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The article focuses on the key focus factors that business organizations should know to be able to get the return on investment for enterprise content management in the iSeries-i5 platform. The need for technology solutions presents opportunity for information technology (IT) department to take a lead role in improving the business and its infrastructure. The steps to ensure successful IT and business initiatives start with the broadening of one's knowledge of content and document management. Partnering with the business community will save time and minimize problems.

Provides information on service-oriented architecture (SOA) in the information technology (IT) industry. Definition of SOA; Expenditures of IT companies on SOA; Utilization of SOA as an organizing principle.

The article discusses the results of an iSeries application-development research survey in which more than 900 iSeries professionals participated. The reasons behind the complaints raised by participants in the survey about end-user and business-application development requirements are discussed. Comments on the lack of training of information technology professionals involved in software configuration management are presented.

Discusses the promotion of Project Fusion, a vision of combining the best of what it has with the best of what it bought with the best service-oriented architecture it can come up with, by enterprise applications provider Oracle in an attempt to satisfy the needs and concerns of World customers. Efforts of the Quest International Users Group to influence Oracle; Fear facing clients of J.D. Edwards; Scope of Project Fusion.

The article features several i5 and iSeries Weblogs. Open-source tools that surround CGIDEV2 are the focus of Easy400.net. The primary reason for the creation of Craig Rutledge is to acquire feedback on utility improvement. RPGNext.com and RPGBeans.com are created by Joel Cochran, director of research and development for a software company, for report program generator programmers. INSET: The Big Guns.

The article discusses the author's views on the issues of computer security and regulatory compliance in the U.S. The Sarbanes and Oxley Act originated from the accounting scandals involving Enron and WorldCom. The legislation impacts public companies which is aimed at preventing financial tampering. Compliance to regulation requires information technology organizations to develop their security policies.

Presents information on different editions of iSeries offered by IBM to produce a cost-effective solution for customers that will drive maximum revenue for IBM in both short and long terms. Enterprise Edition for installed customers with interactive workloads; Standard Edition for customers running a packaged independent software vendor solution; Express and Value Editions for smaller customers. INSET: Got Your Voucher?.

Presents the views of several IBM iSeries computer industry experts on how information technology professionals can keep their skills marketable. Jon Paris, co-owner of Partner400; Bob Tipton, managing partner of R. S. Tipton Inc.; Paul Conte, senior technical editor of "iSeries NEWS"; Carson Soule, CEO of Computer Applications Specialists Inc.

Discusses the challenges faced by wholesale or distribution companies in the U.S. Significance of wholesale to the sales performance of IBM iSeries /i5 computers; Problems posed by the slow adoption of radio frequency identification tagging for supply chain management; Importance of customer service to in wholesaling and distribution.

Discusses the trends in iSeries computer platform education. Factors that made its impact on the iSeries education in the U.S.; Resources for iSeries education; Interest in the rapid programme generation computer platform in the iSeries field.

Discusses the popularity of enterprise Web portals. Information on the Portal Projects in Search of a Purpose study conducted by Forrester Research vice president Laura Ramos; Implications of intranets for Web-delivered applications; Launch of Portlet Factory for WebSphere version 5.8.2 with support for iSeries and i5 servers, by Bowstreet.

Compares the capabilities of several instant messaging service providers. Yahoo! Business Messenger; Microsoft Live Office Communications Server 2003; AOL Enterprise Gateway; Lotus Instant Messaging.

Discusses the importance of using a secure and standardize corporate instant messaging (IM) technology. Statistics on enterprise employees using IM; Discussion on security issues regarding chat services and sessions; Application of firewall software to secure the Internet for IM; Other options for putting controls on the use of public messaging clients; Features of IBM Lotus Sametime IM security management software.

The article assesses the trends on the implementation of IBM System i outside the U.S. Trevor Perry of Clear Technologies thinks that Australian information technology professionals are more skilled than their U.S. counterparts because U.S. is more on money investment, while Australian companies train their employees. Some international business laws in Italy attract the use of System i because it help companies avoid unions. European businesses use the IBM system to address the issues associated with system integration.

Discusses the possible effect of energy price increases on the i5 application solutions in the U.S. Problem of companies with the cost of electricity; Power consumption of the iSeries/i5; Capabilities of Linux to consolidate servers through the LPAR on i5.

The article focuses on Enterprise Generation Language (EGL) created by software company IBM. EGL is a computer language as well as a development environment that comes packaged in the Websphere Development Studio Client (WDSc) application server Standard and Advanced editions. More specifically, EGL is a code-generating tool that uses a simple procedural language that allows the creation of COBOL programs that run on iSeries or Java programs and can operate almost anywhere.

The article offers tips on preventing an iSeries organization to be outsourced due to cost-cutting efforts and information technology reorganizations. The factors involved in the outsourcing decision-making process are discussed. The ways in which iSeries organizations can avoid being the victims of outsourcing are presented. INSETS: Warning Signal Checklist;Learning from the CIO;Know Your Employer.

Explains that the best feature of IBM Corp.'s System i5 is also its biggest problem. Explanation that flexibility is the best feature of System i5; Capability of System i5 to run numerous operating systems with widely different kinds of workloads; Illustration on how to best harness this feature of System i5; Discussion on the cost effectiveness of integrating WebSphere with Systems i5.

The article assesses the state of the outsourcing of the iSeries business solution from IBM as of February 2006. The iSeries solution is prevalent worldwide and it is being used by industries and organizations of all sizes. However, the trend in which the iSeries was more likely to be part of a huge deals covering an entire heterogeneous information technology department of an organization has ended.

Presents an article about the increase in the number of customers actively using Linux on the iSeries from IBM as of October 2005. Reasons for the interest in Linux on iSeries-i5; Outlook for server consolidation efforts that go beyond Linux and the iSeries; Disadvantages of the server simplification proposal from IBM; Forecast on the market for blended application solutions.

Deals with the effort of IBM Corp. to expand its iSeries software and i5 server. Evidence of the dominance of the iSeries and i5; Examples of the multiplatform capability of the i5; Business sectors where the iSeries is widely used.

Discusses key technological innovations in the manufacturing sector particularly iSeries-based manufacturers. Views on the need for information technology departments to apply the just-in-time manufacturing concept; Cost effectiveness and productivity of using iSeries-based BPCS 8.2 software; Aspects of the manufacturing processes where iSeries should be integrated.

Features the IBM Workplace management computer software. Technologies from IBM which are integrated in the software; Applications of the computer software; Benefits offered by iSeries for Workplace implementations.

Focuses on the implementation of iSeries education in community colleges, technical colleges, and universities in the U.S. as of May 2005. Primary reason for discontinuing the teaching of AS/400 courses in 2003 according to Susan McDonald, dean of the Technical Business Division of Greenville Technical College in South Carolina; Dominant iSeries professional demographic indicator; Information on a curriculum created by the Augusta Technical College in order to ensure the survival of the iSeries program.

Discusses the significance of knowing the number of AS/400 iSeries users and knowing the revenue share of companies in the iSeries business to customers of software application. Number of iSeries customers actively using iSeries as mentioned at the Town Hall meeting at COMMON in Toronto, Ontario in fall of 2004; Decline in Gartner OS/400's share of the total server market (by revenue) from 1998 to 2003; Percentage reduction in iSeries revenue from 2003 first quarter revenues to second quarter revenue.

Provides information on the features of IBM i5 and z9 mainfrrame for automobile engines. Integrated facility for Linux and System z Application Assist Processor; Comparison of the 595 and z9 Enterprise Class architectures; Processing power of the IBM mainframes.

Presents news on information technology (IT) as of April 2005. Launching of the IBM Financing Advantage program by IBM to aid small and midsized businesses in their IT projects; Introduction of the new p5 model by IBM for the low-end Unix market; Scholarship awards offered by software tools maker Teamstudio.

Reports on the ranking of IBM in terms of server revenue in 2004 based from the report of analyst firm IDC. Position of Hewlett-Packard (HP) in terms of shipment worldwide; Percentage of the market share in factory revenue of IBM; Rate of the growing revenue of HP.

The article presents performance and usability rules for Lotus Instant Messaging (LIM). To upgrade Lotus Instant Messaging to the latest versions, it only makes sense to use the most recent Domino and LIM versions possible. When scaling a hardware, the additional load from repackaging all LIM communications must be considered as HTTP. Tunneling all LIM traffic across port 80 is a great usability feature because it eases communications by reducing the number of ports. It is also significant to experiment with adjusting Connection Speed settings for better performance. For better performance one must adjust the Jitter Buffer to correlate how much latency or delay the end user experiences in audio/video when tunneling, it is also important to administer and control the bit rate settings for audio/video and even screen sharing. Modifications to these areas can improve network performance. Also, adjust the setting for audio frames per packet to minimize network packet loss. This setting also controls network bandwidth consumption. Client options that LIM now offers across platforms include LIM Connect client, LIM Java client and LIM/Notes client integration.

Presents a preview of some of the improvements that Notes/Domino 6.5 brings to the Notes client, Domino Web Access and the Domino server. Instant Messaging integration; List of enhancements to Domino Web Access (iNotes); Changes in the Domino server.

The article focuses on the study conducted by Scorpion Group to determine how much their customers spend on information technology per platform and individual system. The company's customers need to understand if there are other platforms that would help them manage their servers easily and cost-efficiently. Scorpion uses data from their customers and the benchmarked units of work from Ideas International. The company found that IBM iSeries had the lowest annual operating costs.

The article focuses on the promise of computer software company Oracle to continue supporting and improving JDEWorld and EnterpriseOne software beyond a previously stated 2013 end-of-support date. John Schiff, Oracle vice president and general manager of JDEWorld, stated the reality that customers are using software to run businesses, and that the software industry needs to provide value to those customers.

The article calls for the iSeries team of IBM to invest in the mainframe community to attract new talent. The goal of the collaboration between IBM and the mainframe user group SHARE is discussed. The article also emphasizes the advantages of going after universities to attract new professionals. The importance of the balance between the number of applicants and the number of available jobs is stressed.

The article discusses ways to implement cost-effective consolidation of multiple servers on a single i5 server. The typical places where consolidation on an iSeries makes sense include processor-based licensing. Oracle installations running on Sun servers with multiple processors are ideal for a server consolidation play. Users can also upgrade their data center support systems if they are not efficient.

The article presents an interview with Joel Cochran, director of operations for Stonewall Technologies Inc., regarding his career. He says that he developed RPGNext.com prior to RPGBeans.com. Cochran describes and explains the RPGBeans site. The director indicates that the most popular free resource tool on his sites are his articles. Traffic on his RPGNext is low as of January 2006. His approach in dealing with the business and the technique of his company are conveyed.

Examines the refusal of IBM to make its CGIDEV2 Web application development tool open source. Background on the development of the CGIDEV2 code; Call of former IBM executive Giovanni Perotti regarding the maintenance of the IBM Easy400 site from which the code can be downloaded; Advantage of making the code open source.

Focuses on a marketing strategy developed by Peter Bingaman, vice president of marketing for the iSeries productivity computer software at IBM, to promote the iSeries computer software in the U.S. Change in the focus of advertising strategies for iSeries; Target market of the print advertising campaign; Information on a print advertising campaign published in the February 28, 2005 issue of the "Wall Street Journal."

Reports on the plans of software developer Oracle regarding the use of the OS/400 operating system. Meeting held by Oracle for PeopleSoft customers to discuss the Oracle/PeopleSoft integration process, product and customer issues and concerns; Response of Oracle president Charles Phillips to the question about Oracle's intentions for running PeopleSoft products on the iSeries operating system.

Reports on the expectation by META Group analysts on the increase in the salaries of information technology (IT) staff in 2008. Difficulty in retaining IT professionals in the application development field.

Reports on the expected increase in salary of information technology (IT) professionals through 2007. Reason for the retention of IT professionals, according to analyst Maria Schafer.

The article presents rules for better Internet mail management. To authenticate all users for relay privileges, choose not to authenticate local domain users, but in cases where someone is forging an address, the decision defeats the purpose of the Domino 6 ability. Rejection of a mail for local domain recipients who are not in the Domino Directory is a requirement in order to avoid problems with Internet mail operations. Many enterprises fail to establish a balance between business need and convenience. Users may find it convenient to accept 100 messages via e-mail but unless the business needs large graphic packages or drawings, a size limit is a must. Setting a limit saves disk space and prevents someone from sending a large attachment to multiple users, possibly bringing the system to a halt. By default, a Configuration document does have an antirelay setting, but everything else is left to the administrator to configure. One can enhance performance by optimizing the variables for the environment. Micromanagement of those who can and cannot receive Internet electronic mail should be avoided.