Re: Ibm i modernization

Now I remember why I don't miss meetings where this was being said even 25
years ago. The only thing that missing is the word "synergy". :)

On Sat, Jun 17, 2023 at 10:27 AM Efield <netnature212@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Hi,

These are the main reasons :-

1)
The majority of businesses nowadays absolutely require web-enabled business
apps. This is due to the growing significance of online tools and business
models. Operating procedures will be improved and optimized at various
organizational levels with the aid of application modernization tactics.

You can web enable the IBM i, both client and server sides, quite easily.

What do web services do? Make things more generic for any platform to
interface with. What else do they do? Slow things down. It is a fair
trade in some cases.

2) The main goal of any corporate organization is Profitability.
Organizations will concentrate on ways to increase productivity and lower
manufacturing costs. Both of these goals would be easier to achieve if your
IBM i is modernized. Better ROI would result from meeting customer needs
and providing innovative services.

And that really has nothing to do with the nuts and bolts of the
operation. IBM i just as "modernized" as any other platform yet still runs
business critical applications in RPGIII. Sometimes if it isn't broken,
you shouldn't fix it.

Perfect example.. Quickbooks forcing you to go to Quickbooks online. What
a sh** show.

3) Legacy IBM i applications tend to be challenging to maintain each year.
These constraints result in higher maintenance expenses and an increase in
errors. legacy applications are mostly monolithic and should be upgraded
since they are hard to scale and complex to update. You would need ongoing
assistance, not just for upgrades but also in the event of a defect. When
the installed application and related components are outdated, such support
might not be provided. The only way to continue functioning is to
modernize. You have to adopt advanced technologies and raise the company's
overall performance.

I deal with hundreds of customers a day and I see what you're saying. But
it's two pronged:

1. The old legacy programmers don't want to learn anything new (and yes, I
would consider using the IFS or FTP as "new" even though they're not
because these seem to be the biggies I run into).

2. The new, younger "coders" are used to googling for an open source
solution, so when they have a business critical application that they don't
know how to use, the try to use the ISV's support as a learning tool,
asking for help that really should be basic knowledge of the OS/System and
really nothing to do with the operation of the software. An example,
manipulating a library list or providing a job log.

4) Your apps must be available for all leading platforms, including desktop
and mobile, in the era of modern technology. An outdated user interface
clearly hints that it's time to upgrade. An obsolete IBM i app can be
recognized by its user interface and poor performance. Through IBM i
modernization, your clients will have a better user experience. Customers
are continuously seeking quick product delivery and rapid solutions. To
establish a strong identity, these two factors will be crucial. By adopting
modern techniques and improving the services, you can add value to your
company.

And RESTful applications fill this gap. As far as the interfaces, that's
selective. I can see doing cycle counts with a mobile device/app, but not
running payroll for a company with hundreds of employees.

I have thousands of customers all over the world. None (yet) have asked
for a mobile or even web interface for my applications (although I am
thinking about the best way to incorporate that). In fact, those that are
"forced" to move to something like "modern authentication" and not aware of
what that even means (OAuth 2.0 for email clients for example) I can hear
their heads spinning when I try to explain what's required for that in most
cases.

But, I will admit, most customers that come to me exactly for those types
of solutions, knowing what they are getting into, are a pleasure to work
with. :) It's those ones that don't know how to fire up an FTP client to
transfer a file from the IFS to their PC to send to me that I have issues
with. But in most cases I end up doing it for them for a fee, and happy to
do so.

5) The use of advanced components enables the company to study numerous
possibilities. The company can gain motivation through the use of cloud
computing. With the equipment modernized, it will be possible to provide
on-demand services, and affordable computing solutions, guarantee a wide
geographic reach and maintain competitiveness at all levels. When an IBM i
application is modernized, it is also likely to be cloud-compatible, which
makes it extremely flexible. When all the information is taken into
account, it becomes evident that IBM I modernization is must.

All an IBM i application needs to be "cloud compatible" is GETURI/HTTPAPI
or something similar.

Tell us what you consider to be "cloud compatible".

6) The talent for IBM i is about to retire, which is a significant issue. A
number of elderly experts who are close to retirement are present on the
platform. Therefore, Another clear indication that you need to update is
the difficulty in recruiting and retaining staff to manage the application.
Today, finding skilled and competent RPG programmers and IBM i
professionals is really challenging. You should update your apps to support
contemporary programming languages for this point.

Where did you find these stats about retirement?

Is not being able to find young RPG programmers the fault of the elder
programmer? No. Management, education systems, and the young "coders"
themselves.

You get good on the IBM i as a youngster and you'll be set for life. It
isn't going anywhere.

I have a feeling from your statement that you should "update the apps to
support contemporary programming languages" that you yourself may be a
younger and don't want to learn RPG to support it, and think converting
multi-million line application packages from RPG to node would be easy.

Instead you should be working with these "elderly" programmers to learn the
business rules. Without those, you will be lost. (again, Quickbooks
online is a perfect example).

And finally The shift taking place in the digital environment is redefining
the working methodology. The vast majority of manual operations have been
replaced with automated management techniques. You will be successful in
establishing a brand essence for yourself through the use of a systematic
and structured methodology and advanced technological innovations. IBM i
modernization is a wise choice. You can maintain the modernization budget
in check without compromising the standard of your solutions. IBM
Application Modernization is the result of years of experience and
knowledge, combined with innovation and a keen understanding of the route
that technology is taking. An application's modernization is a crucial
step. The difficulty in the operation of fusing an out-of-date application
with a plethora of practical technologies turns out to be a relatively
straightforward process with the aid of IBM application modernization. With
IBM application modernization, you can remain on top of the competition,
make use of cloud services, and unlock the full potential of the
application.

Ok, now I think this whole thing was written by AI. :)