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!)

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.

This past summer IBM rolled out the Global Skills Initiative, essentially outsourcing all education marketing and delivery to four selected Global Training Partners.  IBM will continue to develop course curriculum, but everything else is now in the hands of the four Global Training Partners, or GTP’s.

The Fillmore Group has aligned with Global Training Partner Arrow ECS, our software distributor, and I am pleased to finally be able to announce that we are back in the training business.

There are still challenges.  Two of the biggest are the process of finding our classes on the IBM training site and actually registering for a class.  While I work through this process so I can update our website with accurate information, I am going to post our schedule in as many places as possible (right here for starters), and invite anyone in search of an IBM class to contact me if you need help.  Public classes, private classes, in the classroom or remote – please don’t hesitate to email me.  I want to help!

Baltimore-Washington area DB2 for z users – IBM is hosting a *free* full-day of informational sessions and I recommend you attend if you can.  For details and registration information go to the link below.  IBM has been doing the zEnterprise roadshow for several years.  They consistently deliver quality content in the sessions.  There are FIVE tracks, too – lots to chose from. 

Register now: zEnterprise – The ideal basis for Smarter Computing
Date: Tuesday, February 7
Location: Washington Hilton, 1919 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington DC 20009

In this briefing:

• Learn how to take an integrated and cross-brand view of mainframe hardware and software.
• See how consolidating workloads on zEnterprise can yield a lower cost per workload than consolidating on distributed platforms.
• Look at ways to reduce costs by consolidating and co-locating data marts on zEnterprise.
• Learn how to deploy new business models that can be quickly changed as part of an agile infrastructure that’s unmatched by other enterprise servers.
• See how to use the “fit for purpose” concept to deploy applications on certain platforms depending on the required qualities of service.
• Discover how to provision cloud computing quickly and easily in a very inexpensive and scalable manner through consolidation and virtualization.
• Understand the lessons we learned from our mainframe customers in typical TCO studies as they optimized their current costs

Instructor-led classroom training is the most effective and reliable way to develop new data management skills.  The Fillmore Group delivers a select group of public IBM authorized training courses in our state of the art classroom in Towson, Maryland.  Invest in yourself and join us for a class in 2012. 

A list of classes scheduled for the first half of 2012 is attached.  Please feel free to contact me with questions on our training offerings.  In addition to these classes TFG delivers private onsite classes, classes via distance learning, and custom training to meet specific needs.

First Half 2012 IBM Information Management Training Word

The October 18, 2011 recording of the DB2 Connect Virtual Users Group “Addressing DB2 Connect Security Issues” by Adam Koile and Mary Ann Ritosa of IBM can be found here.

http://www.channeldb2.com/video/db2-connect-virtual-users-group-2011-10-18-addressing-db2-connect

Adam Koile and Mary Ann Ritosa of IBM will be presenting “DB2 Connect & DB2 for z/OS Security” today (Tuesday, October 18, 2011) at 12:00 noon EDT for 90 minutes.  If you haven’t already registered, click on this link: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/692406922

The presentation materials can be downloaded here: DB2 Connect Virtual Users Group 2011-10-18

“Addressing DB2 Connect Security Issues”

The next meeting of the DB2 Connect Virtual Users Group will be held Tuesday, October 18th, from 12:00pm-1:30pm EDT.  Register to attend here. 

This presentation has been prepared for the DB2 Connect Virtual Users Group by IBM DB2 Connect technical support analyst Adam Koile, a subject matter expert in DB2 Connect security, and Mary Ann Ritosa, IBM DB2 for z/OS technical support.   Read More…

Get the back-to-school spirit and register for a fall class at The Fillmore Group.  The classes below are scheduled to run in our Towson, Maryland classroom, just north of Baltimore.  I can’t promise crunching leaves underfoot but I can assure you will enjoy state-of-the art classroom equipment and award winning instructors.  Click on the course code for details and registration on the IBM site.

Don’t see the course you are looking for?  The Fillmore Group also delivers private classes on a variety of Information Management topics. 

Read More…