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i Can Homecoming: Upcoming COMMON Events

My fans may have noticed a lack of i Can blog posts recently, particularly in the latter half of 2023. I apologize and confess that the main reason for my absence is I simply needed a break. The i Can blog started in 2009, and after over 13 years of regular postings, writer's block hit […]

The Mainframe in the Age of AI

AI is revolutionizing the mainframe. In this e-book, the University of St. Thomas’ Dr. Manjeet Rege and IBM’s Rich Larin highlight how AI is pushing the mainframe forward—and how to ethically use AI

Glenn Hanna on Linux Workloads on the Mainframe

This transcript is edited for clarity. Reg Harbeck: Hi, I’m Reg Harbeck and today I’m here with my friend and colleague Glenn Hanna, who is the director of software engineering at PKWARE and happens to also own his own Rhode Island-based navy. I’m sure that will come up in our conversation. Welcome, Glenn. Glenn Hanna: […]

How to Use the Rules Command With VIO Servers

I do a lot of customizations on my VIO servers, and I was asked recently how the rules command could be used to deploy some of those changes so they can be consistently applied to all VIO servers. The rules command is primarily used to tune and modify device settings on the VIO server and […]

Essential Factors for ERP Success in 2024

If you desire to enhance your business processes and performance, diminish your IT expenses and labor costs, and furnish real-time data and reporting capabilities, you should contemplate implementing an ERP system. These are some of the top reasons enterprises pursue ERP systems, which gather various functions and departments, such as finance, operations, and human resources, […]

Video: Supercharge Your IBM i Applications With Generative AI

This transcript has been edited lightly for clarity. Artificial intelligence has been getting a lot of attention these days. Elon Musk believes that it’s the most disruptive force in history and it’ll eventually take over the workforce. Now, whether or not that’s true, there’s no doubt that artificial intelligence is going to have a big […]

6 Steps IT Teams Should Follow for Continuous Modernization

According to data from McKinsey, as much as 71% of the impact of business transformations depends on technology—meaning modernization is top of mind for any business looking to maintain a competitive advantage. However, the path to modernization is not a one-time event but a continuous journey, and with the right tools, organizations can take it […]

Modernizing IBM i With Open-Source Solutions

This transcript is edited for clarity.   Charlie Guarino: Hi everybody, this is Charlie Guarino. Welcome to another edition of TechTalk SMB. Today I'm joined by Mr. Wayne Bowers of IBM. Wayne Bowers is a software engineer for IBM in IBM i, Global Support Center based in Rochester, Minnesota, which is clearly the home of […]

Peg Tuttle to Host TechChannel PowerTalk Podcast

With the new year come new initiatives for TechChannel. The recent retirement of Paul Tuohy, former host of the iTalk With Tuohy podcast, means two changes are happening to the podcast: a new name and a new host. Starting in January 2024, IBM Champion Peg Tuttle is taking over as host of TechChannel’s sponsored IBM […]

A Closer Look at a Federally Designated Tech Hub

This October, the White House announced 31 communities around the country as Regional Innovation and Technology Hubs, called “Tech Hubs.” Each of the Tech Hubs designated will focus on developing innovative technologies such as semiconductors, clean energy, biotechnology, quantum computing, artificial intelligence (AI) and others. The 31 were chosen from nearly 200 applications and are […]

Discover Hidden Value in the Software You Already Have

Organizations typically acquire applications to solve specific issues, using software with a single purpose in mind. Such was the case with a customer who had acquired our software to generate as many as 40,000 forms each day! Our work with them was to ensure the application ran as quickly as possible given the significant processing […]

Sponsored Content by
TL Ashford

z/OS Performance Management: Humans Still Needed

Several months ago, I was telling my wife how amazing this ChatGPT thing was: I just gave it a description of a Bash script I needed, and it wrote code for me that was about 95% correct on the first try. She said she wouldn’t have guessed that my job would be among the first […]

Sponsored Content by
Enterprise Performance Strategies, Inc.

The Power of Preparedness: Harnessing Resiliency to Mitigate Mayhem

Business leaders today face significant challenges. Skyrocketing cybercrime, climate-related natural disasters, pandemics and geopolitical unrest to name a few. These threats are not only more frequent than ever; their impacts can also last longer. Mayhem like this is costly! For Fortune 1000 companies, downtime can cost over $1 million per hour. The average security breach […]

Sponsored Content by
Broadcom

What Is an IBM Business Partner, Really?

This question came up this week when discussing upgrading two systems from IBM i 7.3 to 7.5. The word “partner” means a lot to me. First, what is an IBM Business Partner? Well, that definition can be a little broad. I’d argue that a Business Partner is the liaison between customers and IBM. We represent […]

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Service Express

How to Upgrade to PowerVM v4.1.0.10

In this article I will go over my recent experience upgrading VIO servers from version 3 to version 4. The process is similar to going from version 2 to version 3, but I did run into a few issues that you should be able to avoid. The first step is to download the code and […]

Digging Into AIX 7.3 TL Updates

In November, IBM TechXchange conducted a deep dive on AIX 7.3 TL updates. Featuring AIX product manager Jayen Shah and Carl Burnet, DE for IBM Power, the webinar covered the latest AIX enhancements: “In this webcast, you will learn:*How AIX OS feature enhancements provide the capacity, performance, and leading security needed to accelerate business outcomes.*How […]

The Big Secret About APIs

This transcript is edited for clarity.   Charlie Guarino: Hi everybody. This is Charlie Guarino. Welcome to another edition of TechTalk SMB. I’m so happy today to announce that I have as a guest one of the senior developers on our own team at Central Park Data Systems, Mr. Rainier Sajous. I have had the […]

More on Mainframes and Open-Source Tools

Following on from my article looking at the value of open-source software on the mainframe, I thought it would be interesting to see what else was available for mainframers to use. Open Tools Community Let’s start with the z/OS Open Tools Community on GitHub. According to their website, z/OS Open Tools provides a package manager […]

The Evolution of Mainframe Education: A Follow-Up

Kyndryl works hard to provide opportunities for young people in the field of mainframe technology. Although many mainframers are approaching retirement, Kyndryl is smashing that paradigm. Last year, I wrote an article on the first Kyndryl Internship. I thought it was very important to pen a follow-up to that article, as this topic could not […]

Hybrid Cloud Is the Future of the Mainframe

In 1897, the New York Journal published a rumor that Mark Twain was dead. Hearing the news, Mark Twain is said to have replied, “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.” I have had the occasion to use it many times when discussing mainframe over the past 30 years. My first encounter with mainframe […]

2023 TechChannel Rising Stars

Meet the 2023 class of TechChannel Rising Stars, who have worked on IBM Z or Power Systems for five years or less but are already making a big impact on the mainframe and IBM i ecosystems

Harness the Power of DevOps on IBM i

Midrange Dynamics’ Donna Westmoreland and Sapan Shah highlight 7 considerations for shifting to a DevOps framework and Profound Logic’s Alex Roytman explains why AI could revolutionize IBM i

On the Mainframe and a Changing, Challenging IT World

Joe Winchester of IBM Hursley and Reg Harbeck engage in a discussion and debate on ISPF, molecular biology and the cello

IBM Unveils IBM Storage Scale System 6000

On October 31, IBM announced the release of the IBM Storage Scale System 6000, the latest innovation within the IBM Storage for Data and AI portfolio. To satisfy new computational demands on account of growing AI adoption, the IBM Storage Scale System 6000 is a cloud-scale global data platform designed to yield greater value from […]

FLRT, NIM, DNF, HMC and More: Technical Lessons From 2023

2023 has been incredibly busy, but I have also learned a lot during that time. It was great to attend TechXchange, see everyone in person and share ideas and thoughts with everyone. In this article I have tried to distill some of the things I learned throughout the year: Updates to tools How to install […]