Manufacturing’s reliance on IBM i, career advice on focusing concerns and handling upset users, leadership insights on effective change and gradual IT transformation, modernization trends including ARCAD’s DevOps solutions and GitHub basics, low‑code platforms like Lansa for IBM i, and developer best practices emphasizing quality code across languages.
Manufacturing relies on the IBM i
Manufacturing makes the world go round. From the materials that make up our infrastructure to the buildings we work in, the machinery and the vehicles we drive, all the way down to items we wear. They are all manufactured.
A large percentage of the manufacturing that is done around the globe is powered by, you guessed it, the IBM i. That's good news because "manufacturers have been aggressively pursuing digital transformation to compete and win in the marketplace for years, 2018 is poised to be a big year for manufacturing." It looks like the upward trend for the IBM i will continue.
Career
Are you getting mad about the right things?
I have lived by this quote for the better part of my life.
96% of the things you worry about, will not happen, don't matter or are going to happen anyways.
It ties nicely into this short article.
What is the first thing you do when working with an upset user?
Have you ever had to deal with a difficult user? Seth Godin's advice here makes perfect sense because "it's very difficult to reason with someone if their hair is on fire. Customer service (whether you're a school principal, a call center or a consultant) can't begin until the person you're working with believes that you're going to help them put out the fire on their head."
Leadership
Inspiration is a poor way to accomplish change
There are some good tips at the end of this short article on not only the way to recognize a good leader but also tips on recruiting and developing them. The IBM i community is in need of exceptional leaders right now as many in management positions are looking to retire. Are you ready to step up?
Transforming your IT Department? Don't change everything all at once
I hear it all of the time. New leadership comes in and they want to shake things up. However, good leaders don't always see it this way. They are more deliberate in their approach and are slow to make changes right away. They ask the current staff: "What have been your priorities and goals over the past year? What have you accomplished? What have been the biggest breakthroughs? Where are you focused now?"
Modernization
ARCAD, under the leadership of Philippe Magne, is pushing forward with their DevOps solution. ARCAD is on the right path. The adoption of DevOps, regardless of your technology stack, is the future. Embracing DevOps in the IBM i community is paramount. They have the financial backing, rock-solid product and global IT trends on their side. Read more about ARCAD's vision on IT Jungle.
"Ever wondered how GitHub works?" If you haven't you should watch this short video because it's part of the future of software development for IBM i and RPG developers. Companies like ARCAD are making it part of their toolkit.
Development
Low-code options are starting to make waves. Lansa coins their IBM i modernization solution as low-code. Here is a quick read on RAD (Rapid Application Development) vs. Agile.
Bad Developers are not born. They are...
It really does not matter if you develop in RPG, C, PHP or Java. There is good code and bad code. Good code is a good investment and bad code causes debt. Here is a quick 5-minute read on why being a good developer is really important.
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