The hardware resellers, software peddlers, and IBM i shops that have modest processing needs and generally modest system budgets have all been waiting for it. And IBM did not say a word about it when the initial Power8 systems were launched back in April. But, all of us in the IBM i community knew, without a doubt, that Big Blue would have to put out a four-core machine with an IBM i P05 software tier.

The reason is simple: More than 95 percent of the IBM i installed base has workloads that can easily fit into an entry P05 system,

Businesses are increasingly turning toward freelancers and independent contractors to get the expertise needed to complete many jobs, including IT-related tasks. The trend toward a more itinerant workforce will have repercussions for IBM i shops, including those that are struggling to fill jobs left by retiring Baby Boomers as well as those faced with a flood of applicants for a handful of jobs.

The world around us is looking more temporary by the day. Instead of buying a car, people get a ride via Uber. Just about anything you can think of–a guitar, a bike, the comfort of a dog–is

Enterprise resource planning systems are the good, the bad, and the ugly of business computing. The benefits of a smooth-running system with integration throughout the organization are significant when compared to faulty or non-existent ERP. The marginally successful and complete failures are legendary. It’s the classic risk-reward scenario. A recent report by Computer Economics shows companies investing in ERP at a rate that tops all other enterprise software. What does that tell you? The risk is worth the reward?

There are huge challenges involved whether companies are choosing to enhance existing systems, rip and replace those systems, or even implement

What’s tougher than a diamond, but able to filter water; stronger than steel, but thinner than a butterfly’s wings? Give up? OK, it does sound improbable, unless aliens are involved. So let’s try this: What’s more flexible than a Yoga instructor, and predicted to thoroughly shake up the computer industry? No, it’s not Miley Cyrus. But it is made from the same element on which life depends. Even repulsive life.

It is, in fact, pure carbon, and not much of it at that. It’s as thin as thin can get and still be considered a material. In effect, it qualifies

Somewhere there’s an IBM midrange shop struggling with getting data to frustrated end users. That shop is not alone in its struggle. The end users are not the only frustrated ones. Data queries and the creation of useful reports should not be so painful, so IT labor intensive, so slow, and so expensive. It’s been a long-held belief that direct access to IBM i data from people outside the system is a horrible accident waiting to happen.

A couple of guys with a company called iWebSrv think there’s a solution to this problem.

“Getting IT people in midrange shops to

We are getting ready to close out the second quarter, and IBM is in a mood to do a little wheeling and dealing to help move its stockpiles of Power7+ systems as well as the shiny new Power8 “scale-out” systems that came out back in April.

In announcement letter 314-067, IBM has outlined the trade-ins for the new Power8 systems that are available under a deal that was last updated last September and that seems to have been running on again and off again for longer than I can remember. The deal is available to customers who replace vintage

Businesses have a tendency to evolve. If they don’t, quite often, they aren’t in business long. A key part of the evolution is maintaining a technological infrastructure that supports change. Technological evolution is an essential component for businesses in growth mode, even in IBM midrange shops where high-mileage systems that are highly reliable are a source of pride.

The Ohio AFSCME Care Plan, which covers more than 41,000 public and non-profit workers in Ohio, realized it needed a technology upgrade to support not only its current requirements, but also its future growth. To assist with its technology upgrade planning and

Here is something that a lot of people probably didn’t expect: Disk array sales took a dive in the first quarter of the year, particularly at the high end of the market.

According to the latest market research from IDC, the world consumed a total of 9.9 exabytes of capacity on the combination of internal and external disk arrays from January through March, representing a mere 19.9 percent increase in capacity on a year-over-year basis. In the fourth quarter, as we previously reported, total disk array capacity shipped was up 26.2 percent to 10.2 exabytes, reversing several quarters

In addition to the new four-core Power8 system aimed at IBM i customers that came out last week, IBM made a bunch of I/O and storage announcements relating to the new machines.

In announcement letter 114-094, which came out on June 10, IBM said that it was making its existing two-port communications adapter (that is feature 2893 and 2894) orderable for machines running IBM i. These replace the two-port asynchronous communications adapters (features 5289 and 5290) that were announced with the new machines back in April. Those cards are now not going to be supported.

IBM does not yet

The era of modernization is upon us. There are projects in the planning stages, in midstream, and completed—all indicators that IBM midrange shops interested in adopting new technologies where there are good reasons to do so. COMMON Europe recently concluded an IBM i Enterprise Application Modernization Tour that highlighted many of the topics and technologies that the IBM i community is showing interest in adopting.

There’s a multitude of ways to approach modernization, and no one knows that better than Tim Rowe, business architect for IBM i application development. Rowe, the designated modernization evangelist, provided the IBM presence on the