As iPads, tablets, smartphones, and other mobile devices become more ubiquitous, so do the means of translating IBM i apps to mobile-friendly versions.

Written by John Ghrist

The convenience of mobile devices is just the beginning of yet another technology advance that one suspects will utterly transform business life over the next few years. Not that it hasn't already, but we most likely have only begun to exploit 24/7 connectivity compared to what will be commonplace in the future.

Depending on whom you ask, distribution, warehousing, and trucking applications may or may not also be considered "supply chain" apps.

Written by John Ghrist

One of the many technological issues that seems to be in flux today is the question of whether or not software product types such as distribution, warehousing, and trucking (D/W/T) apps are included when we speak of "supply chain applications."

Traditionally, supply chain apps have been considered more pertinent to the process of moving raw materials to some facility where they are processed, either into finished goods or goods that are later made part of some other finished product. The classical view is that then distribution, warehousing, and trucking apps are concerned with the movement of these finished goods to retail outlets. This, of course, is regardless of the fact that to the average retailer or consumer, the entire process is part of a supply chain from their point of view.

Come for the ROI, but stay for the efficiency, security, and compliance benefits.

Written by Dan Forster

Since the birth of the Industrial Revolution in the mid-1700s, automation efforts have proven to be one of the key catalysts of successful business growth and innovation. One of the most celebrated models of automation and business success was Henry Ford's car company. His implementation of the assembly line is seen as the automation success model of his century. Of course, the advent and proliferation of advanced IT systems have automated nearly every aspect of a business. Surprisingly, however, despite the tangible and rapid ROI of automated accounts payable (AP) processes, a majority of companies have not taken advantage of the technology.

osTicket has paid support if you need it, but a robust user community is there to help the uninitiated.

Written by Chris Smith

In a recent episode of Help Desk, the Web comics cartoon series that parodies the computer industry, Alex (the cartoon's protagonist) is confronted by a caller who asks for a list of questions to which Alex knows he has answers. The reason? "It seems like every time I call, you can't help me," the anonymous voice says. "Whatever problem I have just so happens to be the one issue that is completely out of your hands." The caller's solution to this dilemma is to work the problem backward. "Why don't you give me a list of topics you know you have an answer to, and I'll pick one of them?"

Read and write to SQL databases and Microsoft Excel spreadsheets from RPG.

Written by RJS Software

RPG2SQL Integrator closes the gap between applications running on different platforms by allowing all your databases and spreadsheets to talk to each other in real time. Forget about complicated file transfers, database replications, and manual re-keying. The software allows your IBM i RPG, CL, and COBOL programs to read, write to, and update databases such as Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL, and more. The software also allows users to read, write, and modify simple or complex Microsoft Excel spreadsheets by automating Microsoft Excel directly from RPG.

Businesses today must continually innovate or face shrinking market share by competitors who are ahead of the curve.

Written by Eden Watt

Innovation can take many forms, depending on your business, but agility in Information Technology is often critical to delivering new services and products and to connecting via new channels or markets. At the same time, many businesses are reliant on legacy systems that cannot easily meet these emerging needs.

Healthcare application requirements emphasize security, which makes software vendors in that market—and even some outside of it—big fans of the i platform.

Written by John Ghrist

Healthcare and medical insurance is one of those things we all hope never to use, but when we do need them, they become paramount. With 2012 being a U.S. Presidential election year, and with the U.S. Supreme Court set to rule on the constitutionality of parts of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) by summer, healthcare is on nearly everyone's radar to a larger extent than usual.

Distributing Windows software never felt so easy—or worked so well—as when downloaded using AppWave from Embarcadero.

Written by Chris Smith

What if you could try an application without the expense of purchasing it or even the hassle of downloading and installing it? What if you could easily share that application with your colleagues and users through a URL while inviting them instantly to comment on the app's features, benefits, or shortcomings? What if you could do all this before you or your company committed to anything—from providing a credit card number to raising a salesperson's hopes or even giving your mailing address? Life would be better, wouldn't it?