IBM i Futures Conference

IBM i Futures Conference

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Replays Available Through April 16, 2021  |  Virtual  |  FREE to Everyone

2020, the COVID-19 pandemic, and new technologies have businesses wondering what the future will look like for their companies and IT operations.

Join IBM, COMMON and leading solution providers  for this FREE virtual event to learn what the future holds for IBM i and your business in the “new normal.”

Hear from IBM Distinguished Engineers and Master Inventors, IBM Champions and other experts from the IBM i community about new technologies like AI, Quantum and IoT. Listen to real-life customer stories of businesses who have not only adapted, but thrived in the “new normal” by running on IBM i.

Get inspired. Learn how to innovate with these new technologies.  Discover how they will bring your business into the future integrated with IBM i.

Conference Sponsors

A big THANK YOU to our conference sponsors! Their support of this event has made the content for this event possible, and for everyone to attend at no charge. Please make sure to visit them in the Sponsor Showcase during the virtual conference.

Fresche SolutionsIBMiTech Solutions GroupMidrange Dynamics NAPerforceProfound Logic

















Session Topics and Agenda

Over the course of two days, choose from a variety of leading education topics at this FREE virtual conference.

* All content will be available on-demand for 30 days after the event for registered attendees.

Tuesday, March 16th Sessions

IBM i and the Future of Work: Lessons Learned from the Pandemic

9:00 AM CT – 10:00 AM CT
Speakers: Koen Decorte, CD-Invest; Steve Bradshaw, Rowton IT Solutions; Carol Woodbury, DXR Security; Alison Butterill, IBM; Pete Massiello, iTech Solutions; and Ian Jarman, IBM

 

In 2020, 'the future of work’ changed overnight from an often discussed but rarely prioritized business transformation goal, to an immediate necessity for all businesses, in all countries, and for all employees.  Together, we faced workplace transformation simultaneously on an unprecedented scale, working from home and operating IT remotely as well as implementing major changes to our business processes and channels.  We likely won't ever return to the old ways of working. We may move to a new normal, there may be a 'next' normal, or rapid change may just become the norm. Our international panel of IBM i experts will share their experiences and consider how lessons learned from the pandemic will help us emerge stronger as businesses and as an IBM i community.  

Joining the panel moderated by Ian Jarman from IBM Lab Services are Alison Butterill, IBM i WW Offering Manager; Koen Decorte, IBM Champion and owner of CD Invest; Steve Bradshaw, IBM Champion from Rowton IT Solutions; Pete Massiello, IBM Champion and President of iTech Solutions Group; and Carol Woodbury, IBM Champion and President and CTO at DXR Security.


Pete’s Perspective on IBM i

10:00 AM CT – 11:00 AM CT
Pete Massiello, iTech Solutions Group

In this session, Pete Massiello will go over his thoughts on the future of IBM i.

This session is sponsored by iTech Solutions Group.


IBM i Meets IoT

11:00 AM CT – 12:00 PM CT
Michael Dawson and Jesse Gorzinski, IBM

Bringing real-world interaction to your business workflows and customers can be key to success in today's competitive landscape. IoT is one of the key ways of doing that, and Node.js and IBM i are a great fit as a platform. Come learn about MQTT- a machine-to-machine (M2M) "Internet of Things" connectivity protocol and how you can integrate it into your application using Node.js on IBM i.

This talk will provide an introduction to MQTT, examples of how to use it with Node.js and then finish up with some demos of using it on IBM i as well as for home automation.

The Future of IBM i is Open

12:00 PM CT – 1:00 PM CT
Erwin Earley, Perforce Software

Since the introduction of the yum/rpm ecosystem to IBM i three years ago, the availability and usage of open source solutions on the platform has grown and shows no signs of stopping. In this session, Erwin Earley – an IBM Power Champion and Open Source advocate – will take an engaging look at the open source ecosystem on IBM i. Erwin will review the solutions available today and how they can advance both usage of the platform, as well as the availability and value of the ground-truth of data that the platform represents. We will also read the tea-leaves on what lies ahead in the open source world for IBM i and how you and your company can benefit.


This session is sponsored by Perforce Software.

IBM i Wears a Red Hat, Volume 2

1:00 pm – 2:00 pm CT
Joe Cropper, IBM

Clients are increasingly looking to hybrid cloud Infrastructure and application modernization techniques to fuel the unprecedented need to accelerate transformation and innovation. Come join us to explore the latest trends, directions and technologies that IBM and Red Hat are using to help our clients, especially IBM i with its deep enterprise heritage, fuel the next chapter of industry innovation.


Building Applications without Writing a Single Line of Code (Low Code)

2:00 PM CT – 3:00 PM CT
Mike Pavlak, Profound Logic

Modern development is more about configuring systems than building them in the 21st century. Why not explore the best ways to do both at the same time? Leveraging technology that is a clear disruptor to traditional development will allow you to maximize your time and energy, while meeting the demands of your business. Low-code development platforms (LCDP) are sprouting up everywhere and they bring tremendous advantages when navigating the high costs and scarcity of developers.

In this session we’ll explore what a LCDP is, take a cogent look at the advantages and disadvantages, analyze its role in the IT environment, and explore a practical low-code solution that deploys directly on IBM i for both applications and API development. 

This session is sponsored by Profound Logic Software


Smarter IBM i Applications Made Easy with AI

3:00 PM CT – 4:00 PM CT
Benoit Marolleau, IBM

Did you know that machine learning and data science technologies are available for modernizing and augmenting your IBM i applications with predictive capabilities, taking benefits of your business data residing on your favorite platform?

In this session, you will learn how to build powerful machine learning models with free open source libraries on IBM i, or using the leading edge Auto ML technology brought by H20 Driverless AI on IBM Power Systems AC922, and models running on IBM i.

Wednesday, March 17th Sessions

The Future of IT Infrastructure: The Colliding Megatrends of Data Gravity and Semiconductor Physics

9:00 AM CT – 10:00 AM CT
Bill Starke, IBM

 

In August of 2020, IBM announced the POWER10 processor at the Hot Chips virtual conference. An exciting new hardware platform is coming soon for IBM i. But what should we expect in the more distant future? Not just for IBM i, but for enterprise IT in general. In this session, Bill Starke, IBM Distinguished Engineer and POWER Processor Architect, will share his perspective on the ongoing impacts of industry-wide trends.


Lift and Shift: Real IT Professionals Talk About Building a Foundation for the Future

10:00 AM CT – 11:00 AM CT
Donna Westmoreland (Moderator), Midrange Dynamics North America


Attend our dynamic, interactive panel discussion with IBM i community members from Ashley Furniture, Hatco Corporation, Liberty Mutual Insurance, Everence Financial FCU, and Agri-Mark Family Dairy Farms. 
 
We will chat about the opportunities and challenges they encountered as they gear up for current and future IT directions. Plus, we’ll learn how they continue to advance their IT initiatives while working remotely. You will hear their advice for, and the benefits of, upgrading skills and software tools to support:

  • Their teams’ advanced development and modernization directions,
  • Application integrations --including integrating IBM i business assets with the wider world, 
  • Smooth hardware and OS upgrades, and more.
 
Featuring Terri Accardo from Ashley Furniture, Ted Macksam from Hatco Corporation, David Jones from Liberty Mutual Insurance, Dean Eshleman from Everence Financial FCU, David Rouleau from Agri-Mark Family Dairy Farms (Cabot Cheese), and other special guests. Moderator is Donna Westmoreland, Midrange Dynamics North America

This session is sponsored by Midrange Dynamics North America.


From Hollerith to Hamiltonian

11:00 AM CT – 12:00 PM CT
Jack Woehr, Absolute Performance, Inc.

Data processing in the quantum computing age. What will you be doing with quantum tomorrow that you do with IBM i today? In this session, Jack Woehr, a quantum computing expert and advocate, will be discussing how quantum computing works with IBM i and how businesses will use it in the future to enhance their business applications. There will be a demo of using quantum computing to process data provided by IBM i DB2. You'll be inspired to get started with quantum computing and learn what it holds for the future of your business.


Progressive Web Apps for Your Internal Customers

12:00 PM CT – 1:00 PM CT
Tony Graham, LANSA

Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) continue to increase in both popularity and capabilities. PWAs are certain to play an important role in expanding your business’ omni-channel presence. However, PWAs are not just for customer facing apps, they have the potential to make a huge impact on apps for internal use as well. Join Anthony Graham, LANSA Product Marketing Manager, as he discusses the benefits of developing PWAs for your business’ internal use. Save money by developing one app for all devices, bypass the app stores, and create a seamless experience for your employees across all devices and platforms. Sales, Quality, Maintenance, Safety, Shipping and Receiving, and Production can all benefit from the PWA experience. 

This session is sponsored by LANSA.


Getting Real with IBM i and Apache Kafka

1:00 pm – 2:00 pm CT
Jesse Gorzinski, IBM and Justin Reock, Perforce Software

Apache Kafka is an open-source stream-processing software platform developed by the Apache Software Foundation. It provides a unified, high-throughput and low-latency platform for handling real-time data streams. In this session, Jesse Gorzinski, Business Architect for Open Source on IBM i, and Justin Reock, the Chief Architect for OpenLogic at Perforce Software, will give an introduction to Apache Kafka and how to get started with it. You’ll learn how to enhance your IBM i applications with real-time data streams to add business value.


Innovative approaches to IBM i Application Evolution

2:00 PM CT – 3:00 PM CT
Chris Koppe, Fresche Solutions

When it comes to innovation, there are many moves and directions that can mean big disruption to how your business works today. A next-generation operating model can help you achieve new levels of agility, efficiency, speed, and performance. So what does a next-generation operating model and transformation roadmap look like for IBM i clients and what approaches and capabilities are companies really adopting? Through customer journeys we’ll explore some of the key areas being utilized and how they are helping organizations evolve and transform to support tomorrow’s business needs.

In this session we’ll discuss:

  • Human insights and enterprise design thinking 
  • Understanding the role of change management for both business and technology
  • Improve information sharing with Knowledge Management    
  • Service Based Architectures future proof your applications

This session is sponsored by Fresche Solutions


Following the Rules with IBM i and Apache Camel

3:00 PM CT – 4:00 PM CT
Jesse Gorzinski, IBM and Erwin Earley, Zend by Perforce

Apache Camel is an open source framework for message-oriented middleware with rule-based routing and mediation engine. It can support type-safe smart completion of routing rules in an integrated development environment. In this session, Jesse Gorzinski, Business Architect for Open Source on IBM i, and Erwin Earley, IBM Power Champion and Open Source Evangelist at Perforce Software, will give an introduction to Apache Camel and how to get started with it. You’ll learn how to use Apache Camel for IBM i applications to streamline business rules.