Welcome to another edition of Talsco Weekly
- ERP: Agile Manufacturing and Big Data: The IoT and Analytics Advantage. ERP integration guide.
- Development: The 5 most used languages used in 2022. A Comparison of Node.js Environment Managers.
- Modernization: IBM i Transformation, What does it mean?
ERP
Agile Manufacturing and Big Data: The IoT and Analytics Advantage
With “supply chain disruptions, and product shortages, manufacturers have had to get creative to ensure efficiency and productivity in their factory operations. The introduction of digital transformation and the implementation of big data solutions helps elevate a business’ offerings during these disruptions.”
With many, if not most, IBM i shops running third-party ERP packages or have custom ERP’s, the need to modernize is front and center.
One solution, is to adopt a strategy of Agility.
There is a need to trim down, and compartmentalize internal processes, thus integrating them into fewer, more systemized procedures.
Analytics can help.
“Implementing IoT analytics tools sets forth an improved roadmap that improves a business’ ERP strategy. With the roadmap in place, manufacturers can prioritize what they want to build and what they want to improve upon, which are executed by their ERP strategy. In other words, information is passed to ERP systems to agile manufacturing operations to improve or adjust orders as needed.”
ERP systems are the backbone of the enterprise. “But to unfold the full potential of their ERP system, companies will need to integrate it with other applications to ensure a consistent data flow, provide access to accurate information across the entire company, and automate enterprise business processes.”
The biggest shift we see in the IBM i community (maybe it is because of the type of companies that are reaching out to us for assistance), is organizations that are looking to modernize and leverage their ERP system by integrating it with various enterprise grade platforms such as PLM, eCommerce, BI, LMS, and HCM.
In today’s environment, ERP is not enough, and the need for integration is more important than ever.
Key Benefits: Process automation, reduction of errors, a central data source, more robust reporting and scalability.
This article is loaded with insight and covers 3 of the most popular methods for ERP system integrations.
Development
The 5 most used languages used in 2022
“The annual Stackoverflow survey is here, and while JavaScript continues to rule the roost, TypeScript has edged past Java to make it into the top five most commonly used programming languages.”
It’s interesting that COBOL along with VBA is the most disliked. And while COBOL is not a favorite, the annual salary is up by $25,000.
As you might guess, RPG is not on this list; however, for the Full Stack IBM i developer, it is necessary to stay on top of the variety of open-source languages that are out there because many of them can be used on the IBM i platform.
See the open source languages and platforms that are supported on the IBM i here.
Here are the top 10 programming languages today.
A Comparison of Node.js Environment Managers
For those of you who are jumping into the world of Node.js, here are 5 Node.js Managers for review.
This article, examines “some of the most common virtual environment managers for Node.js and describes their features, as well as the pros and cons of each one. After reading this piece, you’ll have enough context to choose the right environment manager that best suits your needs!”
Modernization
IBM i Transformation, What does it mean?
If you have not noticed, IBM i Modernization and Transformation is taking place.
Before diving into what it means, it is important to ask:
Who is driving Modernization or Transformation, and why?
We covered this very topic, a number of years ago.
“The role of IT and Business have merged.
The one thing that everybody agrees on is from a technology perspective is that more change is coming.
For years, IT has always had the philosophy that we have to speak the language of the business but now, we’re at this interesting point in time where we’re flipping it into … business has to be tech savvy in a way they haven’t had to before.
This brings a different dynamic into play. The business, today, understands technology, how it works and what it can do. In many cases “the business” is more forward-thinking than IT.
This is, at the core, why there is a push for modernization and it is not going to slow down.”
Here is a must watch 4-minute video that highlights where “IT Modernization and Transformation” is coming from.
Fast forward to today, the appetite for Modernization and Transformation is in full swing.
But what does IBM i Modernization really mean?
As IT Jungle writes, “Transformation is a complex concept. It can mean many different things depending on whom you are asking. It could be UI transformation, where an improvement in the user interface provides all end-users a memorable, personalized, and deeply engaging experience.”
It could refer to code transformation. It could also refer to transforming a process.
Here is a quick overview of a Transformation project from “Profound Logic.”
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