Big Blue wants a much bigger piece of the $10 billion annual Linux server business, and it is rolling out a fatter version of its Power7+ server lineup in the PowerLinux line to chase big Java, database, and analytics workloads. The new machine, called the PowerLinux 7R4, is a Linux-only version of the four-socket Power 750+ server that was announced back in February along with a revamped entry Power7+ server line and an even fatter Power 760+ machine.

Like other PowerLinux machines, the new PowerLinux 7R4 is designed specifically to compete head-to-head with Intel Xeon E5 and E7 machines in

With the Power Systems business and the System x business not growing in the most recent quarters, I have been expecting IBM to start testing the elasticity of pricing on its plain vanilla Power and X86 boxes as well as on the PureSystems modular systems to stimulate a little business. IBM has not made a lot of pricing changes this year, but did last week on its PureSystems line as part of a third quarter push.

Specifically, in announcement letter 313-060 on July 31, IBM tweaked the prices on X86 processors used in the Flex x220, x240, and x440 processor

Sparks will fly when application development teams get this news. Someone set the stun gun for high voltage. Let the yowling begin. Management has decided that following an IT strategy that was begun in the last century is not appropriate for this one and a decision has been made to move from application centric development to data centric development. IBM midrange shops shudder at the thought of this, but here’s a scenario where it could come to pass.

Mergers and acquisitions have put a small to midsize company into a much bigger arena. And in this hypothetical situation let’s say

Ah, summer! The weekends are yours and they’re finally worth having. Guys are manning their BBQs, watchful as captains at the helm, and the siren scent of burning meat is wafting across the land. Coolers stand packed with iced beer, shoes give way to flip-flops, and the couch competes for lounging time with the patio furniture. The travails of the workplace fade until they become little more than necessary annoyances that put meat on the grill.

Women often mistakenly believe that summer is the time to tackle that long list of home improvement projects put off since the Pleistocene. But

Back in May, IBM CEO Ginni Rometty switched the roles of her chief strategist and the head of Systems and Technology Group, and the changes are now rippling through the various IBM server divisions.

As The Four Hundred previously reported, Tom Rosamilia and Rod Adkins switched desks. Adkins had been running Systems and Technology Group for the past couple of years, and Rosamilia, who used to work for Adkins as general manager of the System z business and then the additional Power Systems business unit within Systems and Technology Group, was tapped by Rometty to be vice president of corporate

For the past six weeks, IT Jungle has encouraged readers to take a brief survey that would measure the boundaries and intensity of the IBM i skills shortage. Jim Buck, the tenacious outrider for IBM i education, is monitoring the survey responses and last week he emailed me to report the number of IBM midrange shops participating in the survey now totals 111. He also provided some indicators of areas of widespread concern.

At the top of the most wanted list was advanced RPG skills. You might think that with so many RPG programmers in the IBM i community, and

We all know that the next update to the IBM i operating system, release 7.2, is coming to market sometime in 2014. But it may be sooner than we think.

Last week, on August 1, IBM updated its iDoctor for IBM i performance tools, which are used to collect and analyze performance data on Power Systems machines running the grandchild of the venerable OS/400 operating system. And check it out:

This is the first sighting of IBM i 7.2, which is called V7R2M0 in the old-style, OS/400 naming convention inside of the iDoctor tool.

By the way, if you don’t

A federal judge has dismissed two of the four claims that Maxava brought against Vision Solutions and Sirius Computer Solutions. The judge threw out Maxava’s Lanham Act and trade libel claims, and left in place the claims related to violations of California’s unfair competition and false advertising laws. The start of the trial has also been pushed back to late October.

On May 13, Judge George Wu granted the summary motion requests of Vision, Sirius, and Eva Succi to dismiss some or all of Maxava’s claims against them. Judge Wu elected to grant partial summary judgment in favor of

International Business Systems, the ERP software company that was acquired for $35 million two years ago by Symphony Technology Group, gave its comeback some teeth last week when it announced it has filled four executive positions with extensive experience in the enterprise software business.

The hiring binge includes Mohit Paul as vice president of EMA sales, Laura Fese as general counsel, Tim Conroy as general manager of the Americas, and Susie Andrews as vice president of global human resources.

Paul, who joined IBS in June, will lead IBS’ sales efforts in Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas.

The COMMON Fall Conference and Expo is only one month away and the last opportunity to get a $200 discount on the registration price is Thursday, August 8. The annual fall event is rolling into St. Louis, Missouri, from September 9 through 11. This year there will be more than 100 sessions covering a wide variety of topics under the IBM Power Systems umbrella.

The majority of sessions will be aimed at the traditional IBM i professionals, but COMMON is built to accommodate the multi-platform propellerheads who like a little AIX and Linux on their plates as well. Two all-day