Making contributions to the common good is fine if you have a job, but what if you don't?
Written by Chris Smith
Sometimes I wonder if the government shouldn't just give programmers a free pass and, in the interests of developing more open-source software, put them on the dole.
With California's unemployment rate at nearly 12 percent, finding a job means sharpening up your technical skills and knowing how to present yourself during an interview.
Written by Chris Smith
As usual, the OCEAN User Group meeting Wednesday night was interesting and well-attended, particularly for an August meeting. Both Bob Langieri and Carole Comeau got a round of applause from the members, who undoubtedly were expressing their appreciation for the work they, Margaret Matthews, and the other board members did that resulted in the highly successful OCEAN Technical Conference last July. Following that, it was on to more serious business, and the pair opened a few eyes and minds in the audience, describing what it actually takes today to get a job.
A good leader knows his employees' strengths and plays to them!
By CJ Rhoads
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the January/February 2008 issue of JDEtips Journal and is reprinted with permission from Klee Associates, Inc.
Is your staff technically adept, non-technically adept, or a mixture of both? Leveraging your staff members' individual skill sets (and corresponding personalities) is often the key to improving your business health through technology...especially when you consider that all the hardware and software in the world is only as good as those who use it! Companies can improve their business health by understanding the human part of human resources. See if you can identify your staff in these descriptions and then read my tips for successfully managing these greatly varying personalities!
The U.S. is in a recession, massive layoffs are occurring at an alarming rate, and the trend will continue into 2009. So it's time to party like it was 1999. Right? No!
By Maria A. DeGiglio
In early December, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced that 533,000 jobs were lost in November and the unemployment rate rose from 6.5 (in October) to 6.7 percent. The National Bureau of Economic Research also announced that the U.S. has been in a recession for about a year.
Fortunately, the BLS provides a reasonable definition of a recession. I found this enlightening (we do endeavor to educate where possible):
By Christopher Jones
"Baby, check this out. I've got something to say." That's probably the mantra that first comes to mind when someone mentions social networking. People posting their opinions, their photos, what they ate for lunch. But if that's your image of social networking, you haven't looked lately. The MySpace-dominated virtual dormitory has given way to truly useful networking sites that have a place in the new business world. Whether you're an individual or a company, there's something in the new social networking for you.
The breakdown of San Francisco's network administrator Terry Childs serves as a warning sign to us all.
By Chris Smith
Reading about the fall of network administrator Terry Childs in San Francisco sends a chill down my spine.
Childs currently is in jail on $5 million bond for commandeering the city's FiberWAN fiber optic network. The network carries most of the city's network traffic, including employee emails, personnel information, and even law enforcement documents. Childs finally gave up the passwords following a visit to his cell last week by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom.
How is an organization or an ISV supposed to keep up in these challenging times?
By Mark Duignan
The IBM Power System marketplace is in decline.
Some in the IBM i user community petition and plead with IBM to "market the IBM i server" so that it is acceptable within their organizations. However, the level of IBM marketing is not the real problem. Most IBM i users got involved with the platform simply because their organizations purchased an ISV solution that executed on it (e.g., BPCS, MAPICS). No matter how much they love the IBM i hardware and OS now, the marketplace was built by ISV solutions, not by the wonderful iSeries hardware/OS combination.
Attend the Help/Systems User Conference for Computer Operations.
By Tom Huntington
Do you find it difficult to obtain good computer operations education? When was the last time you had the opportunity to network with other computer operations analysts? Do you feel your team has kept up with the latest in computer operations software and hardware?
As computer systems evolve, it becomes harder and harder to keep up with the ever-changing world of managing them. The technology has changed dramatically, and the strategies that worked 10 years ago no longer apply. Ask yourself if you're operating in a similar mode year after year. Or is your team executing more and more procedures manually since regulations like SOX and PCI have cropped up?
If your business is thinking about modernizing your legacy IBM i (also known as AS/400 or iSeries) applications, you will want to read this white paper first!
Download this paper and learn how Node.js can ensure that you:
- Modernize on-time and budget - no more lengthy, costly, disruptive app rewrites!
- Retain your IBM i systems of record
- Find and hire new development talent
- Integrate new Node.js applications with your existing RPG, Java, .Net, and PHP apps
- Extend your IBM i capabilties to include Watson API, Cloud, and Internet of Things
Read Node.js for Enterprise IBM i Modernization Now!
More than ever, there is a demand for IT to deliver innovation.
Your IBM i has been an essential part of your business operations for years. However, your organization may struggle to maintain the current system and implement new projects.
The thousands of customers we've worked with and surveyed state that expectations regarding the digital footprint and vision of the companyare not aligned with the current IT environment.
Get your copy of this important guide today!
2022 marks the eighth edition of the IBM i Marketplace Survey Results. Each year, Fortra captures data on how businesses use the IBM i platform and the IT and cybersecurity initiatives it supports.
Over the years, this survey has become a true industry benchmark, revealing to readers the trends that are shaping and driving the market and providing insight into what the future may bring for this technology.
Brunswick is the leader in bowling products, services, and industry expertise for the development and renovation of new and existing bowling centers and mixed-use recreation facilities across the entertainment industry. However, the lifeblood of Brunswick’s capital equipment business was running on a 15-year-old software application written in Visual Basic 6 (VB6) with a SQL Server back-end. The application was at the end of its life and needed to be replaced.
With the help of Visual LANSA, they found an easy-to-use, long-term platform that enabled their team to collaborate, innovate, and integrate with existing systems and databases within a single platform.
Read the case study to learn how they achieved success and increased the speed of development by 30% with Visual LANSA.
When it comes to creating your business applications, there are hundreds of coding platforms and programming languages to choose from. These options range from very complex traditional programming languages to Low-Code platforms where sometimes no traditional coding experience is needed.
Download our whitepaper, The Power of Writing Code in a Low-Code Solution, and:
Business users want new applications now. Market and regulatory pressures require faster application updates and delivery into production. Your IBM i developers may be approaching retirement, and you see no sure way to fill their positions with experienced developers. In addition, you may be caught between maintaining your existing applications and the uncertainty of moving to something new.
In this white paper, you’ll learn how to think of these issues as opportunities rather than problems. We’ll explore motivations to migrate or modernize, their risks and considerations you should be aware of before embarking on a (migration or modernization) project.
Lastly, we’ll discuss how modernizing IBM i applications with optimized business workflows, integration with other technologies and new mobile and web user interfaces will enable IT – and the business – to experience time-added value and much more.
Having trouble getting management approval for modernization projects? The problem may be you're not speaking enough "business" to them.
This Developer Kit provides you study-backed data and a ready-to-use business case template to help get your very next development project approved!
IT managers hoping to find new IBM i talent are discovering that the pool of experienced RPG programmers and operators or administrators is small.
This guide offers strategies and software suggestions to help you plan IT staffing and resources and smooth the transition after your AS/400 talent retires. Read on to learn:
Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application. In Part 2, Brian May teaches you the different tooling options available for writing code, debugging, and using Git for version control. Attend this webinar to learn:
In this session, IBM i security expert Robin Tatam provides a quick recap of IBM i security basics and guides you through some advanced cybersecurity techniques that can help you take data protection to the next level. Robin will cover:
Don't miss this chance to take your knowledge of IBM i security beyond the basics.
In today’s threat landscape, upper management is laser-focused on cybersecurity. You need to make progress in securing your systems—and make it fast.
There’s no shortage of actions you could take, but what tactics will actually deliver the results you need? And how can you find a security strategy that fits your budget and time constraints?
Join top IBM i security expert Robin Tatam as he outlines the five fastest and most impactful changes you can make to strengthen IBM i security this year.
Your system didn’t become unsecure overnight and you won’t be able to turn it around overnight either. But quick wins are possible with IBM i security, and Robin Tatam will show you how to achieve them.
Malicious programs can bring entire businesses to their knees—and IBM i shops are not immune. It’s critical to grasp the true impact malware can have on IBM i and the network that connects to it. Attend this webinar to gain a thorough understanding of the relationships between:
There are a number of ways you can minimize your exposure to viruses. IBM i security expert Sandi Moore explains the facts, including how to ensure you're fully protected and compliant with regulations such as PCI.
DB2 Field Procedures (FieldProcs) were introduced in IBM i 7.1 and have greatly simplified encryption, often without requiring any application changes. Now you can quickly encrypt sensitive data on the IBM i including PII, PCI, PHI data in your physical files and tables.
Watch this webinar to learn how you can quickly implement encryption on the IBM i. During the webinar, security expert Robin Tatam will show you how to:
Despite the many options IBM has provided to protect your systems and data, many organizations still struggle to apply appropriate security controls.
In this webinar, you'll get insight into how the criminals accessed these systems, the fallout from these attacks, and how the incidents could have been avoided by following security best practices.
You will learn the steps you can take to avoid the mistakes made in these examples, as well as other inadequate and misconfigured settings that put businesses at risk.
When it comes to creating your business applications, there are hundreds of coding platforms and programming languages to choose from. These options range from very complex traditional programming languages to Low-Code platforms where sometimes no traditional coding experience is needed.
Download our whitepaper, The Power of Writing Code in a Low-Code Solution, and:
The Biggest Mistakes in IBM i Security
Here’s the harsh reality: cybersecurity pros have to get their jobs right every single day, while an attacker only has to succeed once to do incredible damage.
Whether that’s thousands of exposed records, millions of dollars in fines and legal fees, or diminished share value, it’s easy to judge organizations that fall victim.
Join this webinar to learn about the biggest errors made when securing a Power Systems server.
This knowledge is critical for ensuring integrity of your application data and preventing you from becoming the next Equifax. It’s also essential for complying with all formal regulations, including SOX, PCI, GDPR, and HIPAA
Watch Now.
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Produce bar code labels, electronic forms, ad hoc reports, and RFID tags – without programming! MarkMagic is the only document design and print solution that combines report writing, WYSIWYG label and forms design, and conditional printing in one integrated product.
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Robot automates the routine tasks of iSeries backup and recovery, saving you time and money and making the process safer and more reliable. Automate your backups with the Robot Backup and Recovery Solution. Key features include:
- Simplified backup procedures
- Easy data encryption
- Save media management
- Guided restoration
- Seamless product integration
Make sure your data survives when catastrophe hits. Try the Robot Backup and Recovery Solution FREE for 30 days.
Managing messages on your IBM i can be more than a full-time job if you have to do it manually. How can you be sure you won’t miss important system events?
Automate your message center with the Robot Message Management Solution. Key features include:
- Automated message management
- Tailored notifications and automatic escalation
- System-wide control of your IBM i partitions
- Two-way system notifications from your mobile device
- Seamless product integration
Try the Robot Message Management Solution FREE for 30 days.
Robot automates report bursting, distribution, bundling, and archiving, and offers secure, selective online report viewing.
Manage your reports with the Robot Report Management Solution. Key features include:
- Automated report distribution
- View online without delay
- Browser interface to make notes
- Custom retention capabilities
- Seamless product integration
Rerun another report? Never again. Try the Robot Report Management Solution FREE for 30 days.
For over 30 years, Robot has been a leader in systems management for IBM i.
Manage your job schedule with the Robot Job Scheduling Solution. Key features include:
- Automated batch, interactive, and cross-platform scheduling
- Event-driven dependency processing
- Centralized monitoring and reporting
- Audit log and ready-to-use reports
- Seamless product integration
Scale your software, not your staff. Try the Robot Job Scheduling Solution FREE for 30 days.
