My Midrange Meddle

Avnet and Infor join LANSA in iManifest EMEA

martin.fincham@lansa-europe.com (Martin Fincham) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 04:07:10 PDT

Today's news is the most significant thus far in the evolution of iManifest EMEA. Although not by design, we now have nice symmetry to the group; Avnet representing the Tier 1 distribution channel, Infor representing the biggest homogenous group of IBM i business applications and LANSA as the largest independent vendor of IBM i development tools and enabling software. A month ago I opined that

iManifest: One advert is not going to do it

martin.fincham@lansa-europe.com (Martin Fincham) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 03:18:42 PDT

I really need to broaden my horizon and starting blogging on other topics again, but the level of buzz around our iManifest initiative makes it an irresistible topic of conversation. The vast majority of the dialogue I've had about iManifest, both on- and off-line, has been positive and new members are joining every week. But two issues have started to come-up with more frequency so I need to set

What Apple did that IBM must emulate

martin.fincham@lansa-europe.com (Martin Fincham) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 04:50:58 PDT

The IBM i server has an image problem, which is why going on a public relations offensive is the fundamental goal of our iManifest initiative.I am often asked to comment on IBM's decision to unify the System i (AS/400, iSeries) and System P (Unix) server lines - what we now know as Power Systems. My view is that the resulting engineering efficiencies and economies of scale must bode well for the

iManifest Update: no more heroes?

martin.fincham@lansa-europe.com (Martin Fincham) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 07:11:48 PDT

As The Stranglers once asked; whatever happened to all the heroes? You know, those characters with the boldness to act and sufficient fortitude to accept the consequences without regard for self-interest. I'm asking the question because, while the response to my call for participation of iManifest EMEA has resonated loud and far, support has come predominately from small players in the IBM i

iManifest EMEA: Call for Participation

martin.fincham@lansa-europe.com (Martin Fincham) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 02:59:33 PDT

When your image is in the toilet, and you need an urgent public makeover, then you call Max Clifford Associates. But a modem is no longer bundled with an IBM i server so it can’t dial Max for help! One might also turn to a parent for support in times of need but … well, say no more. So we, the IBM partner community, must band together to correct some misconceptions and promote longevity of the

We should import more from Japan

martin.fincham@lansa-europe.com (Martin Fincham) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 07:03:11 PDT

Before the nationalists among you cry out in protest, I should explain that I am not advocating a widening of our trade gap. Instead, a colleague in our Asia Pacific subsidiary has just told me about an uprising by the IBM partner community in Japan. It sounds like another innovation from the East that could well be heading West.A group of over 70 IBM partners and Independent Software Vendors (

Sun of Oracle

martin.fincham@lansa-europe.com (Martin Fincham) — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 03:36:09 PDT

Late last year I wrote a post entitled ‘Java may slay everything in its path - including Sun’ and asked the question: If Java is so universally good - it has been trying to prove itself for 13 years - then who enjoys and makes money working with it?It appears that the only vendors who made any real money from Java are Oracle, BEA Systems (now Oracle) and IBM. As I've been tardy about posting to

How [not] to build a business case for application modernisation

martin.fincham@lansa-europe.com (Martin Fincham) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 11:15:53 PDT

I read survey after survey that results in ‘modernisation’ projects coming top of the list of priorities for IBM i shops to undertake that year. It’s the same result year after year, so there must be no more old legacy systems out there! But you and I both know that’s not true, so wassup? We’ve commissioned a few of these survey ourselves so I know that the data hasn’t been messed with to suit

Doing the Midrange Mash

martin.fincham@lansa-europe.com (Martin Fincham) — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 07:51:24 PST

Like a dance craze that seems to burst onto the scene from nowhere, the concept of mashing-up business applications is suddenly the talk of the town. Mashups have the potential to deliver rich user experiences that cut across silos of applications to better support the way end-users actually work. These new composite applications are proven to increase user productivity, lower processing costs

BIG E.R.P → R.I.P ?

martin.fincham@lansa-europe.com (Martin Fincham) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 07:35:36 PST

No long winded pre-amble for you this time. Just the facts:93% of ERP implementations take longer than expectedOnly 35% of ERP projects are completed on or under budgetOnly 21% realise at least half of the business benefits they expectedOnly 13% of those interviewed are very satisfied with the results57% of systems suffered operational stoppages after implementationSource: Panorama Consulting

Hey, Make Do & Mend Mister!

martin.fincham@lansa-europe.com (Martin Fincham) — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 10:51:08 PST

Yes I’m talking to you sonny-jim, the CIO making plans for 2009 when the only certainty is that the pressure on you to deliver is relentless and funding for new projects is evaporating faster than spit on a hot griddle.A dilemma for sure, so where to turn for inspiration and support? It struck me that - after hearing pundit after pundit comment that this economic melt-down is the worst since the

2009: It’s time to get your Ox-on

martin.fincham@lansa-europe.com (Martin Fincham) — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 02:56:48 PST

The Chinese symbol of the zodiac for this coming year is the Ox. The Ox is a sign of prosperity through fortitude and hard work. Expecting this year to be one of prosperity seems ambitious, bordering on ludicrous, given the deteriorating economic situation. But displays of fortitude and hard work have always brought prosperity through good times and bad. I am reminded of a favourite adage: the

Get reach, get rich. Get real!

martin.fincham@lansa-europe.com (Martin Fincham) — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 12:10:39 PST

A quest for dominance in the technology to enable Rich Internet Applications (RIA) is causing a veritable feeding frenzy in vendor land.The RIA space was, until last year, a relatively obscure and over-looked segment of the enterprise software market. The granddaddy is undoubtedly Adobe Systems (née Macromedia) who took the popular Flash rendering engine and evolved the design-time environment

A-head in the Cloud

martin.fincham@lansa-europe.com (Martin Fincham) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 07:31:48 PST

If you have an internet connection and any sensory perceptors then you can't have missed the recent cacophony surrounding so-called Cloud Computing.It's my natural inclination to ridicule this kind of hyperbole, particularly when the Cloud is so obviously just a remake of 'B movies' like the Application Service Provider (ASP) and Software as a Service (SaaS). In my metaphor the 'B' stands for '

Redchester is the new capital of Switzerland

martin.fincham@lansa-europe.com (Martin Fincham) — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 01:56:06 PST

I may get 'berned at the steak' by Swiss federalists for spouting hearsay but I've just heard some stories that I must share.Those clever Swiss folks learned long ago that being 'neutral' can have considerable political and economic benefits. Why choose sides when you can carve out a profitable niche in the middle? This lesson can be equally well learned and applied to making I.T decisions. I

Why must you be passionate about software today?

martin.fincham@lansa-europe.com (Martin Fincham) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 03:42:01 PST

I wrote my first proper computer program - an educational video game - in 1984 and proudly published it as Shareware on the Micronet800 (Prestel) service using my shiny new Hayes Smartmodem 1200. I've had a love affair with great software ever since.My career has taken me via electrical engineering, hardware, networking & data comms and IT services but I came back to focus exclusively on software

Java may slay everything in its path - including Sun

martin.fincham@lansa-europe.com (Martin Fincham) — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 01:26:08 PST

The cause of Sun’s current woes is a much-debated subject and will certainly become a classic business school case study; if it hasn’t already. Reading this eWeek article - Sun Microsystems: The Innovator's Dilemma – is what made me ponder this subject for the umpteenth time.I have frequently wondered about the usefulness of the Java language ever since the first scrolling news applet caused my

Daily Prophet says Confundus Charm hits Rochester

martin.fincham@lansa-europe.com (Martin Fincham) — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 04:28:15 PST

Just when you thought that IBM's tool bundles for System i couldn't get any more arcane - prepare to be amazed and confounded in equal measure.It wasn't Rita Skeeter who drew this news to my attention but the even more incisive and pithy writings of TPM at IT Jungle: As Rumored, IBM Tweaks i Development Tool Bundle.I have followed IBM's tools strategy, bundling, licensing and pricing decisions

For Better or For Worse?

martin.fincham@lansa-europe.com (Martin Fincham) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 09:31:46 PST

I read about the announcement of the retirement of the "father of the System i" with mixed emotions.There is no doubt that Dr. Frank Soltis is an accomplished orator and, as we would say in my part of the world, a scholar and a gentlemen. I've had the opportunity to listen to Frank speak on several occasions and once shared a stage and subsequent expert panel session with him.Hanging out at S&A

My First Podcast

martin.fincham@lansa-europe.com (Martin Fincham) — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 04:11:43 PST

Ever wondered what happens when you search the iTunes store for something esoteric like IBM midrange? Well now I can reveal that you get to listen to me and a bunch of my cronies sounding-off on a medley of topics that will be of real interest to IBM i shops.In fact, in all honesty, it's not really my first podcast - I just do the intro and Paul Conte does all the hard work. But it's a start for

Industry events: It's like waiting for a bus ..

martin.fincham@lansa-europe.com (Martin Fincham) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 10:42:06 PST

... nothing for a while and then along come three System i oriented events in the same week! To kick-off Halloween week we had the Scoring with Power event in Manchester, England on 28th Oct. This was the first independent event in the UK for a decade and was put together by our friends at iNEWSWire UK, NiSUG and Penton Media. The event was only announced the month before but still over 100

When two tribes go to war...

martin.fincham@lansa-europe.com (Martin Fincham) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 10:42:50 PST

Even organisations that used to run all core applications on their IBM midrange system (AS/400 / iSeries / System i) now have a liberal sprinkling of Microsoft servers around the gaff and information amassing in SQL Server databases as well as the old data warhorse called DB2/400. Getting these two environments to work co-operatively and share data is both a technology challenge AND a people

Survey: SOA Adoption Dropping

martin.fincham@lansa-europe.com (Martin Fincham) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 10:43:25 PST

A Gartner survey indicates that the number of enterprises planning to adopt service-oriented architecture is dropping dramatically.It seems like us so-called laggards in the mid-market might just have side-stepped another pothole in the road. There is no question that many of the concepts embodied in the SOA design pattern represent sound software engineering principles. But it is possible to

Developers want Ballmer to show money

martin.fincham@lansa-europe.com (Martin Fincham) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 03:09:50 PST

Who'd a'thunk it? Are Microsoft developers starting to revolt? Questions from the Australian developer community have ranged from what Microsoft's mobile phone strategy will be to the impact of fragmenting programming languages on developers' bottom line.Jose Fajardo, a Silverlight and Adobe Flex/AIR developer at the Sydney-office of US-firm Cynergy asked whether Microsoft would offer financial

Essential System i Seminar in London

martin.fincham@lansa-europe.com (Martin Fincham) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 10:44:30 PST

Last week we [LANSA] held a successful series of System i related seminars in the UK. The London event held at The Cumberland Hotel was very well attended although the day before at The Belfry was also satisfactory. I have uploaded the event photos and will post comments on the speaker presentations and delegate feedback later.Essential System i Seminar London