Monday, June 23, 2014

Scott Klement's Top 3 Reasons to Attend the 2014 OCEAN IBM i Tech Conference

Top 3 reasons why Scott thinks YOU should be at the OCEAN IBM i Tech Conference this year

+Scott Klement 
  1. “We work in a technology industry. Technology, by nature is always changing, so it's important to be kept up-to-date in your area(s) of expertise.”
  2. “Networking with your peers is important; you should have friends you can call on or run ideas past.”
  3. “OCEAN's Technical Conference and Expo is the best resource for all of this stuff in the So Cal area.”
You can network with Scott Klement, Author and Product Developer at Profound Logic Software, and an impressive group of other leading industry experts at the reception and dinner on Thursday, July 17, at the Avenue of the Arts Wyndham Hotel.


Plus, Scott will be presenting three sessions at the main event on Friday, July 18:

Three Approaches to Web with RPG - Most RPG/CGI applications that you see today use the open source CGIDEV2 tool to emit HTML.  In this session, Scott will show you how to "upgrade" your CGIDEV2 application to use CGIDEV2 with a JavaScript framework.  He will demonstrate how frameworks provide more functionality and make your program easier to maintain than emitting HTML directly. Then, he will compare the CGIDEV2 technique with the use of Open Access, to help you decide which approach is the best for you.

Working With JSON in RPG - JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is quickly becoming an important document format for business data interchange, so what's the best way to process it from RPG?  JSON provides the same benefits as XML, but is smaller (and so transmits over a network more quickly) and is much more efficient than XML to work with in web applications.  Naturally, this means that your RPG business applications need to learn how to speak JSON in order to talk to many of the newer web services or exchange data with many tech-savvy business partners.  In this session, Scott will explain how the open source YAJL tool can be used from an RPG program to process or generate JSON in an efficient manner.

Accessing External Databases from RPG - Ever wanted to access an SQL Server from an RPG program? How about MySQL, Oracle or even DB2? Although some database manufacturers may not make drivers for IBM i, it's possible to use Java's JDBC drivers from an RPG program.  

By the end of this session, attendees will be able to install JDBC drivers for use in RPG and write RPG code to issue SQL statements against JDBC drivers.


Thanks and see you at the conference!

Margaret Matthews - OCEAN VP Programs & 2014 Conference Chair

Friday, June 20, 2014

Register for OCEAN Tech Conference TODAY for best pricing!



UCG is pleased to sponsor and cordially invite you to attend The 20th Annual OCEAN User Group IBM i Technical Conference and Vendor Solutions Expo from Thursday evening July 17th through Saturday July 19th in Costa Mesa, California.

The conference agenda features six tracks and over thirty sessions. Featured speakers are among some of the best technical experts in the IBM Power System i world.

Early registration pricing is available through TODAY, June 20 at $195, or if you register on the same day as a colleague or friend, $170. After June 20, registration is $245.

James Kandrac, President & Founder of United Computer Group, Inc. will be at the UCG exhibit on Friday, June 18th. Stop by for a visit to discuss the latest IBM Power 8 announcements and the IBM i Solution Edition for VAULT400.


Hope to see you there!





Thursday, June 19, 2014

Crunch time at UCG thanks to Herr Foods!

UCG's Senior Consultant Tim Prostor returned from a dual VAULT400 appliance install at Herr Foods headquarters in Nottingham, PA with several bags of their tasty snacks. The team at UCG thoroughly enjoyed them and decided to run an informal taste test. Here are the results!  

UCG Managers (L to R)
Mike Powall, VP; Tim Prostor, Senior Technical Engineer;
Gina Creager, Administrations & Operations Manager
Michael Seday, Senior Consultant

Scoring System

#1 = 5 points
#2 = 4 points
#3 = 3 points
#4 = 2 points
#5 = 1 point
#6 = 0 points














The winners were: 
  1. Extra Crunchy Honey Sriracha Kettle Cooked Potato Chips and Kettle Lattice Cut with Sea Salt = Tied for First Place - 18 points
  2. Ripple Kettle Cooked = 14 points
  3. Kettle Cooked Chips = 12 points
  4. Crunchy Cheese Sticks = 7 points
  5. Old Bay Seasoned Cheese Curls = 6 points



Looking for a fun family activity this summer? Check out Herr's Snack Factory Tour in Nottingham, PA. 


Schedule your tour online


The folks at UCG will be more than happy to taste test new products anytime for Herr Foods; just send them on over! Thanks again!

Monday, June 16, 2014

DON'T GAMBLE WITH YOUR DATA

If your business critical data is still being backed up by tape, each and every day is a gamble. 


The fact is you are putting your business, your clients, and your reputation at risk. Who needs that kind of unnecessary stress?



Discover the benefits of UCG's VAULT400 BaaS

 

Call UCG at 800.211.8798, email info@ucgrp.com, or complete our complimentary risk assessment. An expert from United Computer Group will guide you through everything you need to know from identifying your business issues and pain points to protecting your data and your business. For more information, visit our websites at vault400.com and ucgrp.com


Download PDF Balancing BUDGETS and PROTECTION
IBM Systems Magazine, June 2014

An excellent read!


Balancing BUDGETS and PROTECTION by Jim Kandrac, Founder and President of UCG. The article was published in IBM Systems Magazine this month. Includes helpful tips on how to secure funding for BaaS.   



Wednesday, June 04, 2014

Balancing BUDGETS and PROTECTION

Published in IBM Systems Magazine June 2014



By James A. Kandrac, Founder and President, United Computer Group, Inc. 


Backup as a service can be a cost-effective part of your company’s budget


Determining budgetary priorities is a balancing act. Often, business executives keep a tight rein on budgets, sometimes making the IT department’s priority of protecting data difficult. However, if business-critical data is lost and a company folds, keeping the lights on or employee benefits coming won’t really matter.


Before you think BaaS is a luxury and perhaps an unnecessary one at that, consider nationwide studies have indicated that firms have a 1 to 2 percent chance annually of experiencing a complete disaster, but upwards of a 70 percent chance annually of experiencing data loss. In my opinion, only two kinds of companies exist—companies that have lost data and companies that will lose data. Losing data has significant consequences for your business and your clients—not just from a financial perspective in lost time and recovery costs, but also damaged reputation and the long-term consequences of permanent loss of critical data.



Link to full article in IBM Systems Magazine or download PDF.

Download White Paper: Five Key Questions for Assessing Backup & Recovery Solutions

Download Data Sheet: VAULT400 BaaS