasizes Security Assessments, Documents In The Cloud
June 13, 2016 Dan Burger
… Read moreFocal Point Solutions Group, an IBM i-based managed service provider specializing in high availability, disaster recovery architectures, and security monitoring has expanded its services to include security assessments and document management in the cloud.
Slowly but surely the word is getting around that IBM i systems are securable but not inherently secure. The distinction is that it takes skills and knowledge to secure the box. Security doesn’t just happen when you push the power button. More to security than locking down the network. Customers are realizing they need to know that security issues are being monitored and addressed when
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Modernization Prioritization Based On Observation
June 6, 2016 Dan Burger
… Read moreAmidst all the chatter in the IBM midrange community, nothing rises above the catch-all category of modernization. Just about anything that’s done to the system, including brushing the dust off an old AS/400, seems to qualify as modernization. But, after separating the wheat from the chaff, there is real modernization being done and with it comes the realization that the IBM i is as modern as you allow it to be.
After years of Earl Scheib paint jobs–We’ll paint your car for $99–modernization efforts have become better planned, better executed, and better suited for a future that extends
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Learning From Experience
June 6, 2016 Dan Burger
… Read moreI’ve got good news and bad news. I’ll give you the good news first. We’re never too old to learn something new. The bad news? Don’t ever expect to graduate. Learning is a never-ending process, or at least is should be. Taking breaks from learning is a good idea, but calling it quits is not. My mother used to tell me: What counts most is what you allow yourself to learn after you think you know enough.
While attending the COMMON Annual Meeting and Exposition a couple of weeks ago in New Orleans, I met with Kevin Mort and Manzoor
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Profound Logic Taps Node.js and COBOL For New Directions
June 1, 2016 Dan Burger
… Read moreWe’re hearing a lot about Node.js as open source topics are discussed with greater frequency in the IBM i community. On the other hand, COBOL gets far less attention than it deserves considering that 80 percent of enterprise business applications run on this sturdy code. Profound Logic, one of several IBM i vendors leading the way in modernization efforts, is including both these languages in its product roadmap. Profound’s CEO Alex Roytman explains why and why now.
Let’s begin with Node.js. IBM i support for open source software has increased in recent years, but open source is not new
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ARCAD ‘DROPS’ Deployment Management Into DevOps Pack
June 1, 2016 Dan Burger
… Read moreIf you could improve your application and systems software management, what would be the overall effect on your organization be? Greater efficiency and higher productivity come to mind. And the ripple effect touches nearly every employee, customer and business partner. In organizations that depend on the IBM i running on Power Systems, the focus typically begins on the system and on technical components. For the greater good, a multi-platform approach that focuses on functions is the better choice.
Application development is the backbone of many IBM midrange shops and managing that function has led to greater efficiencies through the planning,
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IBM i Execs Put Database On The Map
May 23, 2016 Dan Burger
… Read moreThe IBM i roadmap goes nowhere without DB2 for i. It’s the database that drives the bus. With each release of the IBM i operating system and each of the Technology Refreshes that come between the releases, we find database enhancements prominent. And this isn’t going to change. At least for the foreseeable future, it’s a data-centric world.
It’s not fair to say IBM i innovation is nothing but database. There’s a lot going on in other areas, but the success of the system has always been the integrated database and the future success of the system will absolutely depend
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ProData Gets Graphic, Releases DBU for RDi
May 23, 2016 Dan Burger
… Read moreIBM midrange shops with active development environments are taking an interest in modernization projects. And along with that, comes graphical development tools like Rational Developer for i, commonly referred to as RDi. As more companies find RDi useful, more ISVs realize plug-ins to RDi are in demand. ProData Computer Services just joined the list by offering an RDi plug-in to its popular data access utility called DBU.
DBU RDi offers developers direct access to database files in graphical form and the capability to execute DBU functions from within the RDi Remote Systems Explorer (RSE) panel. In addition to the DB2