Why the IBM i is a proven business system

Welcome to another edition of Talsco Weekly

News: IBM i innovation. The IBM i is a proven platform for the modern enterprise.
AI: AI starts with Data. AI can speed up the learning process.
Job openings: IBM i Applications Team Lead - RPG.
Leadership: Value Chain and Value Stream Management. What you need to know.
Modernization: Technical debt can be good. 5 Steps to Modernization.
Open Source: What is DevOps. IBM i and Open Source is blazing a path forward.
Trends: Are you thinking about moving your legacy applications?

News

IBM i: A platform for innovators, by innovators Here is a short video about the IBM i and our future. It highlights why the IBM i platform is a proven business system that organizations big and small have turned to because of its incredible capabilities for the modern enterprise. Is the IBM i, your platform too? IBM i 2011 Roadmap announced Here is a flashback to the year 2011. It is interesting to compare it to today and the announcement of IBM i 7.4 and DB2 Mirror. It just seems that things keep getting better and better.

AI

Voice of the Client: Is AI your priority? Start with a data strategy "If you start out with an AI strategy without doing a Data Strategy it is impossible to be successful." In otherwords, "harnessing the power of data with AI, requires understanding the data sets required and how relevant they are to the insight we are trying to drive." What We Learned Breaking a Guinness World Record One of the biggest challenges of training new RPG Developers is, time. Jim Buck at imPower Technologies has one of the most complete RPG Developer Boot Camps that I know of. Learning is being redefined by AI. Here is a story about how IBM is using AI to train developers. "For 45 minutes, 775 young participants – who had no previous knowledge of programming — were trained on how to use the artificial intelligence (AI) of Watson Assistant on IBM Cloud to create a chatbot that could help hungry clients place an order for an old-time Mexican favorite dish: tacos."

Job Openings

If you are looking for IBM i direct hire or consulting opportunities. Feel free to schedule a call. We don't typically post all of our openings. So, one of the ways to find out about amazing opportunities is for us to know about you. Our process starts with building relationships with talented IBM i Managers, RPG Developers, IBM i Engineers, IBM i Business Analysts and IBM i ERP experts. Then when the time is right we bring the opportunities to you. Here is an example of one of the RPG openings we are currently working on. It is an IBM i Applications Team Lead. It happens to be a dual role with both management and RPG development responsibilities.

Leadership

Four questions that lead to a better organization strategy There is a lot in this article. It discusses "value chain" and why it is important. It also points out that most "companies often don’t know precisely what they do that creates the most value. They seldom sit down to identify two or three things that really matter, let alone to map the value chain of their industry to identify where the company needs to differentiate itself." When reading this article, think about how it applies to IT. Do internal IT departments really understand their role in the value chain? At some organizations they do. At others they don't. At your company, does your IBM i shop understand its role in the value chain? How value stream management can provide a clear way forward "As one of the key leaders in any business, the CIO is responsible for ensuring that the best possible value is provided for all customers, and having visibility into how to do so is becoming a number one consideration. But implementing innovative techniques in your business, without increasing the cost or decreasing quality, can be challenging and relies on the CIO understanding: the following."

Modernization

Technical Debt Can Be Good if it Drives Positive Business Outcomes "Technical debt that has a lower chance of powering business outcomes that pay back that debt should be viewed as riskier than technical debt that powers business outcomes that will definitely pay back that investment." This certainly applies to many of the RPG applications that are in production today. Many provide real business value. While some don't. Legacy modernization: 5 steps to excellent result "Continuous evolving and adaptation of business processes to the market changes are one of the critical success factors for any company. Nowadays, it’s hard to imagine a successful business organization that can fully function without the use of such tools as ERP systems or CRM solutions. Therefore, timely modernization of legacy systems is an essential part of modern business."

Open Source

Defining DevOps in layers "What in the world is DevOps? I think this is a question everyone new to DevOps asks early in their journey. If you ask 10 people this question, you will most likely get 10 different answers. This speaks positively to the pervasive, open nature of DevOps but also to the lack of a clear definition or implementation. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it can make it difficult for DevOps journeymen and journeywomen." ‘i’ will emPOWER the new generation of techs "With the latest explosion of Open Source code running natively on IBM i and the groundswell of the national push in all education establishments in ‘S.T.E.M.’ (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) skills, we find ourselves at the forefront of modern IT delivery."

Trends

So you're thinking about moving a legacy application There has been much discussion about moving some of your legacy applications. Here are some things to think about. "Can you move your legacy application to the cloud? Absolutely. Will it come at a cost? You bet. If you go for it, plan the move, consider what you’re losing on the way, and also how you will manage the application when it gets there. Don’t forget to plan its replacement; and remember, the cloud is about managing services in a stateless, scalable, highly available way—not managing individual applications on servers!" Keep in mind there are Application and Database concerns if you do this. But do these same concerns apply to the IBM i?

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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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