Frank and I attended an IBM Business Partner event in Philadelphia earlier this week where we met with several IBM’ers supporting Business Partner initiatives in 2016.  Each of the specialists presented their “best of” solutions to the partners in attendance, and then patiently answered our many questions (mostly mine – sorry team!)

The final preparations for our Woodberry Kitchen lunch event are underway:   Frank and I are polishing the presentation, IBM’s Andrew Levine and Warren Heising are tracking down answers to my Cloud deployment “what if?” questions, Megan is gathering gold coins for attendees who ask Frank good technical questions, and Jolanta at Woodberry Kitchen has me salivating with her menu recommendations.

If you will be in Baltimore April 21st and haven’t registered yet, please do!  Register HERE.

Our webinar delivered on March 11, 2016 outlining access to mainframe data specifically oriented to non-mainframers such as IT Architects and Data Scientists was a success.  The presentation materials are here: IBM z Systems – Mainframes – for IT Architects and Data Scientists

A recording of the webinar is found here.

Kim has just returned from IBM’s annual “z Bootcamp” where they prepare their System z sellers for the upcoming year with a series of product updates, announcements and education.  Her takeaway message for 2016 was loud and clear:  IBM intends to continue to enhance and extend the capabilities of System z so they can remain relevant and leading the effort to leverage the power of System z data.

Which leads, naturally, to the “how?” question.  At The Fillmore Group, as an IBM Business Partner we believe our ability to connect with Data Scientists and Data Architects and to help them understand the data stored in System z will help us all better align our interests and build a successful data and analytic ecosystem.  To kick start this effort we have planned a lunch event at the award-winning Woodberry Kitchen in Baltimore where Frank Fillmore will present an overview of System z.  Read more below – and please join us if you can!

“IBM z Systems (Mainframes!) for IT Architects and Data Scientists”

Abstract
Fifty percent or more of a large enterprise’s data – especially the lifeblood online transaction processing (OLTP) data – likely reside on IBM z Systems (aka mainframe) computers.  In many organizations, mainframes remain a black box inside the “glass house” data center.  Yet the rich transactional data they contain are crucial to predictive analytics, such as fraud detection, and real-time data warehousing applications such as point-of-sale market basket analysis.

This lunch session is intended for Architects and Data Scientists who don’t have a mainframe background, but have been tasked by lines-of-business to develop new competitive insights into customers, supply chains, insurance claims, financial transactions – and/or any of a variety of other opportunities to turn an enterprise’s OLTP data into Big Data.

DB2 Gold Consultant and IBM Champion Frank Fillmore will explain:

The types of data are found on the mainframe, including:
• DB2 for z/OS (relational database)
• IMS – Information Management System (hierarchical database)
• VSAM – Virtual Storage Access Method (indexed file)

Frank will also explain the four key approaches to unlocking the data:
1. HTAP – Hybrid Transaction and Analytics Platform
2. Replication to heterogeneous data stores
3. Virtualization of heterogeneous data stores
4. ETL – Extract Transform Load

Frank will also discuss the how these approaches apply to the types of data in the context of the application requirements such as service level agreements (SLAs).

The session will be held on Thursday, March 3rd, from 11am-2pm at the Woodberry Kitchen, 2010 Clipper Mill Road, Suite 126, Baltimore, Maryland, 21211.

Registration is required.  Register HERE.

If you are unable to join us in Baltimore, Frank will deliver similar content in a webinar on Friday, March 11, 2016.  Registration for the session, to be held between 11am and noon, EST, is HERE.

Please note:  registration is required for both sessions as space is limited.  If you are a mainframe systems programmer or database administrator this is *not* the session for you (you should already know this stuff!)

The Fillmore Group 2H 2015 Class Schedule

With all the challenges IBM’s move to the Global Skills Initiative (aka outsourcing education) has created for DB2 users, please remember IBM classes do still exist and are available for the patient and persistent.  Fear not!  If you need training, we are prepared to help.

After seeing public training nosedive over the past two years we are now seeing a bit of a resurgence.  Are classes really running?  Well, in all honesty, not often.  However, we are seeing a few run here and there, and when they don’t, with our relationship with Arrow ECS (one of the five Global Training Partners) intact, we are learning to “collect” students interested in training, and either gather them together for classes, or provide private training at affordable rates.

I’ve just submitted our second half of 2015 public training class schedule to Arrow (see the attachment above) and expect to see the classes posted on the IBM training site (IBM.com/training) within the next couple weeks.  I welcome anyone looking for a class – whether it’s on my schedule or not – to contact me at kim.may@thefillmoregroup.com so that I can work some coordination magic for you.

We are looking forward to continuing our relationship with IBM Global Training Partner Arrow ECS is 2015.  Our schedule is up on the IBM training website, with the specific Arrow/The Fillmore Group classes listed and available for registration at:  https://ecsedu.arrow.com/ibm/us/index.html.

If you plan on taking a class early next year, I hope you will consider attending one of our classes, delivered in Towson, Maryland, just north of Baltimore.  We have great instructors, a comfortable classroom, and Baltimore offers some the best seafood in the world.

The complete list of classes is here.  I hope to see you in 2015!

I was on a call this morning with an IBM technical team to discuss our progress filling the seats in one of our upcoming free IDAA classes.  Not surprising, given the number of people on the call (and who they were!) we went a bit off topic and ended up chatting about services and what appears to be – to IBM customers and sellers at least – a shortage of skilled consultants available to help with the “tions” – replication, implementations, migrations and federation.

The Fillmore Group has skilled consultants available to support these efforts, at rates that are typically about half of those being charged by “the competition”.

If your team has a project pending, or one in process, where a skilled consultant, at a reasonable hourly rate, can get things back on track, please contact me.  We are ready to work!  A list of our IBM Information Management capabilities is attached here.

The Fillmore Group’s (TFG) blog ordinarily is focused on technical topics, but when a potentially disruptive business issue impacts our information management software clients I need to give folks a heads-up.  For 20 years TFG has partnered with IBM to deliver IBM-branded technical training to our mutual customers.  The nature of the business relationship between TFG and IBM that enabled us to deliver that education has changed several times over the past two decades and is changing again in 2013.  Unfortunately the new relationship has yet to be defined while the existing terms and conditions are set to expire at the end of June – in just over two months.

So why does any of this matter to you?  Well if you plan to attend an IBM Information Management training class in the second half of 2013, check out the schedule of courses.  Spoiler alert: there isn’t one.  In years past IBM has requested our public training schedule for the two dozen or so courses we offer at least four months before a new half will begin (e.g. early September of 2012 for classes that will be delivered beginning January 2013).  Between now and the end of June all existing Authorized Training Partners have been asked to arrange new relationships with aggregators engaged by IBM.  What are the new terms and conditions?  No idea.  But the only thing scarier than hearing “I’m from the government and I’m here to help you” is “You’re gonna love this new IBM program” – especially when the program’s details haven’t been publicly shared.

The tuition for most IBM courses runs between $2,000 and $3,000.  Add an additional $1,500 for travel and lodging expenses.  Most IBM training attendees must travel far from home to attend instructor-led classroom training (unlike Oracle and Microsoft customers who can usually find classes at the local training provider – say, a community college – near their homes and businesses).  Sleep in your own bed and don’t miss you kids’ soccer games.  But that’s a rant for another day.

You probably need to get prior budgetary approval for a nearly $5k expenditure and plan the schedule around project deadlines and vacations.  Right now you can’t plan for any classes beyond the end of June – remember, they don’t exist – and there’s no telling when or *if* you will be able to make those plans.  I say *if* because TFG offers the only public schedule in the US for classes on Information Server and the hot, hot, hot BigData technologies of BigInsights and InfoSphere Streams.  If you expect to deploy these technologies in 2013, you might be reading the manual or engaging scarce (and expensive) consulting resources.

So, if this matters to you what can you do?

• Post a comment on this blog entry.
• Send an e-mail to your IBM representative and ask “What the heck is going on?”
• Drop me a Tweet @ffillmorejr and tell me the impact this is having on you and your team: #IMtraining.

The Fillmore Group has been delivering IBM Authorized Training classes in our Towson, Maryland classroom for the past several years and believe we offer some of the best DB2 training around – in a comfortable facility at an affordable travel location.  Our first half of 2013 schedule has recently been posted on the IBM website and a complete list of classes is available here.

In addition to the public, open enrollment classes we host on IBM’s behalf, we deliver an extended group of IBM classes directly to organizations as private classes.  The complete list of private classes available is attached here. 

If you or anyone on your team is looking to upgrade your DB2 skills in 2013 please let me know how I can assist.   Email me directly and I will help!

For four consecutive years, my colleague, Kim May – VP of Business Development for The Fillmore Group, has been named an IBM Champion.  Kim has

• been on the board of the Baltimore/Washington DB2 Users Group since 2005
• presented at the IBM Information on Demand (IOD) conference in 2010
• run the DB2 Connect Virtual Users Group since 2010
• hosted luncheons to help existing IBM customers understand the breadth of the IBM Information Management software portfolio since 2011
• blogs and tweets on a regular basis

The Virtual Users Group (VUG) approach has been so successful in fostering community in the DB2 Connect domain that three new VUGs will debut in 2012.  Watch this space and, if you get a chance, extend congrats to Kim.

In 2011, Information Management was IBM’s largest software product family, based on worldwide sales.  What does IBM have that you should know about?  Join us in the beautiful Patrizio dining room at Baltimore’s award winning Cinghiale Italian restaurant on March 8th to find out.

DB2 Gold Consultant and IBM Champion Frank Fillmore will deliver a presentation on IBM’s 2012 Information Management product portfolio, including background on IBM’s recent acquisitions and information integration and data governance strategies.  Learn how IBM has accumulated and integrated data solutions to position themselves as the thought leader in information management.

Whether you already use IBM data products or are interested in finding out what IBM has to offer, the presentation will provide a dose of nutritious food for thought.

To register, click here.   We will send you a confirmation with directions to Cinghiale.  Valet parking will be provided.  We look forward to seeing you there!