Jim Dee
Can We Say “Agile” and “Db2 for IBM z/OS” in the Same Sentence?
BY Jim DeeJim Dee

The term “DevOps” is occupying a lot of space in articles, presentations, and blogs lately. But it doesn’t apply to the mainframe or Db2 on z/OS… or does it? As Db2 DBAs, we’re too busy keeping the lights on to worry about a trend that affects only distributed and mobile apps. But the truth is that many of those apps access Db2 data on z/OS, and they’re deploying changes at an accelerating rate. Application development teams have learned to use a variety of tools to automate and speed up the process of deployment, but they don’t understand the mainframe and how to deploy to it. If we don’t want to be seen as the barrier to effective deployment of applications, we need to be part of the solution. Our job as DBAs has always been maintaining the stability of the platform and … [Read More]

Real Time vs Batch Processing vs Stream Processing: What’s The Difference?
BY Laura ShiffLaura Shiff

With the constant rate of current innovations, developers can expect to analyze terabytes and even petabytes of data in any given period of time. While this allows advantages far beyond what we can see, it can be difficult to know the best way to accelerate … [Read More...]

AWS Linear Learner: Using Amazon SageMaker for Logistic Regression
BY Walker RoweWalker Rowe

In the last blog post we showed you how to use Amazon SageMaker. So read that one before you read this one because there we show screen prints and explain how to use the graphical interface of the product, including its hosted Jupyter Notebooks feature. We … [Read More...]

Six Key Capabilities to Look for in a Managed File Transfer Solution
BY Robby DickRobby Dick

Let’s talk about your 24x7x365 business—that’s right, your business is always on. You may go home at 5pm (on a good day), but there are critical business functions happening all the time. And many of these business functions include the transfer of a file. For … [Read More...]

To Patch or Not to Patch: The Latest on Fighting the Spectre and Meltdown Vulnerabilities
BY Antonio VargasAntonio Vargas

A few months ago, we wrote about the Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities discovered in Intel processors and how to address them: primarily, by deploying software patches. But recently, the plot thickened. Microsoft’s Meltdown patch actually made the original … [Read More...]

Cryptojackers Are Stealing Your Electrons
BY Scott N. SchoberScott N. Schober

Currency, in all its forms, has thieves that take what is not theirs. Cryptocurrency is no different. The fact that bitcoins are not a physical currency does not stop cybercriminals from stealing them, but these are not the same as cryptojackers. Cryptojackers … [Read More...]

The Basics of IT Virtualization
BY Joe HertvikJoe Hertvik

IT virtualization is the creation of a virtual—rather than a physical—version of an IT device or resource. Many people think of virtualization only in terms of virtual machines (VMs), where one physical machine hosts many VMs running different operating system … [Read More...]

What is Root Cause Analysis? Root Cause Analysis Explained
BY Laura ShiffLaura Shiff

In the world of software development and technology, the likelihood of having to try something out and then try it again is extremely high. Engineers learn from their mistakes and use them as an opportunity to grow their ever-expanding skill sets. While this … [Read More...]

Beginner’s Guide to Test Automation Frameworks
BY Chrissy KiddChrissy Kidd

Testing frameworks are vital to any testing process that’s automated – and that you want to succeed. Before any application or software can be deployed, proper testing must occur to make sure it works the way it’s meant to. Testing used to be an entirely … [Read More...]

Getting Real Results Today with Artificial Intelligence
BY Dan TurchinDan Turchin

Once the stuff of science fiction stories, artificial intelligence (AI) is moving into the mainstream. Practical applications are rapidly emerging and businesses are exploiting AI apps to deliver significant value. In particular, cognitive computing … [Read More...]

How SecOps Improves IT Security Through A Shift-Left Approach
BY Joe RoushJoe Roush

Most of the time when we talk about SecOps, we are really implying DevSecOps. If you aren’t familiar with the DevSecOps concept, I suggest reading Rick Bosworth’s article on What is DevSecOps? DevSecOps Explained. However, not all organizations have … [Read More...]