Top 15 things to learn at COMMON in Pittsburgh this week

2018 COMMON Fall Conference & Expo

The important attraction this week in Pittsburgh for the IBM i community is, of course, the 2018 COMMON Fall Conference & Expo (October 15 – 17). COMMON is recognized as the largest IBM Power Systems user group in the world. They are leaders in education, networking, and certifications for the IBM i community. COMMON is a resource like no other because they are at the forefront of training and educating for IBM i professionals. Regardless if you are in Pittsburgh or not, here is a list of the top 15 things to learn at COMMON because it’s what leading professionals and organizations are doing to best utilize what the IBM i and POWER Systems have to offer.

Session List

Check out the daily session guide for details.

News

IBM Rolls Out Cybersecurity Operations Center on Wheels “The IBM X-Force Command Cyber Tactical Operations Center (C-TOC) will travel around the U.S. and Europe, running incident response drills with clients.” AI and Machine Learning: The most effective weapons against ransomware “An essential part of an IT department’s mission is to stay atop the latest technological trends. And that includes protecting corporate networks by leveraging the latest security solutions and processes.”

Career

How to Shine During Your Interview In order to shine during your interview, you must be prepared and you do this by telling good stories. Here is a STAR method you can use. Is it possible to overdo it during the interview? This is a good article that offers common sense advice on what to do and not to do in an interview.

Development

Practical Mini Projects in Node.js Here is a 23-minute video on how to build the following things using Node.js:

A web scraper
A repetitive workflow task
A CSV data parser
An operating system utility tool
A bluetooth controller

Lessons from an IBM Champion with only 4 years of RPG experience Kody Robinson, is a newcomer to the IBM i scene and he brings with him a “growth mindset”. Its exactly what the IBM i community needs. You will want to read what he has to say about the IBM i and RPG. It might shock you.

ERP

ERP – Is it all over? “The current ERP market is confusing.” This article puts things into perspective. Update on Infor’s IBM i strategy Here is a follow up to a previous article, from IT Jungle on Infor’s new AI bot, Coleman and how plays out in the IBM i market.

Learning

These are the skills you (our kids) need to learn for the future I stumbled upon this post regarding the future of learning. While we are focused on modernizing it is important to understand where the future will take us, whether you like it or not. “The challenges that our kids will face will be much different than we did growing up and many of the things a typical student learns in school today will no longer be relevant by the time he or she graduates college.” It’s time to rethink what we are learning This article will challenge what you think. Read it with an open mind.

Open Source

DevOps and Legacy Systems: The benefits and challenges DevOps is a “software development methodology that bridges the gap between development and operations teams to deliver software faster and more effectively.” Forget everything you have learned about Agile “Forget everything you’ve been told; everything you’ve learned, read, or otherwise acquired via misuse of the term.”

Security

Looking to protect your IBM i? Here is a series of webcasts, each 15-minutes in length that touch on a broad range of security topics for the IBM i.

Jobs

If you are and RPG developer and looking for an organization that is committed to the IBM i, you might want to consider this opportunity.

Join

Contact us

If you are an RPG programmer looking to explore opportunities or a client who is looking for a talented IBM i professional, please contact us. We look forward to assisting you.

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