Dan Burger
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Investment And Integration Indicators For IBM i
January 22, 2018 Dan Burger
Steve Will can talk a blue streak. IBM, sometimes referred to as Big Blue, pays Will to do that. As chief architect of the IBM i operating system, he has a lot of other responsibilities, too. One of them is to listen. He travels around the world talking with and listening to IBM i customers.
Last week, Will stopped by Southern California to attend the OCEAN user group meeting in Orange County. In his keynote session, he talked about IBM i strategy (that’s a bigger part of his job than listening), investments, and commitment to the future of the platform. …
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Will Security As A Service Relieve The Pressure On IBM i Shops?
January 17, 2018 Dan Burger
Security is all about control. Either you are in control of your data or you are out of control, possibly unaware that security exposure and vulnerabilities exist, and most importantly unable to respond in a coordinated and logical manner. Lack of security acumen and a fear of what a data breach could do to cripple or destroy a business has many companies searching for answers. It gets mentioned often enough by iTech Solutions Group customers that it led to iTech offering security as a service, which helps companies devise a security policy, puts controls in place, and monitors system security …
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Four Hundred Monitor, January 17
January 17, 2018 Dan Burger
Forward-looking RPG programmers are modernizing legacy systems and making it clear IBM i is not the dinosaur that some folks think it is. Along with modernized thinking, comes the need for education and training and learning the skills needed to build next-generation applications. Where does that skill set come from? How long does it take to be skillful? Hear what two insiders have to say on the subject.
Other stories topics in Monitor this week include: the complexity of multi-cloud environments, the dismantling of IBM Global Technical Services, and the IBM i trends that indicate good things to come, as …
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Modernization Slides Down IBM i Priority List
January 15, 2018 Dan Burger
Many organizations that depend on mission critical applications running on IBM i have modernization on their agendas. Decisions need to be made whether they can continue as-is with applications, databases, and systems or modernization or migration will serve them best in the years ahead. Higher levels of efficiency and adaptability are within reach, but only with significant planning and budgeting.
Profound Logic, an application modernization software company with an IBM i history that predates the term modernization, has just released its second in a series of modernization white papers based on surveys of IBM i shops – most of …
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Four Hundred Monitor, January 10
January 10, 2018 Dan Burger
Simultaneously looking forward and looking back does not require eyes in the back of your head. It does require good vision in both directions though. What we’ve learned in the past year (and the years before that) are lessons that are useful in moving organizations forward. Maybe you missed some technology that came to market under your radar. That’s where a guy like Paul Tuohy comes in handy. Tuohy doesn’t miss much when it comes to IBM i application development. Here’s what he saw in the past year that can be useful in the years ahead. And there’s more than …
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HelpSystems Adds To Its Non-IBM i Acquisition List
January 8, 2018 Dan Burger
HelpSystems, well known for its IBM i security software, has acquired Fox Technologies, a company that specializes in security for Linux and Unix systems. With the acquisition, HelpSystems broadens its software and security software and services across a greater range of operating systems, a business plan it has pursued for the past several years.
HelpSystems has been steadily expanding its multi-platform capabilities, as well as its IBM i capabilities, with a long list of acquisitions. It is widely recognized in the IBM i community as the largest provider of systems management tools and utilities, but is also a formidable vendor …
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COMMON Education Gets Member-Driven Tweaks
January 8, 2018 Dan Burger
COMMON isn’t an organization that’s prone to making major changes. But that doesn’t mean the world’s largest professional organization dedicated to IBM Power Systems – most obviously IBM i – is opposed to improving what it has and introducing a few new ideas. During the holiday season, COMMON president Justin Porter explained to IT Jungle what moves COMMON made in 2017 and previewed some coming attractions for 2018.
Porter says COMMON is increasing its emphasis on member-driven training and education, and one of the best examples he talked about was the new for 2017 RPG Boot Camp. The Boot Camp …
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ARCAD Procures Funding To Fuel Expansion
December 13, 2017 Dan Burger
The financial incentives instigating investors to back companies that create software and provide services to the IBM i community continue to raise eyebrows and elicit surprise among those unfamiliar with the innovation taking place in the so-called legacy netherworld.
Another glimpse of this appeared last week when ARCAD Software announced it received a € 2.5 million ($2.95 million in US currency) investment from the European equity firm Alto Invest. ARCAD develops and markets DevOps and modernization solutions for platforms that include IBM i, Unix, Linux, Windows and z/OS. This is the first external funding ARCAD has received during its …
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Four Hundred Monitor, December 13
December 13, 2017 Dan Burger
Finding programmers skilled in open source technologies isn’t difficult. And neither is teaching them modern RPG. A good programmer can be comfortable and productive in multiple environments given the right set of circumstances. Real world examples exist and this article is written by someone who is living it.
Another example of skills evolution is happening with Db2 for i. The value of a modern database is widely overlooked, but the benefits are numerous. IBM’s Mike Cain explains how database knowledge can pay off. Insights into Power9 and AI applications plus the costs of bad data are also in Monitor this …
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BCD’s Nexus Portal Shows Mobile and API Capabilities
December 6, 2017 Dan Burger
Development in IBM i focused organizations — transitions from green-screen to browser-based applications and from monolithic to modular code — cannot ignore the portal piece of the puzzle. It’s the portal that provides secure, organized access to enterprise information for employees, vendors and customers using all types of devices connected to the Web.
Because so many BCD Software customers are interested in mobile access to data and real-time interactions, the development team got to work on making its Nexus portal more useful and convenient for the tablet and smartphone contingents that crave enhancements to their remote gateways.
“Our development efforts …
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