You can register for i-Power here. If you need insight into the workshops and sessions available, here is a summary of the agenda.

Open Source Development: Python and IBM i Made for Each Other

Presenter: Andy Youens, Owner, FormaServe

Andy Youens is a regular presenter at i-UG events as well as i-Power itself on the subject of open source and Python on IBM i.

Aimed at IBM i developers and IT professionals, this workshop looks at seamless integration of Python with IBM i. 

You’ll learn how Python combined with IBM i can enhance your applications and streamline workflows.

As well as exploring how Python and IBM i complement each other, you’ll also gain hands-on experience with accessing IBM i’s Db2 database and calling IBM i programs using Python.

• Introduction to Python and IBM i
• Setting Up the Environment
• Accessing Db2 for i with Python
• Calling and Using IBM i Programs
• Real-world Applications and Use Cases

Db2 and SQL Services for Everybody

Presenter: Birgitta Hauser, Database and Software Architect, IBM Champion since 2020

With the latest releases and technology refreshes IBM has provided a host of new IBM i and Db2 services bringing the total to around 300.

The majority of these services provide functionality that isn’t directly available in RPG or can only be implemented in RPG by calling complex System APIs and/or by using pointer handling for accessing the data.

However, IBM provides new SQL Services for all kinds of work management on IBM i. Started with PTF Information, replacements or enhancements for CL commands, object and access authorities, reading from and writing into the IFS, managing Spoolfiles, analyzing ILE Objects, generating spreadsheets, sending and retrieving data from data queues, and much more.

This workshop will show a sub-set of SQL and IBM Services which can easily be embedded in any programming language that supports SQL and, in this way, can make life much easier.

I will share the slides and also the SQL Scripts I will use in the sessions. But time will be too short so everybody can try the statements himself during the workshop.

At the end the attendees should know what services are available, how they can be found and how to use them.

So a lot of tasks or problems can be solved much easier and faster

Diving Deep into IBM i Security (Morning) and IBM i Security and SQL Mashup (Afternoon)

Presenter (morning): Carol Woodbury, IBM i Security SME and Senior Advisor, Kisco Systems

Presenter (afternoon): Scott Forstie, STSM, Db2 for i Architect, IBM

Morning Session – Diving Deep into IBM i Security (Carol Woodbury)

Renowned IBM i security expert, Carol Woodbury will be showing attendees how ‘Function Usage’ can add another layer of security to your IBM i.

Formerly ‘Application Administration’, Function Usage can be used to control Navigator for i, ACS and many operating tasks with its uses being expanded further in IBM i 7.5 and 7.6.

Carol will explain the history of Function Usage and explore ways to report on the settings, recent new functions and more.

Based on her extensive knowledge from her time as IBM i Security team leader, Carol will “provide an explanation of some security internals including how security affects performance, interesting tidbits about adopted authority, the history and why you should use the QUSEADPAUT system value, an explanation of validation lists and more”.

Afternoon Session – IBM i Security and SQL Mashup (Carol is joined by IBM’s Scott Forstie)

Joining Carol for the afternoon session will be IBM’s Scott Forstie. The focus in this session will be on new security-related SQL features.

Scott and Carol will “discuss ways to move from traditional (old) interfaces to new and improved security-related SQL views and services to more effectively manage your IBM i Security”.

There will be many examples of recent changes that show IBM’s commitment to being ‘secure by design’. They will also provide steps you can take with your own systems and applications.

Say Hello to Linux running under IBM i 

Presenter: Stefan Dufaye, Technical Consultant, Rowton IT

Rowton IT’s Stefan focuses on Linux on IBM i in this workshop. He will include a live demonstration of how to install Linux hosted by IBM i on Power Server. 

Attendees will get an opportunity to build their own Linux LPAR on the i-UG lab systems.

Stefan will also cover:

• Concepts of hosting with IBM i
• Considerations when selecting a Linux distro for use on the IBM i
• Configuring a Linux LPAR using IBM i as a host
• Installing and setup
• Use cases of your new LPAR.

What today’s RPG prototypes can do for you

Presenter: Susan Gantner, Partner, Partner400

In this session, Susan will delve into how much prototypes could be doing for you beyond simply replacing your old parm lists for program calls.

Following a brief overview of the basics, Susan will look at often-overlooked prototype features and some of the recent enhancements.

• Protect against parameter mis-matches
• Provide automatic conversion of parameter types and sizes
• Enable passing literals, built-in functions or function calls as parameters
• Allow you to specify optional parameters
• Enable you to call C functions and system APIs that return values.

If you’ve not used *Convert, *Exact and %Passed, Susan will show attendees examples of how much they can simplify their code.

Using Navigator for i and the SQL Services behind it

Presenter: Rudi van Helvoirt, Technical Director, van Helvoirt Beheer

Rudi will use this workshop to show attendees how to use Navigator for i as well as show how system administrators can use SQL functionality that’s “under the bonnet of Navigator for i”.

Processing & Creating JSON with RPG

Presenter: Jon Paris, Partner, Partner400

Jon has split his workshop into two parts.

Part 1 looks at the fundamentals of consuming and creating JSON in your RPG programs. He’ll explain what the “best” way for an RPG programmer to process JSON using the two main options:

• RPG’s native DATA-INTO and DATA-GEN combination

• and SQL’s JSON capabilities.

Part 2 goes beyond the basics to examine more ‘advanced’ features such as:

• Handling JSON names that don’t directly map to RPG names.

• Handling large JSON documents in pieces.

• Dealing with optional elements.

VS Code + IBM i: Tips, Tricks and Real Talk

Presenter: Richard Moulton, IBM i Developer, RM Software Services

If you’re using VS Code for IBM i development or thinking about it, then this session for you.

Richard will share real-world examples, tips, tricks, and the reasons why VS Code is becoming the go-to editor for modern IBM i development.

Day 2 of i-Power starts with a conference debate, hosted by Steve Cast (Practice Director, Common Europe Treasurer, IBM Champion, Fresche Solutions) on a very topical subject at the moment: Just When is AI Appropriate?

Attendees will then have a choice of various short sessions including Jon Paris who shares the very latest developments in RPG code. He’ll be covering:

• The new BIFs such as %CONCAT, %CONCATARR, %LEFT, %RIGHT, %HIVAL, and %LOVAL.
• New “enumeration” definition type.
•  Parameter testing via the new BIFs %PASSED and %OMITTED
• Enhancements to the %SPLIT BIF so you can now really handle CSVs.
• New variant of SELECT statement combined with WHEN-IS and WHEN-IN opcodes
• Automatic string conversion option tor parameters

Scott Forstie will then share the latest updates in Db2 for i including enhancements to SQL on i, SQL Query Engine, IBM i Services and more delivered in IBM i 7.6 and IBM i 7.5 Technology Refreshes.

Steve Cast then returns with Debbie Stiles, Systems Development Manager, Draper Tools to deliver an IBM i Modernisation Case Study. Debbie will explain how Draper Tools are “combining traditional and modern coding practices, alongside the agile approach we’re using to deliver change”. 

Susan Gartner will examine the various options available for coding RPG outside the traditional Green Screen, including RDi, VS Code for i and other modern modern IDEs.

Once again, Steve Cast will take to the podium to deliver a session on how to connect IBM Watson Assistant to IBM i / Db2 for i to link AI technology with your backend systems, securely and in real time. 

It is also worth mentioning that Proximity and Fresche are co-hosting a booth at the conference as well. By visiting the booth you’ll have an opportunity to meet Steve and Andy Nicholson, host of the IBM i Update, to discuss how both organisations can help you get the most from your IBM i applications.

There’s more about i-Power 2025 in Andy’s May 2025 edition of the IBM i Update, which includes an interview with Steve Cast.

The post i-UG i-Power Conference 2025 Agenda Highlights appeared first on Proximity.

For years, IT teams have struggled with complex IBM i code, limited visibility, and slow development and modernisation projects.

Traditional IBM i development tools weren’t built to keep pace with today’s evolving demands on the IBM i enterprise with manual analysis no longer enough. 

The good news? 

With the integration of AI into X-Analysis, Fresche Solutions is eliminating bottlenecks and bringing intelligence-driven insights to the IBM i developer community. 

Application documentation with X-Analysis

Andy Nicholson takes a deep dive into X-Analysis in this video – and there’s also a demonstration of the new AI feature in the video below:

X-Analysis itself has been supporting the IBM i community in application discovery and documentation for many years now.

It does this by building a repository of data on your IBM i landscape. 

X-Analysis could be considered as akin to an MRI scanner for your IBM i estate. It forensically analyses your RPG and COBOL application and provides insightful analysis documentation and graphical representations of your IBM i applications.

This not only helps you know what is where, but also supports the UNDERSTANDING of your IBM i enterprise.

While X-Analysis is unrivalled in its ability to extract and document your IBM i applications, this information was largely limited to experienced users. 

Now, powered by natural language processing and AI, the new X-Analysis lets you ask questions on your code – questions in plain English. 

‘What programs use this file?’ and get understandable answers, in a natural, conversational manner.

This opens up your IT resource. Not just for developers, but for Project Managers, Business Analysts — even C-levels. 

They can all get actionable insights from the same tool, without getting lost in the code.

Whether you’re tackling database redesigns, looking at an UI overhaul, or untangling a monolithic application, the AI-enabled X-Analysis will provide you with a clear, visual roadmap.

Look at it like getting a blueprint for your modernisation journey.

It’ll be like talking to a knowledgeable colleague. It’ll be comprehensive, understandable and quick. 

In fact, moving to their platform, in some cases, Fresche have recorded more than a 10x in response speeds against the legacy system.

Andy Nicholson, Proximity’s Sales Director, caught up with Steve Cast, Fresche’s newly appointed Practice Director, to discuss the new AI-powered X-Analysis product.

>> Watch the interview here

Steve explained that the new release of X-Analysis “will allow you to understand your RPG code and your DB2 for i database as you currently do within X-Analysis in a kind of graphical format but being able to ask intelligent questions of the AI agent that has been built into X-Analysis.”

One of the key benefits of the AI-enabled interface is making accessing information much faster and easier. 

“Rather than you having to know the right question to ask, and that’s what has always been the problem with X-Analysis, in that all the information is there in the repository but sometimes being able to find it, you’ve got to almost point and click and hope for the best” explained Steve. 

“The new AI enabled X-Analysis provides a much simpler interface. So, the same great repository information that X-Analysis has always built for us, but being able to interpret the information in a way that is more interactive and more intuitive for us to use.”

Steve also confirmed that the new release won’t be the only Fresche product that will be treated to a new UI and be AI-enabled:

“This is the direction of travel for Fresche Solutions. We’re making sure we AI-enable the tooling that we have. So I think you can probably guess that X-Analysis is not the only tool that’s going to be AI enabled – there’s more to come on that.  I’ve seen sneak previews of our AI enablement of some of those other tools. 

“Testing would be an obvious one to be looking at. Watch this space!”

Fresche’s AI-enhanced X-Analysis stands as a significant advancement in IBM i application discovery and understanding. 

It offers IBM i shops a smarter, faster, and more accessible path to support and modernise their legacy systems.

Contact us to learn more about the new AI-enabled X-Analysis

Interested in reading more about X-Analysis?

These articles will be of interest for learning more about X-Analysis’ IBM i application documentation and code analysis capabilities.

The post New UI added to an AI-enabled X-Analysis appeared first on Proximity.

This year’s survey is the 11th that Fortra has released. Each one offers a comprehensive and valuable insight into the state of the IBM i ecosystem year-by-year.

Andy Nicholson has covered previous releases in his IBM i Update (which you can subscribe to on LinkedIn). 

He gave an indepth summary of this year’s results in the January IBM i Update.

Andy caught up with Mike Davison to discuss the survey results. 

Mike is one of Fortra’s Product Managers and is the EMEA Power Systems Support Team Lead. 

He’s also a current IBM Champion.

If you’d like to watch the full interview, you can access it on YouTube here or simply press play:

Read the transcript below

Andy Nicholson: Let’s jump straight into it. What do you see as the most significant takeaway from this year’s IBM i marketplace survey?

Michael Davison: Astoundingly there is a record high of 96% satisfaction in the platform. So, that message is getting across that the IBM i is reliable, scalable and is the platform that gives a great ROI for customers. 

Also cyber security and the IBM i skills issues have been consistently at the top for the last five years and I think they’re the main concerns for customers.

Andy Nicholson: Quite right. But were there any surprises?

Michael Davison: Not really any surprise of sort but in line with the findings of the report in that there is a 96% satisfaction with the platform and the percentage of those planning to increase their IBM i footprint has jumped from 12 to 20%, an 8% increase from the previous year.

Andy Nicholson: Yet there are still misconceptions about its relevance. Do you think perceptions of the IBMI are changing? And if so, how?

Michael Davison: I’ve been hearing for decades that people were going to move off this platform because it’s old and it’s outdated. And I consistently hear that message today that it’s an old platform especially from CIOs who are wanting to move off it because they don’t understand it. 

I do believe that message is starting to get through that the IBM i remains relevant.  It’s reliable, scalable, modern and consistently gets better with each iteration from 8 to 9 to 10 to next… We’re seeing it outperforming Windows and Linux on x86based processors. So, I do believe I’m seeing a change in that the message is getting through.

Andy Nicholson: I agree, It’s a modern platform. These misconceptions need to change…

Michael Davison: Yes people see the old green on black and say, “well, that’s old.” But no, let’s have a look at some of the modern GUIs and web pages that are running on IBM i.

Andy Nicholson: Absolutely. And you can marry the two together, have the best of both. Wonderful, beautiful GUIs with that wonderful transactional, safe platform in the background.

Michael Davison: Absolutely. Modernisation, that’s the key.

Andy Nicholson: Security, it’s always been consistently a top concern for IBM i users.  Have you noticed any shifts in how companies are addressing security challenges compared to previous years?

Michael Davison: Malware and ransomware have consistently been a huge concern, especially in the last five years. 

I’ve noticed most companies as a matter of compliance are inevitably deploying software to protect things like exit points on the IBM i and antivirus to prevent the inevitable ransomware attacks because it’s not a case of ‘if’ it’s always a case of ‘when’.  

When working with my customers I’m seeing much better security practices than I did last year and the year before. Things like 2FA and MFA being used.

Removing the use of the QSECOFR account. Deploying authority broker type software so people work with their minimum privileges and then, for additional security, accounts should be selectively elevated to do those system administration tasks.

So, I’m seeing a better security posture all round and that’s really good news.

Andy Nicholson: With compliance requirements like DORA emerging, how well prepared do you think IBM i shops are for evolving regulatory demands?

Michael Davison: A lot of IBM i customers are financial houses and banks. Why? Because it’s a stable, reliable platform.  

Of course, these are heavily regulated industries. So, for things like DORA need to be addressed. 

This is why we see security being the top concern (at 77%) for customers. Now, they’ll say, “Yeah, they’re a pain.” And “We’ve got to do this.”, but it’s a cost of doing business these days. 

Thankfully, nothing IBM i specific but something that IBM i is good at.

In general, customers have a hand on it and they’re employing people specifically to look at these regulations. I’m seeing more and more people in my line of work referring back to their security and compliance teams all the time.

Andy Nicholson: Something you alluded to a little earlier. Ransomware and cyber threats are evolving rapidly. Have you seen an increase in IBM i specific attacks and what proactive steps should organisations take to strengthen their defences? 

Michael Davison: IBM i is not secure but it’s securable. 

It’s down to the customer to ensure that security is there.  

Thankfully, people don’t write viruses for IBM i and it would be exceedingly difficult to do so we’ve seen nothing along those lines at all. 

However, we have seen an increase in ransomware attacks on the IFS through net server shares and that’s pretty much the main way that affects the IBM i, including systems being completely bricked because there was a rewrite share to the root file system and the ransomware attack wiped out QSIS.LIB and there’s no coming back from that except by a tape or offline backup. 

So, you can take simple steps. If you can, get rid of those net server read/write shares. 

If you can’t, make them read only. 

Thankfully, there is software available to help you block those ransomware attacks. Fortra makes some, and there are other companies that make it as well. 

I highly recommend a business to invest in these areas.

And then there are things like monitoring your exit points. Again, use some software to stop entry into the system. Don’t use the QSECOFR account.

All these sort of standard security things we can take to strengthen our defences.

Andy Nicholson: Good advice. The survey shows that modernisation remains a priority for many IBM i users. What are your thoughts on what the biggest roadblocks companies face when modernising their systems? 

Michael Davison: It’s the attitude of the people holding the purse strings which is the biggest roadblock in my opinion. 

Us techies and middle managers need to become eloquent enough to argue the case of why the IBM i on power is a modern platform and advocate for modernisation of the applications rather than replacing it with Linux on x86. 

If customers have already invested in the Power platform which gives a great ROI, why swap out and go through that whole process when you can simply modernise?

We need to become better at advocating for the platform and ensuring that message gets through to those people who are saying this is quite expensive and it looks really old. 

So, let’s get rid of it and say no, it’s actually a really, really modern platform – we just need to modernise our applications.

Andy Nicholson: Another big trend is cloud adoption and it’s been steadily increasing. Do you see a shift towards hybrid cloud strategies or are companies still hesitant about moving workloads off premises?

Michael Davison: According to the survey, the trend of moving to cloud has slowed and I think this is due to customers wanting to retain control of their own systems. 

I suspect the issues of moving to the cloud all look good in principle. We don’t have to worry about the kit or the hardware. Our MSP is going to look after and upgrade all of that.  But when you get there, you’re tied into that service provider for however long your contract is. 

And, if that service ends up not being as good as you like, what do you do? 

You either have to buy out or you have to wait to the end, and then you’ve got to lift and shift to somewhere else to another cloud provider and that brings a whole lot of hassle.

Also the servers, we all know the cloud is just someone else’s machine in another location. and it could be in a completely different geographic location. 

If you’ve got network issues across the internet, then it’s out of your hands to get fixed. And if you’re losing access to your application because you’re in the cloud then that’s a major problem for people.  And I think people are hesitant about what’s been going on to be honest.

Andy Nicholson: I can see that myself. And another thing that I can see is an aging workforce and, as a result, a growing skills gap. These have been longstanding issues in the IBM i community. Do you think companies are making progress in attracting and training the next generation of IBM i professionals?

Michael Davison: IBM i skills are in high demand and no I do not think we are doing enough. 

We need to get the message across that IBM i is a great platform to work on and a good career can be made on the IBM i.  

I’ve been telling youngsters that if you work on IBM i, you should never be out of work. 

You look at Windows and Linux, which are dead easy to learn. People have Windows machines at home, you can download Windows Server, you can download Linux, you can learn all of that at home and teach yourself. So there’s a vast quantity of people who have those skills.

Are they any good? Hey, I always used to joke that Windows engineers are 10 a penny. But IBM i skills are scarce because it’s not so well known and again it’s about that message. If you have those IBM i skills, you’ll never be out of work because people are in high demand. 

It’s nice to see youngsters come through, and I’ve seen their excitement for the platform when speaking to them at the Common Europe Congress for the last five years and that’s absolutely fabulous.

Andy Nicholson: Emerging technologies are evolving quickly, how do you see IBM i fitting into their broader IT landscape over the next decade.

Michael Davison: It’ll continue to be a reliable and stable platform. In my opinion, it’s what we call a, ‘steady eddy’ and that’s what the customers need.  

Banks, manufacturing, supply chain, they need technology that is reliable and stable and that’s what IBM i on Power gives – consistency, reliability, good return on investment and technology advances which IBM continue to deliver.  

So it’s going to fit into the IT landscape over the next decade for sure.

Andy Nicholson: And finally, based on this year’s survey results, what advice would you give to IBM i users looking to future proof their system and stay competitive for the next 5 to 10 years?

Michael Davison: That’s a really easy question and the answer is to stay current. 

Technology changes all the time. So, I’ve been in this industry for over 35 years and we all know the technology develops continually and upgrading is a cost of doing business. 

So, you have to accept that and have that rolling program to ensure you patch your system regularly to prevent vulnerabilities and get upgrades to the latest OS. 

We know that IBM i Next is just around the corner.

So, upgrade your operating system. Get the new hardware when the ROI on your existing hardware starts to diminish. And, in the long term, it’s cheaper to maintain and upgrade than to face a massive OS jump that might take two or three jumps.

Andy Nicholson: Terrific advice.

Michael Davison: Stay current is the message.

About Fortra

Fortra is a specialist provider of cyber security software products and managed security services to enterprises across the globe.

Their product portfolio includes a range of applications for businesses running IBM i systems.

Be sure to follow Fortra on LinkedIn.

Want to read more about the IBM i Marketplace Results…

The post A review of the Fortra IBM i Marketplace Survey appeared first on Proximity.

The agenda will be mirrored at the South conference, which takes place on 13th March at IBM’s office on York Road, London.

i-UG is the official representative of COMMON Europe. It is the largest independent IBM i user group in the UK.

Find more information on the agenda and register for the North and South events through the i-UG website. 

Attendees at both events will be able to enjoy refreshments as they register from 9:15am until 10am.

At that point, Mike Ryan, Steve Bradshaw, Colin Spofford and Steve Cast will provide an update and ‘state of the nation’ keynote.

David Spurway, IBM’s Global Principal for IBM Power, will present a 40-minute session on Hybrid AI for IBM i. He will be joined by Jay Diamond. He is the IBM Power Technical Sales Manager for EMEA. Doug Wilson will also join him. Doug is the Technical Sales Manager at IBM.

From 12:05pm, Mike Ryan, the Chairman of i-UG, will present a session about AI. The session is called: “Keep your Secrets… (AI running natively on YOUR Power server)” which may, or may not, include reference to Linux.

According to the event agenda, this session is summarised as follows:

“As much of the world is now recognising, the risk of giving away your companies Unique Selling Points – Your Intellectual Property – to a cloud based AI can send shivers up any CEO’s spine.

So, how can you get the benefits of incredibly powerful and focussed AI without going outside your network with your incredibly precious data?  

Simple, just run it on your existing Power server!

We will cover the strategic position on operating this way and, at a high level –  walk through the process of setting up the environment, creating your models and even running image recognition and analysis across the model… all on Power.”

The first session after lunch is called “i-Chi: Thinking differently about IBM i SysAdmin.” It is presented by the entertaining and knowledgeable Steve Bradshaw, who is the Technical Director of i-UG.

This session is summarised as follows:

“It is about thinking differently about IBM i System Management, embracing new ideas, automating processes and monitoring, using IBM i functions in ACS, Nav4i, ARE, IBM i Services, Integrating IBM i SysAdmin with other platforms and reducing your reliance on the 5250 command line.

In this session Steve provides practical examples of how to do this that you can start to use today on your systems using tools that are free to use, already installed on your systems and all without the use of the 5250 green screen.”

After a short afternoon break, the last session of the conference will be presented by Andy Youens. He is the Managing Director of FormaServe. The session is called “Simplify your IBM i: Three Must Have Open Source Utilities and How to Use Them.”

In this season, Andy will help you improve your IBM i. He will show you three easy-to-use, affordable, open-source tools. 

Andy has been in our IBM i Updates before. He discussed modern IBM i development languages and using Python on IBM i.

AI and its use on IBM i is certainly a topical subject at the moment. We included how ChatGPT can be used for creating RPG free and fixed code in a previous IBM i Update.

If you’re attending either event, be sure to seek out Andy Nicholson, the host of the IBM i Update. He can be contacted at andy.nicholdon[@]proximity.co.uk.

The post AI & Open Source on IBM i dominates i-UG Conference Agenda appeared first on Proximity.

• System administration
• Responding to user and management requirements
• Maintaining, supporting and developing the applications that run (and drive) their business.

But, there’s one thing that we find is not looked at regularly enough is the protocols and procedures they’ve set up have been in place for years – and despite a moving cyber security landscape – have not been touched since.

And that is a huge concern.

Indeed, this is backed by the latest IBM i Market Survey as compiled by FORTRA.

For the seventh year running cyber security continues to be THE top concern within the IBM i enterprise.

But why?

The IBM i is a safe platform, right?

And, despite the viruses and other malware threats, the IBM i is impervious?

Well, while the architecture of the IBM i makes it less likely that a virus could be written for it than more mainstream platforms, unfortunately, there are always security fault lines in every business and flaws that can be exploited in every architecture.

There are many risks to address but to start, the following top five issues and concerns will give you a good start in addressing your IBM i security requirements.

Access Privileges 

Too many IBM i enterprises offer too many users too much authority. This means that there could be employees in your organisation that have access to all your database files and objects – they can access, share and even wipe pretty much everything on your server.

Now is the time to review and evaluate your users profiles and privileges. Standardise role based authorities and keep track of who has access to what and adjust these privileges based upon necessity.

Unsupported OS

Time is always ticking on supported versions of operating systems and while IBM does a better job than most for extending support for older versions of OS, it is inevitable that it will become unsupported.

Having an outdated version of the OS allows for system vulnerability as upgrades and security patches are no longer released. Indeed, if you do run into trouble, help and support for older operating systems may no longer be available. It is therefore imperative that you stay on a supported OS and apply patches as they become available.

Multi-Factor Authentication

As remote working becomes more prevalent and with the vulnerabilities high-privileged administration access can bring, it is more important than ever to introduce Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) to the enterprise.

This extra layer of security ensures that only the people who have access to the system, have access to the system – even should their credentials be leaked or compromised.

IBM i security is a ‘Broad Church’

The cyber security landscape continues to change and threats are multifaceted.

While traditional protections provide a protective blanket, more is needed to make your IBM i truly secure. In addition to Firewalls and anti-virus protections, the modern IBM i enterprise should also look at exit point management, profile management, multi-factor authentication and, as an added contingency, high availability and attack recovery procedures.

Thankfully, when it comes to IBM i security, there are lots of options.

However, when looking for solutions in this area, do make sure they’re IBM i specific and the provider has the relevant IBM i expertise to advise and implement the best security solution for your business.

The Key Is: Be Prepared

Should the worst happen, you need to have a response plan in place.

This differs from your disaster recovery plan in that there’s a need to understand the threat you’re facing, how to stop it and implement the best strategy to restore the compromised elements in a timely and safe manner.

For example, cyber theft of personal data would have a different response and levels of communication to that of a denial-of-service attack.

Plan a process for each scenario including levels of communication and requirements/actions for each stakeholder.

The post IBM i Security – The Top Issues and Concerns in 2023 appeared first on Proximity.

With Cyber Security being the top concern for IBM i professionals for the sixth year running, Andy Nicholson talks through some foundations you can build for better Cyber Security on your IBM i (AS40/ iSeries) systems. And below the video, you’ll be able to book yourself a FREE security assesment of your IBM i to make sure your system is well protected against cyber threats.

Watch our video below to:

Understand the foundations for building a more secure IBM i and learn how to better protect yourself against: Malware, Phishing, Ransomware and Inside Threats/Credential Abuse.

The post Cyber Security & Foundations for a More Secure IBM i appeared first on Proximity.

“Digital transformation was supposed to be an ongoing journey—not the turn-on-a-dime situation most businesses were thrust into when COVID-19 first took hold around the globe.”

The COVID-19 pandemic completely upended business worldwide and forced unprecedented change to numerous aspects of working life. Organisations had to quickly adapt to newfound challenges – workspaces were forced to abandon due to lockdowns, furlough schemes put millions of staff on paid temporary leave, and where applicable organisations had to evolve their work-at-home policies to continue business remotely. 

The pandemic created the ideal conditions for IT leaders and businesses to evaluate and address the current state of their digital infrastructure. Are they prioritising the cloud? Investing in data and analytics capabilities? Bolstering security across an evolving technology ecosystem? 

These are savvy ways in which businesses can modernise, innovate and evolve their IT infrastructure to support the constantly changing dynamics of their business. 

Organisations that had resilient digital infrastructures in place negated most of the negative effects that the COVID-19 pandemic had on the logistics of their operation and workforce. 

The pandemic therefore highlighted the benefits of already having an advanced digital infrastructure in place more than ever. Cloud-based technologies and services have helped organisations rapidly support remote workforces, creating newfound levels of interconnectivity and customer support, despite workforces becoming more decentralised. 

Research has found that digital innovation has been facilitated by the pandemic, bringing about numerous years worth of technological progress within the space of a one to two year period. According to a McKinsey Global Survey of executives, the participating companies accelerated the digitisation of their customer and supply-chain interactions by three to four years, and the share of digital or digitally enabled products in their portfolios by seven years. 

So, as well as the plethora of adverse effects that the pandemic has had on businesses, for some it has pressured decision makers into analysing and reshaping their digital agendas, forcing IT leaders to create new ways to operate and innovate. 

A survey of 2,000 IT leaders shows acceleration of multicloud, analytics, sustainability, and security

New research commissioned by Google Cloud in partnership with IDG has surveyed more than 2,000 IT leaders worldwide to understand the current state of digital transformation, the impact of the global pandemic on core IT initiatives, and the capabilities organisations want from their cloud providers. 

The findings in the study can help IT leaders to evaluate their own cloud transformation efforts and help them to future proof their operations against business, market, or even societal disruptions. The findings may also be used to benchmark an organisation’s goals and challenges, to assess and better understand where an organisation’s priorities lie, whilst also inspiring new ways to operate and innovate.

Methodology

A 20-question online survey was fielded in October and November 2020. To qualify, organisations had to have at least some portion of their IT environment in the public cloud. 

The respondents were IT Directors and above, at organisations with 500+ employees across multiple selected industries: 

• Financial services
• Healthcare
• Manufacturing
• Telecom/media
• Retail/consumer goods

The survey was fielded in North America (United States, Canada), Latin America (Brazil, Mexico), EMEA (France, Germany, United Kingdom), and JAPAC (Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, South Korea).

COVID-19 impact: For better or worse 

“Those with a more mature DX (digital transformation) strategy had the resources, tools, and insight lined up to quickly make tough decisions about how to proceed.” – IDC

A global IDC survey in June 2020 [Update: no longer available] showed a clear connection between an organisation’s digital fitness and its ability to respond to, and recover from, pandemic-related challenges. Organisations who are deemed as ‘digital-forward’, meaning that they have advanced digital business strategies and the correct digital infrastructure in place, could better adapt to the challenges posed to them by the pandemic.

One such challenge was the decentralisation of staff due to lockdowns. Digital environments were created to allow workforces to continue working remotely, and it is therefore unsurprising that 59% of the organisations represented in the IDG survey had either accelerated or launched initiatives to improve remote work and collaboration capabilities.

This then had the knock-on effect of accelerating investment in the cloud. One-third of the participating organisations accelerated or launched initiatives to shift more workloads and software development to the cloud and automate manual business processes. 

There were, however, also adverse effects from the COVID-19 pandemic that impacted organisations. The notable economic pressures that it imposed on many businesses worldwide forced decision makers to rethink their priorities and whether or not to invest in, or proceed with, certain pre-planned initiatives. 

More than half of the survey respondents (55%) delayed or cancelled at least one technology project, such as core initiatives involving areas such as automation, digital customer experiences, and security tools and practices. 

Those who were ill-equipped to mitigate the adverse effects of the pandemic on their operations, labelled in the study as ‘digitally conservative’ organisations, were more likely (16%) than their ‘digitally forward’ peers (8%) to have cancelled or delayed three or more IT initiatives.

Multi Cloud management needs increase 

“Security enhancements and risk mitigation was identified as a main area where IT leaders are continuing their digital transformation efforts as they prepare for whatever the future holds.”

Due to businesses having decentralised workforces as a consequence of lockdowns, IT leaders began to prioritise investment in the cloud in order to bolster their digital accessibility, agility and adaptability. The cloud enabled remote workforces to easily access secure information from any location, making it ideal for businesses that implemented work from home policies. 

Security enhancements and risk mitigation were identified in the study as the main area where IT leaders are continuing their digital transformation efforts as they prepare for whatever the future holds. 30% of the respondents surveyed globally said they accelerated and added new IT security tools (primarily through the cloud) during COVID-19. And the general sentiment (84%) from the respondents was that the cloud is as secure or more secure than their on-premises infrastructure, which further justifies investment.

Confidence, as opposed to complacency, is being placed in the cloud by IT leaders, but with this confidence also comes expectation. They expect cloud providers to deliver on specific security and compliance-related requirements, whilst also having the ability to use cloud services while still being able to control access to their own data.

Although IT departments might prefer the simplicity of working with a single public cloud platform, the downsides to sole dependency on a single cloud server can quickly outweigh the benefits. 

With more emphasis being placed on the importance of data over recent years, ‘multi cloud’ has become the modern form of using a multi-vendor strategy to mitigate risk. If there is an issue with one cloud server and there are barriers to accessing information, businesses have an alternative backup cloud available to safeguard against any loss of data.

Two-thirds (66%) of the participating enterprise organisations in the study use multiple public clouds, citing a variety of benefits: 

1. Greater platform and service flexibility 
2. Improved disaster recovery and business continuity 
3. Best-of-breed platform and service options 
4. Cost savings/optimization

And this trend is predicted to grow in prevalence. The IDC predicts that by 2023 more than 70% of organisations will use multi cloud management platform capabilities as part of their managed cloud services portfolio, as IT leaders continue to prioritise investment in the cloud.

Summary 

“The events of the past year catapulted digital transformation from being a somewhat abstract concept for some organisations into an essential reality. The COVID-19 pandemic drove home, in no uncertain terms, the importance of having advanced, flexible, and pervasive digital operations.”

As consistently alluded to throughout the study, organisations that were further ahead on the digital maturity path, were able to navigate 2020’s disruptions more smoothly and confidently than their digitally conservative peers. Having the correct structure in place turned out to be a blessing, however for those who were most affected by the pandemic it created an opportunity for reflection and investment. 

Delocalised workforces highlighted the importance of the cloud and its ability to conveniently access information. The major public clouds are now seen by businesses as the best sources for many of the advanced technologies modern organisations require, and there is confidence that investing in them will better prepare organisations against future disruptions. Due to the pandemic emphasis has been placed on security and risk mitigation, therefore it is unsurprising that these were identified as the key area in which IT leaders are continuing their digital transformation and prioritising investment.

Download the whitepaper here >>

The post How has the Pandemic Reshaped Digital Business Agendas? appeared first on Proximity.

Why?

Well, since its inception, the IBM i and its predecessors (iSeries, AS400, System i) is known for certain attributes:

• Exceptional business resilience with the lowest total cost of ownership in its class
• Near zero downtime ensuring mission-critical applications remain up and running
• Enhanced security features protecting critical business applications and data.

IBM i applications themselves can encompass pretty much anything in an enterprise, from proprietary warehouse management to bespoke ERP systems within industries as varied as financial to manufacturing.

That transactional data means that the type of applications running on the IBM i are, by their very nature, business-critical – and you really don’t want them failing.

Over the last few years, we’ve highlighted some of the key findings from HelpSystems’ annual Marketplace Surveys in a series of posts. In 2021, the survey reported that 44% of IBM i based businesses ran anything from are continuing to run between 76-100% of their core applications on the platform.

In 2022, 70% of respondents reported running more than half of their core business applications on the IBM i.

That’s an awful lot of businesses across the globe relying on their IBM i applications. And relying on them for at least the medium term to help manage their business.

And, whatever those enterprises are planning on doing with those IBM i applications, those enterprises will want to make sure that they’re still running effectively and fit for purpose, while at the same time supported & maintained properly.

Depending on your wider IT strategy, you could also be looking at further development, adding more functionality and modernising those IBM i applications to make them more relevant now and for the next five, 10 or 15 years (and beyond).

You’ve built those applications. You’ve invested time and development resources over the years.

Now those developers are starting to retire – or at least coming up to retirement age – or are being moved into other areas within your IT ecosystem.

And as our partners, Fresche Solutions reported from a survey of more than 250 senior IT personnel, that 57% of businesses couldn’t find people with IBM i development skills.

And when you consider that 91% of those organisations are facing staffing challenges either in skills or the number of people.

So, with these challenges in mind, how do you keep your IBM i applications supported, maintained and relevant in the short, medium and long-term?

How can IBM i applications be a risk?

For many big companies, business-critical applications on the IBM i represent a significant investment of time and effort.

Many of these systems were first put in place in the mid-80s or early 90s, so they’ve been built and developed over a period of 30-35 years.

Typically, if you look at the development curve of these applications, you’ll see a big spike of development at the beginning, with teams of multiple developers and then that tapers to the point where you end up with two or three people that have been maintaining them. The others have either left, retired, or moved on to other projects, or to different parts of the business – or different priorities.

You’re down to a couple of people doing maintenance and small changes.

Because of the nature of those applications, the languages used to programme them in, they’re not just an off-the-shelf solution.

Those applications have been changed, manipulated, and developed over the years.

Often for many, many years.

As those IBM i applications have usually been customised to suit the demands and needs of individual enterprises, it can be incredibly difficult to replace them with off the shelf solutions.

All that knowledge about those applications is sometimes documented or written down, but often it’s locked away in somebody’s head.

When that person either decides to move on or retire (or worse) nobody can pick up that knowledge and quickly continue to maintain those applications.

It’s a real-world example of tribal knowledge. And with it comes great risk.

Ways to de-risk the management of your IBM i applications

If you’re running business-critical applications on the IBM i, you may now be down to one, two or three developers, which, I’m sure, could be a huge cause for concern.

These applications are running the business, but you’re relying on a very small number of people to know how it all works.

Migration to other platforms

Often, in these situations, the first plan is to migrate away from the IBM i, but that is tough to do and tends to take longer than you think it will.

The character-based transactions (like purchase orders or sales orders) that run on IBM i applications are fundamentally still the same actually now as they were 20 or 30 years ago. The applications are reliable and have a low cost of ownership, and they’re usually very complex as well.

Though migration can be at the top of the to-do list it can often take far longer than planned, get delayed for whatever reason or, in some cases, not get finished.

These applications end up having a much longer life than anticipated, and the developers are looking potentially to retire or to move into different roles.

Because a lot of tailoring has gone into those systems over the years, they’re very complex and very bespoke to that business. It’s unlikely that you’d be able to find a replacement in off-the-shelf software, so you may be restricted with what you might want to migrate to.

Migrating off it is not a simple step.

It’s not just a case of getting another system: are you going to change your processes? Are you going to get new development done in those systems?

It can be quite costly as well.

Complexity is still embedded in those applications. You’ve either got to change your business processes, find an application that works in the way that you work, or implement an application that is incredibly flexible and configurable, which then comes with its own set of challenges.

IT managers may be keen to move to a cloud platform or a Microsoft or a Windows platform that’s much more modern, but that still requires rewriting and redeveloping what they need, and working out what exactly you do need going forward.

Moving to a completely new platform and starting from scratch can be a massive risk. In so many ways.

Outsourcing the management of your IBM i applications

Even if there is a plan to migrate to other platforms – that likely won’t happen for a few years.

So IT managers, even though they may have no real interest in the IBM i as a platform, have to make sure it keeps running.

And there are plenty of options for enterprises wanting to simply ‘keep the lights on’ both onshore and offshore.

But, if you’re still using the IBM i applications for business-critical tasks, and want to do some improvements and development projects, and need to know how certain things work, then outsourcing it to a company that hasn’t got into that experience and specialist skills is high-risk.

On the other hand, even if you are moving to a new platform, you’ll take it in stages, there are a lot of complexities and implications of doing that, so you’ll need to go one step at a time.

You may look at tools, like those from Fresche, that can help with porting parts of the existing system, or taking chunks of it out, or revamping screens. Because you still have to live with it, in the meantime.

The move off to a different platform can take 5-10 years, and you need to be able to continue to use the system, make the most of it and keep the lights on during that time. Regardless of what you do, there is going to be an investment – either of time or divest the entire thing to somebody else.

By passing that onto somebody else, like Proximity, you can have control over things like the costs, and also be able to push any problems towards us, and not have to have that hassle yourself. You’re paying for the expertise and the years of experience on our IBM i development team.

That team has decades of experience delivering support, maintenance and development projects for businesses across the UK, Ireland and Europe. You can find details of our case studies here, including:

• Development of PHP applications to increase the functionality for Amada’s Infor System21 ERP system
• Support, maintenance and development of the (now defunct) high street retailer, Wilko’s IBM i applications
• Use of X-Analysis and TD/OMS to maintain DB Schenker Finland’s IBM i transport management applications.

These articles might also be of interest for those wanting to read more about IBM i and our approach to application support and modernisation…

The post De-risking the Management of Your IBM i Applications appeared first on Proximity.

Date: 7th & 8th June 2022
Venue: Park Inn Hotel By Radisson, Northampton

The annual event for IBM i practitioners is back, with two days of education, information, and networking opportunities.

Bringing together the largest IBM i user group in the UK, International i-Power 2022 promises to deliver educational sessions with IBM i experts, give you the very latest up-to-the-minute news and information on IBM i, and facilitate communication between IBM i professionals and peers.

As with other events, all the great and the good of the IBM i world are presenting at the event, including Alison Butterill, Paul Tuohy and Jon Paris.

Register now to attend sessions including:

International i-Power 2022: Day One

i-UG Classroom Workshops: Session One (09:30)

• Advanced Queries: Multi-Dimensional Grouping and OLAP (Online Analytical Processing) Functions – Powerful Partners (part 1) – with Birgitta Hauser
• Hands-on NewNave The IBM Navigator for i (part 1) – with Rudi van Helvoirt
• IBM i Security in the Real World (part 1) – Guy Marmorat
• Modern RPG Editing Options – John Paris & Susan Gantner

i-UG Classroom Workshops: Session Two (11:00)

• Advanced Queries: Multi-Dimensional Grouping and OLAP (Online Analytical Processing) Functions – Powerful Partners (part 2) – with Birgitta Hauser
• Hands-on NewNave The IBM Navigator for i (part 2) – with Rudi van Helvoirt
• IBM i Security in the Real World (part 2) – Guy Marmorat
• The Latest in RPG – John Paris
• Dispel the Myths – Mike Ryan & Steve Bradshaw

i-UG Classroom Workshops: Session Three (13:15)

• Use Ansible for your IBM i monitoring (part 1) – Andy Youens
• Merlin IBM’s Next Generation Development & Modernisation environment for i (part 1) – Adrian Tully
• IBM i Elementary School – Steve Bradshaw
• ACS for Programmers: Including 7.5 Updates – Paul Tuohy
• Education Experience – Mike Ryan & Colin Spofford

i-UG Classroom Workshops: Session Four (14:45)

• Use Ansible for your IBM i monitoring (part 2) – Andy Youens
• Merlin IBM’s Next Generation Development & Modernisation environment for i (part 2) – Adrian Tully
• IBM i Careers – Steve Cast
• Consuming & Generating JSON – (RPG vs SQL) – Paul Tuohy & Jon Paris
• Executive Round Table Session

 Gala Dinner (18:30)

International i-Power 2022: Day Two

Breakfast Session (08:00)

• Learn how to use from IBM i the SnapShot/FlashCopy ‘magic’ function (and reduce daily work) – Pascal Ruckebusch
• Web Query over i-UG Database – Steve Cast & Chris Fenn
• How to future proof core business applications locked in outdated technology – Eugine King

Welcome Session (09:00)

• Welcome session setting out some exciting changes, introducing new faces and pointing out the added value that i-UG provides to members – Mike Ryan
• Speed Date the Sponsors (09:20)
• Conference Keynote Presentation (09:30) – Alison Butterill

Session One (10:50)

• IBM Flash storage – The benefits of external storage – Mike Potter
• Get Ready for the BT switch off – it starts now! – John Taylor
• Demonstration of an Open source-based Scenario around stock reorder – Ross Cruickshank
• Web-Services only with SQL? Yes (Db2 for) i can! – Birgitta Hauser
• MACRO 4

Debate – Cloud vs On-Premise (11:40)

Session Two (13:50)

• Macro4 – Herb Daly
• Viruses and Ransomware on Power: What are the Threats & How to Mitigate Risk – Mike Davison
• Things I love about 7.5 – Steve Bradshaw
• Topic TBC – Susan Gantner
• Streaming Data from IBM i to Next Generation Platform – Precisely Customer Journey – Alexander Trekin

Session Two (13:50)

• Latest hardware update – Doug Gibbs
• The Path to safety (IBM CyberVault) – Stan Wilkins
• Performance Monitoring – Morton Rasmussen
• Still stuck on PDM/SEU? Switch to Visual Studio Code for free! – Andy Youens
• Hyper Automation – Andrew Simpson

Prize-giving (15:30)

Register here to attend International i-Power 2022 from Tuesday 7 June to Wednesday 8 June at Park Inn Hotel By Radisson, Northampton

The post International i-Power 2022 appeared first on Proximity.

So, what does the newest version mean to IBM i enterprises?

I sat down with Andy Nicholson, our IBM i General Sales Manager to look through the contents of the latest release:

“This release focuses on database enhancements such as Db2 Mirror, Bootlean data and functions, larger indexes and (at last) full SQL support. There’s also a significant emphasis on security enhancements for IBM i in version 7.5.”

Highlights for those Db2 enhancements include:

• Larger indexes mean the database can hold 16 TB of data, up significantly from the current limit of 1.7 TB, which will benefit “customers who use IBM i for workloads where the amount of data is growing immense” Steve Will, IBM Chief Architect said in his blog post.
• IBM i finally gets support for Boolean data and functions for SQL, RPG and JSON
• Ability to run two IBM i instances on Db2 Mirror. Again, Steve Will explains “This is a key enabler to “rolling upgrades,” where you can keep your applications running on one 7.4 system while you upgrade the other system in the pair to 7.5. When you bring the new 7.5 instance up, it can rejoin the mirrored pair, move all of the work to the 7.5 system, upgrade the second system, resynchronize and you’re done”.

Database enhancements aren’t the only functions that have received attention from IBM however.

For those who develop on the platform, an alternative to the RDi environment has been released.

In version 7.5, Merlin (Modernisation Engine for Lifecycle Integration) provides open-source repositories and tools from the likes of GIT and Jenkins for a more modern take on DevOps.

According to the marketing blurb on the relevant product page, Merlin is:

“… a set of tools, running in Red Hat® OpenShift® containers, that guide and assist software developers in the modernization of IBM i applications.”

Learn more about IBM i Merlin here.

Then there’s security.

As Alison Butterill, IBM i product manager at IBM told IT Jungle, the security changes in v7.5 are aimed at ‘improving the state of security on IBM i’:

Within v7.5, IBM has increased the power of encrypted passwords from 256-bit SHA1 to 512-bit SHA2 with the addition of an API for password rules.

In addition, to further sharpen its security credentials out-of-the-box, IBM has changed the default for many objects on the system while the Digital Certificate Manager has been enhanced to improve the Usability.

Outside of the box, IBM is moving IBM i into a subscription model.

Now, buyers can leverage their operating budget by taking a license subscription in periods from one to five years.

This is a big release for Big Blue and there are many other enhancements that you can review here.

We expect v7.5 to be ready for shipping soon and we’re excited to provide our thoughts when we finally get our hands on the release.

The post Singing the (Big) Blues: IBM Announces Details of IBM i Version 7.5 appeared first on Proximity.