Welcome to another edition of Talsco Weekly

IBM i Brief: IBM Cloud Pak System Software Suite 2.3.5 brings confusion 📢. 💾 IBM unveils 10th-gen DS8000 storage array. 🔄IBM adds new capabilities and enhancements with IBM i 7.4.
AI: Situational Awareness: AI and the Decade Ahead 🔮.
Career: 15 IBM i Technical Interview Questions 📚.
Hiring: The Relevance of Wisdom and Experience when Hiring RPG Developers.
Learning: How to Prepare A Technical Talk🎙️.
Modernization: 🔄 The Multifaceted Approach to IBM i Modernization. 📊IBM survey reveals mainframe modernization trends.

IBM i Brief

IBM Cloud Pak System Software Suite 2.3.5 brings confusion 📢

IBM’s recent announcement about Cloud Pak System Software Suite 2.3.5 supporting bring-your-own-hardware for IBM Power systems has left readers puzzled.

The complex language in the announcement letter makes it challenging to decipher the product’s purpose and significance.

IT Jungle writes:

Here is the point: If we can’t tell what something is, we can’t tell if it is important enough to care about, much less to buy. The announcement letters, release notes, and documentation coming out of IBM have to do a better job explaining this.

🤔 I guess it is much like how unclear assembly instructions can leave you staring at a pile of parts wondering what goes where.

This IBM announcement seems to have left users of IBM Power systems scratching their heads about what this software suite actually does and why they might need it.

💾 IBM unveils 10th-gen DS8000 storage array

Set to ship on October 25, the latest DS8000 iteration marks two decades of high-end storage solutions.

While primarily enhancing z/OS environments, IBM i users will also benefit. The DS8000 continues to dominate enterprise-level SANs, focusing on high availability and performance for critical applications in major corporations.

Find all the details here.

🔄IBM adds new capabilities and enhancements with IBM i 7.4

Technology Refresh 11

IBM i 7.4 Technology Refresh 11 (TR11) delivers greater performance, improved ease-of-use, increased efficiency to every user, new features, and enhancements across many of the components

Get all the details here.

AI

Situational Awareness: AI and the Decade Ahead 🔮

This is likely the one of the most thought-provoking series of essays on AI and its prediction for the future that I have come across.

Everyone is now talking about AI, but few have the faintest glimmer of what is about to hit them. Mainstream pundits are stuck on the willful blindness of “it’s just predicting the next word”. They see only hype and business-as-usual; at most, they entertain another internet-scale technological change. Before long, the world will wake up.

The AI Essay(s):

I. From GPT-4 to AGI: Counting the OOMs

II. From AGI to Superintelligence: the Intelligence Explosion

III. Racing to the Trillion-Dollar Cluster

IV. Lock Down the Labs: Security for AGI

V. Superalignment

VI. The Free World Must Prevail

VII. The Project

VIII. Parting Thoughts

Right now, there are, perhaps, a few hundred people in the world who realize what’s about to hit us, who understand just how crazy things are about to get, who have situational awareness.

It is a fascinating read for anyone that is even remotely interested in what AI is, and what it could become.

Career

15 IBM i Technical Interview Questions 📚

Could you pass this IBM i Technical Quiz?

Here is a comprehensive list of 15 IBM i technical interview questions spans crucial topics like operating system structure, user profiles, job management, and database operations.

It provides insights into file systems, security models, and programming concepts, serving as an invaluable resource for both interviewers and job seekers in the IBM i ecosystem.

Ready to take the quiz?

Hiring

The Relevance of Wisdom and Experience when Hiring RPG Developers

When hiring, it is important to acknowledge the relevance of wisdom and experience in seasoned RPG developers.

While it’s wise to gauge the career longevity of an RPG developer for planning and modernization purposes, the true value of a senior RPG developer lies in the business process and tribal knowledge they have picked up over the years.

When hiring, IBM i Managers should consider the current state of their IBM i environment and how they define modernization. The invaluable wisdom and experience that RPG developers with 25 to 35 years of experience bring to the table is critical.

Learning

How to Prepare A Technical Talk🎙️

There are many gurus in the IBM i community that are being asked to speak at COMMON, NAViGATE or any number of IBM i user groups.

For many, giving a presentation or a tech talk can be daunting or a little intimidating. Here is a guide on how to prepare a tech talk:

This article outlines the steps I follow to prepare my technical talks, including notes on slide design, engaging with the audience, how to prepare the delivery, and how to manage the Q&A.

The article is split into five sections outlining best practices on:

slide design;
audience engagement;
talk delivery;
how to practice; and
managing Q&A.

Modernization

🔄 The Multifaceted Approach to IBM i Modernization

Is old IT is hampering your competitiveness?

You bet it is.

In reality, there’s no single path to modernization, which is a multi-faceted phenomenon that can have wide-ranging impacts on the business.

A Rocket Software study reveals 69% of decision-makers consider IT modernization vital for achieving business objectives.

They feel that legacy systems can hinder competitiveness, but there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to modernization.

The report, “IT Modernization Without Disruption,” highlights the link between business and IT transformation, emphasizing the need for tailored solutions in Big Iron modernization efforts.

There are many different approaches to modernization, which one of these does your IBM i shop fit into?

📊IBM survey reveals mainframe modernization trends

While this article focuses on mainframes, it’s overall theme could equally apply to the IBM i.

A recent IBM survey of 2,551 tech leaders highlights business criticality (51%) and cost savings (45%) as primary drivers for mainframe app modernization.

With 28% of applications modernized, 88% see it as crucial for digital transformation. The survey also notes increased mainframe accessibility, AI integration plans, and continued importance in digital strategies.

IBM claims that mainframes handle 70% of transaction workloads, while still only accounting for 8% of total spend on IT, which is less than one-tenth of all other technologies and platforms combined. As such, the case for modernizing mainframe applications rather than replacing or migrating them remains compelling.

Notably, 78% are implementing AI in mainframe applications, with IBM set to deliver advanced AI-optimized processors next year.

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