Talsco Weekly: The IBM i's Big Event

Welcome to another edition of Talsco Weekly

IBM i Brief: 💼 Maxava expands consulting footprint with new MCS division. 🎡 POWERUp 2025 brings IBM i innovation to Disneyland.
AI: 🎯 AI and LLM Fundamentals Session. 🤖 AI Session Explores Development Tools. ⚡Boost Your IBM i Development with AI Assistants. 🔍 AI-Powered Banking Analytics Session.
Career: 🌟 N2i Mentorship Program Powers Career Growth. 📚 Career Development Panel: Expert-Led Framework for Building IBM i Skills.
Development: XGROK AI: Revolutionizing IT Practices. 💻 Valence 6.3 Introduces AI-Powered Low-Code Development.
DevOps: 🔄 DevSecOps for IBM i. 📊 Is DevSecOps your thing?
Security: 🔒 Security Debate: IBM i 7.6’s Enhanced Protection Features. 🔐 IBM i MFA: Impact on Application Development.

IBM i Brief

💼 Maxava expands consulting footprint with new MCS division Maxava launches a comprehensive consulting arm, Maxava Consulting Services (MCS), to address critical IBM i project management needs. Led by industry veteran Yvonne Enselman, MCS offers strategic planning, QA testing, security, and HA/DR services. The division aims to bridge technical and business teams while leveraging Maxava’s global infrastructure to deliver high-end project optimization for resource-constrained IBM i shops. 🎡 POWERUp 2025 brings IBM i innovation to Disneyland

The largest IBM i event of the year is set to begin next week at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, California. Following last year’s successful Fort Worth gathering, this 65th-anniversary conference features over 310 sessions focused on IBM i 7.6, the first new OS release in three years. With 120+ speakers covering topics from AI to security, the event promises essential updates for the IBM i community.

Fun Fact:

Last year’s POWERUp in Fort Worth drew over 1,100 attendees - COMMON’s highest turnout in a decade.

Hot Topics:

POWERUp 2025 features key IBM i 7.6 sessions from architects Tim Rowe, Scott Forstie, and Tim Mullenbach, covering security, MFA, and database updates.

🎓 A Training Paradise

POWERUp 2025 stands out as the premier training event in the IBM i community, offering unparalleled learning opportunities across all skill levels. With over 310 sessions, this year’s conference at the Disneyland Hotel promises the most comprehensive IBM i education experience available.

Training Highlights:

Hands-on labs provide practical experience with IBM i 7.6’s newest features
Tailored learning tracks for beginners through advanced practitioners
Interactive workshops led by industry experts and IBM architects
Dedicated networking sessions for peer-to-peer knowledge sharing

See some of the selected highlights below. ⬇️

AI

Here’s a preview of the AI-focused sessions. 🎯 AI and LLM Fundamentals Session offers a 20-minute crash course demystifying artificial intelligence and large language models, addressing community concerns about hype and implementation. 🧠 For AI enthusiasts, POWERUp 2025 features over 30 AI-focused sessions covering topics from machine learning integration to natural language processing on IBM i - explore the complete AI track in the conference schedule. 🤖 AI Session Explores Development Tools POWERUp’s AI development session will demonstrate practical applications of AI-powered tools for IBM i coding, testing, and documentation, focusing on real-world productivity enhancements. ⚡Boost Your IBM i Development with AI Assistants AI is revolutionizing software development on IBM i and other platforms. This session demonstrates practical AI applications in daily IBM i development from code generation to testing. You’ll learn how to leverage AI tools effectively while maintaining IBM i’s high standards, with real-world examples and implementation guidance to enhance productivity without compromising code quality. 🔍 AI-Powered Banking Analytics Session demonstrates how Rocketgraph xGT uses natural language processing and graph databases to detect fraud patterns in Db2 transactions exceeding $5000.

Rocketgraph xGT

Career

🌟 N2i Mentorship Program Powers Career Growth The N2i initiative launches comprehensive mentorship program connecting new IBM i professionals with industry veterans, offering guidance, skill development, and career navigation support. 📚 Career Development Panel: Expert-Led Framework for Building IBM i Skills Industry panel shares comprehensive talent development strategies combining college partnerships, hands-on training, and structured onboarding programs to address critical IBM i skills gap.

Development

GROK AI: Revolutionizing IT Practices

Industry expert Jim Buck leads this POWERUp 2025 session exploring xAI’s GROK, covering core features, IT integration, and practical applications for enhancing technical decision-making and communication.

This session promises to be a game-changer for IBM i developers, offering insights into how GROK AI can transform daily IT challenges into opportunities for innovation and efficiency. With a focus on real-world implementation, this session will be invaluable for IBM i professionals looking to stay ahead of AI trends.

💻 Valence 6.3 Introduces AI-Powered Low-Code Development Valence’s latest framework update features Nitro App Builder (NAB), enabling rapid web and mobile app development on IBM i with integrated AI assistance and requiring no prior web development experience.

DevOps

🔄 DevSecOps for IBM i session explores automated security checks for code changes, featuring best practices for continuous verification and deployment controls using both open-source and commercial tools.

Other DevOps sessions, can be found here.

📊 Is DevSecOps your thing?

As we have covered here for a long time, the IBM i is open for business. That is, the traditional vendors in the space are not the only players anymore.

Innovation is coming from outside as well as from within the IBM i ecosystem.

Here is one example.

Datadog enables seamless DB2 monitoring and is the observability and security platform for cloud applications.

The new Datadog integration for IBM DB2 offers comprehensive monitoring capabilities, featuring a built-in dashboard that tracks instance availability, connections, and query rates. This integration empowers users to monitor DB2 alongside other applications and infrastructure with features like buffer pool optimization tracking and query efficiency analysis.

Security

🔒 Security Debate: IBM i 7.6’s Enhanced Protection Features IBM i leaders Steve Will (IBM) and Carol Woodbury (Kisco Systems) engage in a critical discussion about security enhancements in IBM i 7.6, exploring system protection responsibilities and implementation strategies. If it is too late for you to make it to POWERUp, you can watch IBM i Security A Dual Responsibility. 🔐 IBM i MFA: Impact on Application Development

This POWERUp 2025 session will explore how developers must adapt to IBM i’s integrated MFA solution, covering key considerations like application compatibility, authentication exit points, and profile tokens. Attendees will learn about new APIs and commands that can enhance their application security.

🔥 For security enthusiasts, POWERUp 2025 features over 25 dedicated security sessions covering everything from MFA implementation to zero-trust architecture - check the full security track in the conference schedule.

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