Jenny Thomas
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Four Hundred Monitor, October 4
October 4, 2023 Jenny Thomas
Investing in the future of the IBM i is not something we hear much about. So, when we learned about a new fellowship program from Kisco Systems, we were all ears. The goal of this new program is to encourage IBM i customers to launch careers by helping them develop IBM i skills in house. Applicants for the fellowship must be sponsored by an active IBM i customer and will receive: free IBM i and RPG training; a one-year COMMON membership including registration for two conferences; and recognition in the IBM i community through podcasts and the COMMON Education Foundation. …
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Four Hundred Monitor, September 27
September 27, 2023 Jenny Thomas
Investing in the future of the IBM i is not something we hear much about. So, when we learned about a new fellowship program from Kisco Systems, we were all ears. The goal of this new program is to encourage IBM i customers to launch careers by helping them develop IBM i skills in house. Applicants for the fellowship must be sponsored by an active IBM i customer and will receive: free IBM i and RPG training; a one-year COMMON membership including registration for two conferences; and recognition in the IBM i community through podcasts and the COMMON Education Foundation. …
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Four Hundred Monitor, September 20
September 20, 2023 Jenny Thomas
In June, NPR published an analysis of the existential threat artificial intelligence poses to humanity. Hopefully IBM is heeding that warning as it puts into motion its plans to train 2 million people in AI technologies in the next three years. Readers of Monitor know we have been keeping a watchful eye on IBM and how AI is playing a role in its strategy moving forward. We recently shared articles about IBM hiring freezes and layoffs that were attributed to the adoption of AI, and we continue to keep you in the loop on more developments, as you will read …
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Four Hundred Monitor, September 13
September 13, 2023 Jenny Thomas
The team at IT Jungle has been part of the “work at home” crew since the beginning. Not to age ourselves, but this goes back a couple of decades, so long before we all sheltered in place for the pandemic. Now granted, some jobs, like news writing for instance, do require some solitude, but companies that formerly had employees gathering in an office are looking to re-establish that as the norm – including IBM. Our Top Story this week is about IBM requiring all software division employees who work within 50 miles of an office to report to work at …
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Four Hundred Monitor, August 23
August 23, 2023 Jenny Thomas
A recent report from Goldman Sachs found that up to 300 million jobs globally could be lost to automation in the coming years. According to the study, administrative roles, such as office support, customer service, and HR will all see a decline in roles due to generative AI. But that’s not all, tasks performed by programmers and software developers are also at risk, along with IT support technicians. Gulp. The news isn’t all bad, but it is going to require some new skills for the current workforce. Get the latest news and predictions for AI in our Top Stories below. …
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Four Hundred Monitor, August 16
August 16, 2023 Jenny Thomas
Tennis fans look forward to the U.S. Open. Technology fans do, too, but for different reasons. “Fans accessing the U.S. Open digital experiences this year will be able to experience every singles match, across all 17 courts, with detailed audio narration and captions accompanying each video – thanks to the power of IBM’s watsonx generative AI, specifically trained on the language of tennis,” said Jonathan Adashek, senior vice president of communications and marketing at IBM. Not sure how John McEnroe and his fellow commentators feel about being replaced by watsonx, but read our Top Story to see what all fans …
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Four Hundred Monitor, August 9
August 9, 2023 Jenny Thomas
As Editor Alex Woodie reports in another story in this issue, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Alex is reporting on data breaches when he points out that, despite changing technology, many aspects of data theft have remained unchanged. We also see that pattern in our Top Stories this week, where once again the hot talk around the industry is about AI, protecting data, and ChatGPT. We might tire of these topics, but there is no hiding from them. Maybe, by staying aware, you will be the one to save your company from a devastating data …
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Four Hundred Monitor, August 2
August 2, 2023 Jenny Thomas
As we roll into the latter part of the year, many of your organizations – and many of you – are planning what to do to end the year successfully. But making the decision on which way to steer the ship can be very stressful, and companies can stagnate without a fearless leader at the helm. Our Top Story suggestion this week looks at how success comes from action; and why those who delay may not succeed. Not that there aren’t reasons to hesitate, but being able to make the call when to take the risk is a critical skill. …
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Four Hundred Monitor, July 26
July 26, 2023 Jenny Thomas
The heat wave has finally hit the western parts of the U.S. after a relatively mild June, and the temps have been extreme. The temperature is not the only thing that is rising, though. In the computing world, the cost of a data breach has also reached record highs, according to IBM’s recent Cost of a Data Breach report. Interestingly, the report, the link to which you can find in our Top Stories section below, also found that despite the rising cost, companies are still reluctant to invest in cybersecurity. Read on for more about cybersecurity and the other ” …
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Four Hundred Monitor, July 12
July 12, 2023 Jenny Thomas
Summer is in full swing in the states, but that hasn’t stopped us from keeping up with all there is to know in the IBM i ecosystem. This week, we’re helping you catch up on some general IBM and computing news, and we’re anticipating some slicing and dicing of the numbers that will come out from IBM’s Q2 on July 19. Watch for the coverage from our very own Timothy Prickett Morgan in an upcoming issue of The Four Hundred. This is also a good time to look through the Calendar below and plug some dates for learning into …
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