Dusting Off An AS/400

It's interesting learning about the perceptions people have about the AS/400 when they first come across it. Keep in mind we fully understand that this platform is no longer called the AS/400 and it has been called its current name, the IBM i, since 2008. Nevertheless, I stumbled upon this blog post on Hackaday from earlier this year titled Blowing The Dust Off Of an AS/400. It's an article about a first impression that the writer has when stumbles across the AS/400 for the first time. It's a story we hear all the time. As we know, the AS/400 has evolved into the IBM i one of the most impressive, and overlooked, platforms for the enterprise. We wrote a blog post titled the IBM i an Amazing new platform. Notice the stark difference between someone being introduced to the AS/400 versus the IBM i for the first time today. There is a big difference. It’s s our job as part of the IBM i community to close the gap between perception and reality.

Welcome to another edition of Talsco Weekly.

• News: Amazon to retrain its workforce. IBM and Red Hat.
• AI: AI offers a better Wimbledon "customer experience". Enterprise AI experience.
• Career: Are you emotionally intelligent? Do you want to be a leader?
• Development: Python tutorial on the IBM i. IBM is calling for code.
• Hiring: Hiring IT for tomorrow. Case study on how to attract talent for the future.
• Leadership: How do you build trust?
• Trends: Job trends for the future. Focus on your customers, not the platform.

News

Amazon to Retrain a Third of Its U.S. Workforce "As technology reshapes roles, the online retailer plans to train 100,000 workers in new skills, from machine learning to nursing". Where do IBM and Red Hat go from here? Acquisition update on IBM and Red Hat. Will Ret Hat help revitalize IBM? It's a strategic move for both companies.

AI

How AI picks the most exciting moments at Wimbledon without bias I am a big tennis fan (and still play) so I find this article about Wimbledon and how IBM uses its AI capabilities to offer up content based on tennis matches. As you will see the technology solution incorporates: Watson OpenScale, DB2, Python and more. Can you envision a similar solution for your organization? Take a look at the graphic and Figure 3. Plugin variables within your organization. Think about the possibilities for you as an IBM i Developer. Anatomy of an enterprise-scale AI strategy "Looking to move beyond point solutions and proofs of concept? Here’s what it takes to develop to a holistic AI strategy honed for business results."

Career

How emotionally intelligent are you? Here are 11 smart ways to check where you stand "Emotional intelligence is more important than ever. It's one of the top 10 in-demand work skills, and it's only going to become more prominent." What If You Don't Want To Be A Leader? Have you just been promoted to that of a manager? Or maybe you are thinking of going down the management path? This is a thoughtful article about what it means to manage people.

Development

Guru: Finding Large Files With Python Experimenting with Python? Here is a quick tutorial article that gives you an alternative. As Mike Larsen writes in this IT Jungle article: "Using RPG to perform this task as I have in the past was just fine, but doing this in Python was a lot easier to do and the code was much more concise." IBM Call for Code I have not explored this in much depth but I thought it was worth sharing in light of all of the questions I get from RPG Developers revolving around the future of the IBM i market as it relates to career growth. This could be a good option for IBM i developers to get involved with as a resource to help advance their career.

Hiring

Crafting the IT Workforce of Tomorrow There is a huge transformation taking place in the workforce. It impacts the IBM i ecosystem. So, how do we craft the RPG Developer for tomorrow? Here are some ideas. How Stanley Black & Decker is using the SDGs to grow a 'new-collar' workforce The future is here. Here is an example of how a company is positioning itself to attract new talent for the future.

Leadership

10 Proven Ways to Build Trust With Employees Do you have a trust issue in your IT department? Here are some ideas that might help you gain trust again.

Trends

Network-driven differences in mobility and optimal transitions among automatable jobs "The potential for widespread job automation has become an important topic of discussion in recent years, and it is thought that many American workers may need to learn new skills or transition to new jobs to maintain stable positions in the workforce." This article makes some interesting points about what types of positions will be automated. It touches on job transitions and the types of workers it will impact the most. Focus On What Customers Care About, Not Platforms "If you think your customers care about what technology platform you use, whether it’s the cloud or an on-premises mainframe, you’re wrong. They don’t know or care when they interact with a mobile banking app or buy a plane ticket, for example, that a mainframe is powering the back end. They only care that it’s fast, easy and secure." This by no means diminishes the role of the IBM i. What is so powerful about this platform is its ability to integrate with other systems. When you read this article, think about your customers (internal and external) and what is most important to them.

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