• Four Hundred Monitor, October 4

  October 4, 2017 Dan Burger

  Prior to the latest Technology Refresh announcements, which were just released yesterday, Tim Rowe, business architect for application development and systems management for IBM i, reviewed what was added to Access Client Solutions earlier this year. He also commented on the partnership between IBM and HelpSystems that resulted in development work on several IBM products being farmed out to the IBM i software vendor.

  Inside Monitor this week, you’ll also find articles pertaining to open source database trends, what’s holding back IT hiring, Java technology on IBM i, and IBM’s leading role in Blockchain advancements. The calendar of events has …

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• Four Hundred Monitor, September 20

  September 20, 2017 Dan Burger

  Last time I checked, the SAP on IBM i community was not greatly enamored with the idea of adopting HANA, the SAP in-memory database. You would get a different idea after reading the pro-HANA article in IBM’s in-house magazine. Although SAP markets HANA for business intelligence workloads, it has also repeatedly stated that its goal is to eventually replace all underlying relational databases. Some SAP on i shops are not ready for that.

  Also in Monitor this week: IBM’s CEO Ginni Rometty condemns the fear-mongering that stalks artificial intelligence; predicting the future of IT based on current spending trends; and …

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• Four Hundred Monitor, September 13

  September 13, 2017 Dan Burger

  Earlier this year, at the COMMON Annual Meeting and Expo, we started to hear what Watson could do when integrated with IBM i. People are still asking questions and more information is being made available. Cognitive computing, with its analytic capabilities, is bringing change to traditional enterprise application development. You don’t have to be smarter than Watson. You just need to be smart enough to know about Watson.

  Also in Monitor this week: IBM and MIT partner on cognitive computing research; the right and wrong of agile development; and an IBM internship program for re-entering women in their tech careers. …

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• Four Hundred Monitor, September 6

  September 6, 2017 Dan Burger

  Two app dev strategies are fighting for supremacy. DevOps is a cultural and organizational shift that empowers enterprise software teams to deliver better software quicker – in particular, hand-coded software. Low-Code platforms, in contrast, provide a technology platform and visual tooling that deliver better software quicker – with little or no hand-coding required.

  The continued success of RPG depends on several factors. Maintaining the status quo is not one of them. See what it takes to build an RPG future in this week’s Monitor. Also discover the latest move by Vision Solutions’ new owner, and why BI and analytics …

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• Four Hundred Monitor, August 30

  August 30, 2017 Dan Burger

  Implementing new IT solutions should help a company or department run more smoothly, effectively, and efficiently, yet trepidation about the process is a frequent occurrence. Whether it’s refactoring a database, modernizing applications, upgrading the system or ERP software – those tasks can be intimidating. Two IT pros provide insights into creating good strategic planning, clear and honest communication, and conscious time-management with the goal of alleviating stress by setting expectations, establishing security and building confidence.

  This week’s Monitor also includes tips on getting more value from your RPG, evaluation of IBM i security fiction, and a new training opportunity for …

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• Four Hundred Monitor, August 16

  August 16, 2017 Dan Burger

  If you read Steve Will’s blogs and follow his itinerary of speaking engagements, you wonder if the guy is on pace to set a record for promoting the IBM i platform. And we don’t even know all the behind the scenes stuff. The strategy is simple. Have Steve Will talk and blog until every IBM i customer realizes that this system is fully capable of running a modern business. But that the message has to reach beyond the IBM i faithful. By his own admission, he is reaching about 1 percent of those who should be hearing the story. He …

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• Four Hundred Monitor, August 9

  August 9, 2017 Dan Burger

  We all know the short answer to the “What is Watson” question. Watson is IBM’s cognitive computing superstar. What to do with Watson and how to do it is a little foggy. If you’ve read the IT Jungle articles, you’re ahead of most. But if you’re still sorting out artificial intelligence, machine learning, and deep learning, this interview with IBM’s Alison Butterill and Jesse Gorzinski could help see cognitive more clearly.

  Also in this issue, internship programs can help grow your IT staff while injecting youth and new skills. Internships attract talent. Think of it as an extended interview and …

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• Four Hundred Monitor, July 19

  July 19, 2017 Dan Burger

  The graying of the IBM i workforce is opening the door for somewhat of a youth movement. Yes, that has the potential to be culturally shocking. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Some youthful influence is needed in organizations (yours might be one of them) that have done little to change the IT formula in the past 20 years or more.

  This week Monitor also includes articles on what’s tormenting IBM’s cognitive superhero Watson, a blockchain blockbuster deal for IBM, and an interview with the RDi chief architect and his insights into what RDi can do for you.

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• Four Hundred Monitor, July 12

  July 12, 2017 Dan Burger

  The Scout motto “Be Prepared” is good advice for all of us. But when it comes to advice applicable to IBM i, Chief Scout Steve Will has specific advice on preparations that will be useful when the time for platform re-evaluation comes around. This article adds to Will’s advice on this topic noted by Monitor on June 21.

  This issue of Monitor also has articles on the delivery of open source PTFs, the positive and negative impacts of artificial intelligence on workers, the tape storage dynasty that remains a factor even in leading edge companies, plus the influence, guidance and …

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• Four Hundred Monitor, June 28

  June 28, 2017 Dan Burger

  Jack Woehr duly notes IBM i open source proponents who are porting useful, popular open source to the i platform. But he also points to another path, one that he describes as object-disoriented. He can call it anything he wants, because he’s the one who blazed the trail. Woehr’s trail is generally a Java interpreter and specifically an interpretive form of JTOpen that makes it easier to encapsulate legacy IBM i as-is and offload the Web dev to the people who do Web dev best.

  The quality of the products being produced in the open source community and the inclusiveness …

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