News: US jobs report and Apple reaching a trillion‑dollar market cap; Career: interview advice and resume tips; Leadership: hiring questions and bridging the IT training gap; Modernization: legacy application updates, PHP migration, RPG refactoring; Open Source: blockchain impact and PHP 7.3.0 beta1 release; Trends: AI in supply chains and augmented reality in the workplace.
Welcome to another edition of Talsco Weekly
The IBM i brings it all together. There is not much that it can’t do especially when you leverage its capability to integrate with other systems and technologies. In this issue, we bring it all together.
- News: US jobs report and why Apple hitting the trillion dollar mark is important for the IBM i.
- Career: Overlooked Job Interview and Resume advice.
- Leadership: Making the right hire and bridging the training gap.
- Modernization: Legacy applications and refactoring RPG.
- Open Source: Blockchain and PHP 7.3.0beta1
- Trends: AI and AR are making their way into the enterprise.
News
August Jobs Report A large portion of our IBM i (AS/400) clients are in the manufacturing sector. According to the Department of Labor Statistics, “over the past 12 months, manufacturing has added 327,000 jobs” . This supports the growth we are seeing as well. Over the next several years this trend is projected to continue as GDP from manufacturing is on the rise through 2020 and beyond. Apple cracks the trillion dollar mark “The achievement seemed unimaginable in 1997 when Apple teetered on the edge of bankruptcy.” I find this interesting because part of what the IBM i community is being asked to do is modernize. Part of this is driven by what Apple started. Most modernization projects in some way are directly tied to the mobile phone. This is good for the IBM i community. We have seen significant growth in this area as IBM i software vendors continue to develop products that help IBM i (AS/400) departments develop mobile applications.
Career
Job interview advice that most do not take For many, job interviews are nerve-racking. Here is some common sense advice that you might want to consider to help you prepare for your next interview. This one thing might really make the difference in how you perform. Is your resume being overlooked? Writing your resume to capture the readers’ attention does not have to be difficult. Remember your resume is an advertisement for you.
Leadership
7 interview questions that will help you might the right hire Hiring is not always easy, so asking the right interview questions helps you avoid making a bad hire. Ultimately, “you want to pick someone who will not only help the company succeed, but will thrive in the role.” How to bridge the IT training gap This is the most important issue we face in the IBM i community because it not only relates to hiring RPG developers but also retaining them. “Most organizations do training wrong” or it is non-existent. This article touches on some training options that IT in general have. Many of which can apply to our community.
Modernization
Paul Jones on Modernizing Legacy Applications in PHP We always talk about legacy RPG applications. If you think about it, any application developed a couple years ago could be considered legacy. Paul Jones has a specialty for rewriting legacy applications in PHP. This talk is from 2014 but still relevant today because it discusses the approach. Refactoring RPG – Indicators “Refactoring code to reduce or even eliminate the use of predefined indicators (not indicator variables) can pay off big in benefits.”
Open Source
How blockchain will influence open source “While blockchain is still evolving and trying to find its place, one thing is for sure: It is a disruptive technology that will fundamentally transform certain industries. And I’m betting open source will be one of them.” PHP 7.3.0 Beta1 Released “The PHP team is glad to announce the release of the fifth PHP 7.3.0 version, PHP 7.3.0beta1.”
Trends
How AI is spreading through Supply Chain Is your company forward thinking? If it is, it is likely looking at AI “because it is enhancing efficiency from the first to the final link of the supply chain by assisting with manufacturing, inventory management, and shipping.” AI is highly predictive and is shortening the distribution process. If your company is not looking at AI, it should. Augmented Reality is moving from gaming into the Office “Enterprises have long shown interest in mobile app use cases that combine Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Reality, but with very few tangible or practical implementations. Until now.”
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