IBM i community highlights from 2024—including AI‑enhanced Power platform upgrades and the RPG Code Assistant project—plus a recap of crypto‑payment integration on IBM i, career advice on managing multiple job offers, hiring resources for OCL and RPG experts, and vendor spotlight on Shield Advanced Solutions’ high‑availability and monitoring solutions.
Welcome to another edition of Talsco Weekly
- IBM i Brief: 🙌 IBM i community leader reflects on successful 2024. 🚀 IBM Power platform gets major AI upgrades.
- Career: 🤝 Job offer timing requires a strategic approach.
- Development: 💻 IBM i shop pioneers crypto payments integration.
- Hiring: 🧑💻Are you looking for OCL gurus that can help you modernize?
- Vendors: 🛡️ Shield Advanced Solutions leads IBM i protection solutions.
IBM i Brief
🙌 IBM i community leader reflects on successful 2024
The IBM i community has so many great things to be thankful for in 2024.
Here is one IBM i Influencers’ year in review.
Justin Loeber, Kisco Systems shares highlights from a transformative year, that includes the acquisition of DXR Security, a successful COMMON PowerUp24 event featuring 300 career stories, awarding three RCL Fellowships, and welcoming a new IBM i Expert to their team (see who it is here).
Loeber expresses his many thanks to the IBM i community’s support by saying:
We are grateful for all the friends and partners in the IBM i community who have helped us out along the way, in particular our personal mentors and advisors who are always ready with advice and encouragement.
Takeaways:
While there is so much talk about IBM i-er’s retiring, we sometimes forget to highlight:
- The new crop of RPG talent that is coming into the market
- The amazing IBM i-ers that are still in the race 🏃♂️ passing the baton to the new wave of IBM i-er’s
- The new incoming IBM i leadership who are bringing a whole new perspective
And 2025 will be even better. 🥂
🚀 IBM Power platform gets major AI upgrades
Overview:
IBM announces significant enhancements to Power systems, focusing on AI capabilities and modern infrastructure. Key improvements include IBM Power Virtual Server expansion, Power11 processor advancements, and Spyre Accelerator integration. The updates aim to help clients modernize workloads while maintaining mission-critical service levels, with the new Power11 system scheduled for 2025 delivery.
Key Takeaway:
IBM’s RPG Code Assistant (RPGCA) project aims to revolutionize RPG development by helping developers understand existing code, generate new code from natural language, and create test cases using AI capabilities.
RPGCA is very much about “how do we help modernize the user experience from a developer perspective,” and how AI can be used to help people more efficiently use the platform, as opposed to using the platform for an outcome. - Bargav Balakrishnan, Vice President of Product Management at IBM Power
No looking back. The IBM i is full steam ahead.
Other IBM News
- 🔬 IBM’s quantum computing potential remains undervalued, with analyst forecasting billions in revenue by 2030s despite pioneering work since 1980s.
- 🤖 IBM’s new Granite 3.1 AI models outperform competitors. The latest open-source LLMs feature a 128K token context window, support for 12 languages, and image processing capabilities, surpassing rivals like Google Gemma 2 and Meta Llama 3.1 in benchmarks. Available through IBM’s Watsonx platform and major cloud providers.
Career
🤝 Job offer timing requires a strategic approach
Having multiple job offers is a good problem, but it requires some careful thought as to how to proceed.
Multiple Job Offers
To hedge job offers is not unethical or unfair. Dealing with each choice as it comes along is simply good business. Don’t let the uncertain future confuse you about what your present choices really are.
Here is some candid advice from “Ask The Headhunter” if you run into this problem.
Development
💻 IBM i shop pioneers crypto payments integration
Here is a unique story about the versatility of the IBM i platform and it’s ability to integrate with virtually anything.
After-all the i stands for integration.
There has been a fair amount of news lately regarding blockchain, digital payments, crypto and specifically Bitcoin.
So, when I spoke with this IBM i Developer, and now blockchain enthusiast, a couple of months back, the project work she did tying the IBM i, eCommerce, RPG and Bitcoin together was to say the least - intriguing.
Here is a quick summary of the article she just put together that gives an overview of the project.
A retail company’s journey from B10 to modern IBM i showcases the platform’s adaptability. Starting in 1993 with basic retail operations, they evolved through e-commerce in 2003, and by 2015 implemented Bitcoin payments. The innovative solution included a full Bitcoin node, real-time price fetching, and automatic conversion to fiat currency, proving IBM i’s continued relevance in modern commerce.
Thoughts: My guess is since the IBM i has a heavy footprint in the financial industry specifically banking, there are likely a number of other RPG-ers who are or have some similar type of work in the world of crypto and DeFi.
Who ever said, the IBM i can’t learn new tricks. 👊
Hiring
🧑💻Are you looking for OCL gurus that can help you modernize?
Say what?
You mean RPG-ers who work with flat files?
Yes, that is correct, flat files. They are still around.
OCL (Operational Control Language) is a scripting and command language used on IBM midrange systems, particularly the System/36 (S/36), to define and control batch job execution. It serves as the system’s primary method for specifying how jobs should be run, the resources they use, and the sequence of operations to process data effectively.
So, if you looking for RPG-ers with a specific expertise, - We can help! 😉
Our RPG Flex Hire Service will help you modernize and transform your IBM i environment.
Vendors
🛡️ Shield Advanced Solutions leads IBM i protection solutions
A quick Thank You to the folks over at Shield.
The company specializes in High Availability and Monitoring Solutions for IBM i environments, offering customer-driven tools with regularly updated code for maximum efficiency. Their integrated suite provides early issue detection, while their expert technicians deliver easy-to-implement specialized solutions. Shield’s commitment to outstanding customer support sets them apart in the IBM i ecosystem.
Over the years, I have had a handful of conversations with Shield and at NAViGATE this past October (2024) were able to spend some lengthy time together.
As a recruiter in the IBM i space, I have spent most of my time working directly with IBM i hiring managers and the IBM i gurus that make it all work.
But recently, I have spend more and more time getting to know and serving IBM i vendors. It is here where I have been able to gain insight into what makes the IBM i community so special.
If I had to describe it in three words they would be the following:
1. Integrity - Doing what’s right, even when no one is watching, has been a hallmark of the IBM i vendor community.
2. Generosity - The willingness to share knowledge, support others, and contribute to the greater good of the IBM i ecosystem.
3. Excellence - An unwavering commitment to delivering the highest quality solutions while continuously pushing the boundaries of innovation.
Stay tuned for more vendor spotlights in upcoming issues of Talsco Weekly as we continue to showcase the companies driving innovation and excellence in the IBM i ecosystem.
The vendors are the engine behind IBM i platform.
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