Four Hundred Monitor, March 4
March 4, 2019 Jenny Thomas
“Dear March, come in!” Readers of Emily Dickinson might recognize the first line of one of her many poems. Although it is unlikely she was thinking of the computing industry as she welcomed the new month, the sentiment is fitting as we already enter the last month of the first quarter of the year. 2019 has been a busy one for IBM as it continues to make headlines throughout the computing world, which will hopefully result in good numbers coming out of Q1. You can count on IT Jungle to be watching for that news, and in the meantime, you can read below for the latest industry headlines.
Top Stories From Outside The Jungle
(Forbes) At THINK 2019 several IBM customers revealed how they were using Power Systems to help their AI, ML, and DL workflows.
(Black Enterprise) Just as Black History Month was wrapped up, IBM Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Tia Silas was named one of the most powerful women in corporate diversity.
(The Mercury News) IBM is headed to the White House this week, along with chief executives from companies to include Apple, Walmart, Lockheed Martin, Siemens USA, Home Depot, and Visa, to attend a workforce advisory meeting “to develop and implement a strategy to revamp the American workforce to better meet the challenges of the 21st century.”
(The Motley Fool) It’s been four months since IBM’s acquisition of Red Hat, but does that give them the edge when it comes to choosing where to place your money in the stock market?
(Bitcoinist) Ransomware is no longer at the top of the cybercrime list but the news isn’t good. Cryptojacking is the new worry and attacks increased by 450 percent between Q1 and Q4 in 2018.
Redbooks, White Papers, Blogs, and Other Resources
(IBM Bi-Weekly) The inaugural podcast from co-hosts Liam Allan and Josh Hall has dropped.
(Profound Logic) The 2019 State of the IBM i Modernization survey is closed, but you can register here to be among the first to get a look at the results.
(IBM Power Systems) Travel the world with these four case studies featuring POWER clients.
(Zend) This blog takes a look at why microservices are of interest to the IBM i community.
Chats, Webinars, Seminars, Shows, and Other Happenings
March 20 – Webinar – Register for this live iTech webinar will dive into end of support for POWER6 and POWER7 and what it means for IBM i shops still running on this iron. Topics include: Upcoming end of life date review; what happens to current IBM hardware maintenance contracts after P6 and P7 service discontinuation date; What IBM’s extended hardware support will provide; and optional paths forward with some real world examples. The webinar, “What ‘End of Support’ Means (And Why You Should Act Now),” begins at 1 p.m. ET.
March 12-14 – Delavan, Wisconsin – The WMCPA (Wisconsin Midrange Computer Professional Association) is holding its Spring Technical Conference at the Lake Lawn Resort. Featured topics include SQL, RPG, Security, and open source.
March 25 – Charlotte, North Carolina – The IBM i CIO Summit provides a commercial-free forum for CIOs and IT Directors to meet in person and share ideas on how to address common challenges. With discussions facilitated by Alan Seiden, topics range from managing new technology and hiring the right skills to delivering enhancements, integrations and new applications faster; getting started with modernization; evaluating cloud options; and more. An optional second day includes a CIO roundtable and complimentary participation in the opening day of the RPG & DB2 Summit.
March 26-28 – Charlotte, North Carolina – The RPG & DB2 Summit will be held at the Hilton Charlotte University Place. The conference will feature a new Db2 for i track updated with additional SQL and modernization techniques, practical skills for IBM i-based queries and analytics, and data integration options. Plus many new sessions on SQL, RPG, RDi, ILE, Python, open source languages and tools; an open source roundtable; an Open Source Squad offering individual help installing and using open source; and pre-conference hands-on workshops on RDi, SQL, Python and Service Programs. The early bird registration rate of $1,295 is in effect through February 15, 2019. RPG & DB2 Summit alumni and their colleagues receive a $100 discount when they register using their alumni ID.
May 19-22 – Anaheim, California – POWERUp19 is heading to the Disneyland® Resort. With over 300 sessions for Power Systems and IBM i education, you can keep your skills up-to-date by creating a custom schedule based on your specific needs.
June 12-19 – Berlin, Germany – The Common Europe Congress brings together Power System experts, users, vendors and like-minded professionals to network, learn, and share best practices. Education is delivered by industry experts, IBM developers, and like-minded peers. The Congress is designed to welcome networking and conversations to seeking solutions to your IT issues by conversing one-on-one with vendors in the exhibit hall or learning new ideas from casual conversation with your peers.