Welcome to another edition of Talsco Weekly

IBM i Brief: 📱 Top Ten IBM i Feature Requests Revealed. ☁️ IBM PowerVS adoption soars with new features.
AI: 💡 GenAI spending forecasts show mixed signals.
Career: 🤔 Rethinking Software Development Skills. 💭 The Career Question Every IBM i Developer Should Ask. 🤔 Develop Higher-Order Thinking Skills.
Development: 📈 IBM i ACS dominates legacy AS/400 Client Access.

IBM i Brief

📱 Top Ten IBM i Feature Requests Revealed

The IBM i community:

is gearing up for a major new release of the IBM i operating system. We don’t know yet what will be in the release, but we can forge some guesses by checking out what new features the IBM i community is requesting through the IBM Ideas portal, and how IBM reacts to them.

The IBM Ideas Portal💡 “enables IBM i customers to submit new feature requests to IBM, which can either agree to deliver the functionality or decline to do so.”

Summary:

Analysis of IBM’s Ideas portal shows over 4,330 submitted ideas, with 1,255 delivered updates. Key requests include machine pool minimum sizing, NIC replacement improvements, and modern RPG naming support. The portal, which replaced the RFE program in 2022, demonstrates IBM’s commitment to community-driven development, with votes helping prioritize future enhancements.

☁️ IBM PowerVS adoption soars with new features

For starters what is IBM PowerVS?

IBM PowerVS is a cloud-based service offering virtual IBM Power servers, supporting AIX, IBM i, and Linux workloads with flexible, pay-as-you-go billing.

IBM’s Power Virtual Server cloud platform now spans 22 global datacenters, serving over 700 customers after eight consecutive quarters of double-digit revenue growth. PowerVS has evolved with key additions like Migrate While Active for seamless data transfer, Virtual Serial Numbers for flexible licensing, and expanded datacenter presence including Chennai, India. The platform increasingly hosts mission-critical production workloads alongside traditional HA/DR uses.

Key Takeaway for IBM i Customers:

PowerVS is shaping up to be the enterprise cloud offering that IBM i customers always wanted, and that Big Blue always needed to offer its IBM i customers. That’s good for IBM i customers, and good for IBM i.

AI

💡 GenAI spending forecasts show mixed signals

Gartner’s latest report reveals a complex picture of AI adoption, with AI PC sales reaching $199.6B in 2024. While datacenter GenAI spending grew to $165.4B, expectations are declining due to high failure rates in trials. Thus, companies are increasingly looking to third-party providers for AI features rather than developing in-house solutions.

How is the IBM i market responding?

Straw polling we have seen shows that companies are waiting for either IBM or application software makers to give them the tools to have AI functions in their applications.

Career

🤔 Rethinking Software Development Skills

AI has introduced a whole new paradigm into what is the most valuable use of our time. Just as the industrial revolution transformed manufacturing jobs and the digital age revolutionized office work, AI is now rapidly reshaping the landscape of software development – and IBM i developers must adapt their skillset to remain valuable in this new era.

Key Questions to Consider:

Is learning how to write code as important as it used to be?
Will it be as important in the future as it is today?
How will knowing how to code today compare to five years from now?

The link above and comments that follow highlight a discussion that is taking place across development communities not just the IBM i.

While discussions about future developer skills abound, a more crucial question often goes unasked: What will remain constant?

💭 The Career Question Every IBM i Developer Should Ask

While many focus on predicting future trends and technologies, the most valuable insights often come from asking:

“What won’t change in my career over the next 10-20 years?”

While customers will always want better service and lower prices, IBM i developers will always need a core set of skills that transcend technological changes. Let’s examine what those timeless capabilities look like over the next decade.

🕰️ What will not change for the IBM i developer in the next 10 years?

Instead of focusing solely on how AI and automation might transform development roles, let’s examine the fundamental skills that will stand the test of time.

These core competencies will remain valuable regardless of technological advances or programming language evolution.

🤔 Develop Higher-Order Thinking Skills

Effective IBM i developers and managers solve problems by creating value for their organizations.

Four critical thinking skills stand out:

Expert thinking to quickly provide solutions based on deep knowledge;
Critical thinking to challenge established practices and evaluate complex problems;
Strategic thinking to plan for long-term success in a rapidly evolving environment;
Systems thinking to understand how various components of IBM i systems interact and affect one another.

Mastering these skills is key to driving innovation and making impactful decisions in the IBM i ecosystem. Read more in this article.

Development

📈 IBM i ACS dominates legacy AS/400 Client Access

The modern IBM i Access Client Solutions (ACS) vastly outperforms its predecessor with cross-platform compatibility, enhanced security, and integrated SQL tools, making it the go-to choice for today’s IBM i connectivity.

AS/400 Client Access vs IBM i Client Access

Meanwhile, the AS/400 Client Access remains a nostalgic relic, burdened by outdated technology and limited to Windows-only environments.

The verdict?

ACS is the clear winner for modern IT needs.

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