Lots to get straight this week: IBM Connections 4 Beta has been released in the IBM Greenhouse, there are rumors of IBM's interest in buying a part of RIM, and most intriguing, IBM gives an indication of its IBM i install base.

Written by Steve Pitcher

In the latest IBM i roadmap, Power Systems General Manager Dr. Colin Parris stated the following: "IBM i is the integrated operating environment for IBM Power Systems, which is used by over 150,000 businesses around the world."

Whether the method is old-fashioned backup and restoration or modern cloud-based disaster recovery, the need for archiving the work of the enterprise remains vital.

Written by John Ghrist

It can't escape those of us who appreciate the ironies of life that, while magnetic tape started vanishing in the '80s when the eight-track music tape lost popularity, tape has started disappearing from the computer industry in earnest just since the turn of the millennium.

It's ironic, of course, because the computer industry has for so long been culturally emblematic of technological progress. Yet, say the word "backup" to a computer person and most of them, if only for a second, will likely visualize a mag tape reel.

Users need a flexible query tool that is powerful and easy to use.

Written by Heath Kath

Is your query tool up to date and function-rich? Are you able to build queries that end users, managers, and departments can use? Can it collect data from or send data to other systems or platforms? Does it provide run-time prompting? Does it handle data-mapping errors, especially around numeric date fields? Does it take advantage of SQL Query Engine (SQE) to improve run-time performance? Does it provide multiple interfaces—green-screen, Web browser, and GUI? Can it send query results directly to a PC document (.xlsx, PDF, text, HTML, etc.)?