News about IBM, OpenShift, and sports data; blockchain basics, Hyperledger Fabric and supply‑chain use cases; career advice on lower‑level jobs after breaks and interview strategies; leadership insights on change myths and remote‑work trends; legacy‑system modernization and its role in digital transformation; emerging trends like augmented reality for business.
Welcome To Another Edition of Talsco Weekly
- News: IBM, OpenShift and Tennis. RFID is being used in the NFL. The Jobs Report in Context.
- Blockchain: Intro to the Hyperledger Fabric. Supply Chain and Blockchain.
- Career: Accepting a Lower Level Job. Job interview questions that might stump you.
- Leadership: Myths about Change. Working from Anywhere.
- Modernization: Modernizing Legacy Systems is important for Digital Transformation & Business Transformation.
- Trends: Are you ready for Business Without Barriers?
News
IBM Puts Red Hat OpenShift to Work on Sports Data at US Open IBM and Red Hat on center court. "IBM introduced a little something extra at the 2019 United States Open Tennis Championships (US Open) tournament." "Coach Advisor combines AI with analytics in an attempt to better understand player performance and is the latest example of IBM’s work in sports data. " Sporting events produce an incredible amount of data. It is really remarkable what IBM is doing here. There are so many uses for the data. Just imagine how this could be used in the enterprise. In fact, there are a number of examples. Zebra, a well know vendor in the IBM i space, has been supplying RFID Solutions to AS400 shops for decades, is entering professional sports. See how the NFL is working with Zebra Technologies for On Field Player Tracking for Next Gen Stats. A Better Way To Think About The Jobs Report The new jobs report comes out tomorrow. It's always hard to understand just what everything means. This article puts it all in context.
Blockchain
An introduction to Hyperledger Fabric Understanding new and emerging technology is not always straightforward and there can be conflicting options on the viability of the new ways of doing things. Blockchain is one of those technologies. If you have trouble seeing how Blockchain can find its place in your organization understanding the different types is a good place to start. "There are three main types of blockchain networks: public blockchains, consortiums or federated blockchains, and private blockchains." Supply Chain and Blockchain: IBM Launches a Blockchain Network for Supply Chain Management "Supply Chain Management involves supervising the flow of goods and services. The products include tracking the movement and storage of raw resources, inventory, and final products. This has gotten acknowledged as one area that can benefit from blockchain technology."
Career
Should You Accept a Lower-Level Job After a Career Break? This article is interesting for a couple of reasons. While this article highlights individuals who take a break from work and then want to come back. The level that they are hired often is different. A scenario that we run across is when someone hired for a particular role, let say a programmer when they were a manager in the past. Managers often command a higher salary than that of developers (not in all cases). What often happens is there is a cut in pay because technical skills are not up to speed. Organizations want to protect their current developers, and rightfully so. Should there be some sort of "returnship" type program as this article suggests? It would be a way to allow for a new hire, who can ramp up to speed quickly, regain some of the status and compensation they had before. "Examples of role-based returnship programs are UTC Re-Empower, Johnson & Johnson Re-ignite, IBM Tech Re-entry, and Mastercard Relaunch Your Career. 8 job interview strategies used by successful executives When interviewing, be ready for off the wall type questions. Here are some good ones that top executives are known to ask.
Leadership
Four Myths About Empowering Change One of the biggest challenges we face in the IBM i community is getting modernization projects off the ground. Most managers "understands the need to transform their enterprise, yet most are unsure of how to go about it. They ordinarily don’t teach transformation in business school and most management books" don't even come close to doing it justice. Why does this happen? The status quo is hard to change. This article highlights four myths that must be understood for change to take place. Is It Time to Let Employees Work from Anywhere? Telecommuting and Remote work are one thing but what about WFA. You might ask what is WFA? Working From Anywhere. While Working From Anywhere might not be logical for most organizations. Not to mention just getting companies to buy into Remote Work in the first place is hard enough. But it seems to be part of the future of remote work.
Modernization
Talking Digital Transformation With The New And Prior CEO When we hear Digital Transformation, many things come to mind. At the end of the day, digital transformation is about connecting the dots. Part of all digital transformation projects is legacy modernization. In this article, Fresche Legacy's new CEO talks with IT Jungle and the Four Hundred Monitor about what it means to Digitally Transform. The razor's edge between legacy modernization & digital transformation "When it comes to disruptive innovation, most major industries are weathering dramatic change." This article addresses the culture clash. Where "the move from waterfall and siloed development operations in relatively modern IT environments to a DevOps-centric land of continuous integration is a difficult task." What is meant by Legacy? Before jumping in "it’s critical to kick off with a comprehensive assessment in order to understand the details of your environment. " It is important to understand which systems still provide business value that might be unique and or systems of differentiation. Moving forward is not always easy when you are a looking back.
Trends
Business Without Barriers I am sure you have heard about AR. What is it and how will it find its place in the enterprise? For most, augmented reality is something you will find in video games and for entertainment. However, the impact will be bigger than you think for the Enterprise. Think about it as Spacial Computing for every industry. From Healthcare, Manufacturing, Finance, Architecture and everywhere in-between. It will become more common in the not so distant future. Why is this important: For this to happen (and it is), modernizing your legacy systems is the first step.
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